Behind strong performances from junior Colleen McCandless and senior John Bennett, the Granada cross country teams made it a sweep of the varsity team titles at the De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational on Saturday morning, dominating the 3-mile Newhall Park course.
McCandless broke free from Campolindo senior Jenna Miles after the two were side-by-side at the halfway mark, and finished four seconds in front of teammate Kinga Bihari, who passed Miles as well in the final half-mile for second place. McCandless’ winning time was 18:03.90.
Meanwhile, the Matadors ran extremely well, as junior Gracie Dupuis finished fourth and junior Kalea Bartolotto finished eighth. Junior Isabella Romero placed 24th to round out the top five for Granada, as the five underclassmen outscored Campolindo 39-112 to easily win the varsity girls team competition. Amador Valley, Vacaville, and Woodcreek-Roseville rounded out the top five teams.
On the boys’ side, Bennett led for most of the latter half of the race, until Mission Viejo’s Luis Chavez passed him down the final stretch. Chavez finished the three-mile course in 15:26:52, while Bennett finished in 15:27:39. Clayton Valley’s Dylan White, De La Salle’s Connor Livingston, and Las Lomas’ Preston Norris rounded out the top five. Norris had been the leader at the halfway mark, after running the best time at the season-opening Monte Vista Invitational, a week and a half earlier.
Granada and Mission Viejo also battled for the team title, but the Matadors’ depth proved to be too much, outscoring the Diablos 70-158. De La Salle finished three points behind Mission Viejo for third, followed by Division IV Drake. Bella Vista-Fair Oaks rounded out the top five.
Granada junior Tyler Hattori placed sixth, and all five Matador placers finished in the top 29 of the varsity race. 14 different boy runners finished the course in under 16 minutes.
Presentation girls dominate Farmer Invitational
Presentation placed four girls in the top seven at Hayward on Saturday, and all five scorers in the top 21, as the Panthers outscored Dublin 32-66 for the girls’ team title. University ran well to finish third on the girls side.
Senior Paige Comiso won the individual title for Presentation, completing the three-mile course in 18:00.02. Sophomore Gianna Mendoza, freshman Zoe Hartfield, and junior Audrey James rounded out the group of four in the top seven for the Panthers. Alhambra’s Marissa D’Atri finished second, seven seconds behind Comiso.
On the boys’ side, University-SF nipped Dublin for the team title, 52-53. Washington-Fremont senior Denny Rich won the individual race in 15:31.01, followed two seconds later by Terra Nova junior Elias Sanchez. Head-Royce’s Isaac Teuscher finished third, while University sophomores Charlie Kennedy and Clay Mills placed fifth and sixth to lead the strong team finish for the Red Devils.
Friedman dominates girls race at Earlybird
Santa Cruz senior Mari Friedman controlled the three-mile senior girls race, beating Gunn senior Joyce Shea by 19 seconds with her time of 17:57 on Saturday. Despite placing four runners in the top 11, however, the Cardinals were narrowly beaten for the team title, as Whitney outscored Santa Cruz, 72-73.
The boys senior title came down to the wire, with Willow Glen nipping Bellarmine, 53-54. Bellarmine senior Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau claimed the individual title, completing the course in 15:17, while Willow Glen’s Zach Walker placed a distant second, as Beaudoin-Rousseau posted an impressive 31-second margin of victory.
Bellarmine did win the junior boys’ title, beating Palo Alto 30-56. Los Altos’ Owen Mackenzie won the individual title among the juniors, beating Palo Alto’s Henry Saul by 11 seconds, with his winning time of 15:39.
