The boys’ cross country team successfully qualified for the state race after placing third at CCS on Nov. 12.

Freshman Steven Sum placed second overall in the CCS race, finishing the course in 15:41. Sophomore Sam Guy was the second leading Saratoga runner finished in 16:48.

“We were kind of worried about this year in the beginning because we had lost seniors like Kyle Fukui and Garrick Chan,” sophomore Will Guy said. “But now with [freshman] Komdean Masoumi, Andrew Harter and Stevie Sum showing up we are probably going to go far.”

Sum led the squad during the CCS race, placing second. Sum finished the 2.95 course in 15:41; trailing behind him was sophomore Sam Guy who finished in 16:48 and placed 12th.

“Stevie has been awesome this year,” Guy said. “It’s almost like he is in his own race during each meet.”

This year’s CCS race was at Crystal Springs, considered by many runners to be one of the hardest courses to run in the De Anza league. The team trained hard for the event, doing multiple intervals every day. Many runners would have attained a personal record if it wasn’t for the extra distance.

The team is now training hard for the state race in Fresno at Woodward Park, an all flat course with two small hills. The practices now include rigorous intervals and several distance runs that both work on the runners’ endurance and speed. The outcome for the cross country team this year has been one of the best in recent history and also shows that the future team will be even stronger.

“The freshmen have all shown a lot of promise this year,” said Guy. “They are all young and haven’t fully developed yet so they have a lot to improve.”