Boys’ Cross Country: Falcons flourish at Saratoga invitational, other events

Hundreds of eager runners from various high schools such as Wilcox, Los Althos and Cupertino made their way to the Saratoga High track to participate in the Saratoga Invitational cross country meet on Sept. 21.

Top results from falcons in the Saratoga meet came from the varsity team in the two mile race and included senior captains Garrick Chan, who came in 6th place with a time of 10:33, and Kyle Fukui, who finished one second later than Chan to rank 7th place.

The boys’ team finished in 6th place with a total of 128 points.

“It was a smart race,” said Chan. “I started off consistently and moved up later on in the race. Kyle and I stayed together most of the race until the end where I used my kick to past him with 50 meters to go.”

For sophomore Kabir Chandrasekher of the JV squad, the meet was a fun way to “push yourself to the limit and see how you place amongst others.”

“There’s this moment sometime after you start running where you get this internal drive,” said Chandrasekher. “[It] makes you want to work hard and get better. It’s like your love for running and hurting yourself evolve.”

According to coach Dan Ambrico, the team’s biggest need is for the freshmen, sophomores and juniors to continue improving.

“Our main goal is to meet the state meet by the end of the year,” said Ambrico. “Our times are slowly getting better, which is positive.”

After the Saratoga tournament, the team also competed at the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 23 and at Central Park Invitational on Sept. 28. Fukui took 33rd place at Stanford while Chan finished 69th.

“The race was so hot,” said Chan. “It was almost 95 degrees.”
Already dealing with sore ankles, Chan hung in despite the brutal conditions but ultimately had to consult a medic following the race.

Chan had to deal with an injured ankle at the Central Park meet; nevertheless, he attended the event, although many of Saratoga’s competitors, including Fukui, did not. Despite the issues, Chan finished 19th place earning a medal but collapsed at the finish line and had to be escorted back to the team camp at the conclusion of the race.

As for the future, the team plans to continue working hard and do even better at the upcoming Santa Clara Valley Athletic League race at Crystal Springs on Oct. 7 and the Lynbrook Invitational on Oct. 21.

“I redeemed myself from that Lynbrook race [last time],” said Chan. “In the upcoming races, I hope I can beat the guys who beat me at the toga invite.”