XC team heads into CCS and State with high hopes

Last year the boys’ cross country team finished third overall at CCS and sent eight runners to the state tournament, an achievement unparalleled since 2006. This year the team hopes to replicate its success.
 

“I think we’ll qualify [for] and do well in both [CCS and State],” junior captain Sam Guy said. “As a team, we’re really well prepared.”

To qualify for CCS, the team must get to the top of their league; to qualify for state, the team must place within the top three in CCS. To qualify for state individually, runners must be in the top 10 in CCS.

Like last year, the team’s talent lies with the underclassmen.
Among the most talented is sophomore Steven Sum, who placed second at CCS and 47th at the state tournament last year.

“I was the fastest freshman in [the state] last year,” Sum said. “So I guess I want to be in the top 20 or the top sophomore in the state.”

Sum also said that the team has gained a lot of experience over the past year.

“We’re definitely improving,” Sum said. “We’ve had a whole extra year to train, and I think [the team] is getting better each year.”

The team’s coach, Dan Ambrico, trains 14 runners, chosen based on their placement in key races such as Crystal Springs and Toro as well as their overall speed throughout the season on the team for State, but only takes eight to the actual competition. To train, they run short, fast intervals to build up speed.

In addition to being chosen for the original 14, runners try to improve to be part of the top eight.

One of these runners aspiring to be one of those elite eight is sophomore Kyle Yuen, ranked 10th on the team.

“It’s possible that I’ll make it into the top eight,” Yuen said. “A lot of [runners who qualified for state] are soccer players and may not be there [to run], and I could take their place.”

Regardless of experience and competition, this year’s cross country team has steadily improved, following a trend from the last couple of years.

The team placed high in meets such as the Earlybird Invitational at Toro on Sept. 9, where Sum led the sophomore team to make it onto the medal stand for the first time to win 3rd place. The team even won both the JV and varsity divisions at the home meet.

The team also has been growing steadily with more and more people trying out for cross country every year. Ambrico decided to do away with cuts at the beginning of the season.

However, the coach’s decision has spurred him to knuckle down on lazy runners.

“[Runners] shouldn’t go to Starbucks while they are doing distance runs,” Ambrico said. “It’s a waste of their time and my time. Runners should be using distance runs to build up endurance.”
If the team qualifies, the next meet will be CCS championships at Toro Park in Salinas on Nov. 10.