Boys’ Harriers Land State Podium Finish
Senior Jared Yabu running at Hayward High School
December 6, 2016
The boys’ cross country squad landed a podium spot at the state championships, held at Fresno’s Woodward Park, on November 26. The 3rd place finish against the rest of the best division 3 teams in California is the 1st time the boys’ team has made the podium since 2008, and the 4th time in school history.
Although the boys had no individual in the top 20, their pack margin of 19 seconds between the Cougars’ 1st scoring finisher and their 5th and final scorer was among the best across all divisions.
The squad’s score of 138 was enough to finish 3rd behind Cathedral Catholic of the San Diego Section (82), and West Torrance (125).
In a merge of results from all California divisions, the boys’ performance stood up as the best by a school north of Fresno, finishing 9th overall in the state.
Sophomore Edward Buckley was the team’s 5th finisher. The youngest member of the team was an unlikely hero, as he had to overcome iron deficiency diagnosed only weeks before. “I was anemic and I had to be over it before State so I could score for our team,” said Buckley. “I was pretty amazed [that we got 3rd], because I thought we got 4th.”
The girls’ squad finished 6th in the state division 3 race later in the day, with a score of 216. Bella Chao and Hannah Ruane both made the podium individually, finishing 6th and 9th respectively.
Just a week prior, led by 4 All-Section individual selections, both girls’ and boys’ varsity cross country squads added a 4th consecutive North Coast Section championship title to their collection on November 19 at Hayward High School.
The boys beat out a competitive Redwood squad by 7 points in the division 3 race, 39-46. With a tightly clustered pack, seniors JJ Yabu, Raymond Diaz, Niki Moore and Kyle Flett placed 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively.
On the girls’ side, juniors Bella Chao and Hannah Ruane finished 3rd and 4th in the division 3 race. Key finishes by juniors Jenna Miles, Jessie Foxworthy, and Savannah Hilton helped the Cougars defeat another competitive Giants squad, 67-71.
