Senior and varsity cross country runner Teddy Buckley set a new personal best of 10:18 in the small school varsity race at the annual Ed Sias Invitational Meet on September 8. The meet was held at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez, which is used frequently for competition in the Diablo Athletic League and will be the site of the DAL championships in November.

Buckley finished 2nd at last year’s Ed Sias event after being out kicked by a Maria Carrillo athlete. “I really wanted to redeem myself,” said Buckley. “I had my race plan, and I knew I was physically fit from training all summer, so I was really excited for my race.”

Buckley said his strategy was to run the 1st mile at an even pace and the 2nd “pretty hard.”  He used a surge after the mile mark to separate from the pack and build a considerable margin by the time he crossed the finish line.

According to teammates, Buckley had a big smile on his face as he sprinted towards the finish. Sophomore Sadie Habas said, “He seemed really confident finishing. He didn’t look fatigued, like his face was just really focused and he looked like he was having fun.”

“I looked behind with about 100 meters to go and saw no one, and I guess I got pretty happy,” admitted Buckley.

The varsity boys squad had more to celebrate in addition to Buckley’s individual win, as they placed 2nd in the team standings, beating division 3 rivals Vista Del Lago by 24 points. The top podium spot was claimed by top ranked Maria Carrillo.

The Cougars finished 2nd at the North Coast Section Championships in 2017, just behind Maria Carrillo. While Campolindo was a distance 2nd at the Ed Sias meet, Dylan Cronin, who knocked 32 seconds off his 2017 race time, believes the performance indicates the team is on track to challenge the Pumas in November. “It felt good, I’m pretty sure that’s what we wanted to get. I think Maria Carillo got like 27 points which is really, really good,” said Cronin.