For the second year in a row, both boys and girls cross country advanced to the CIF State Championships in Fresno. Both teams qualified at CCS Championships on Saturday, November 16, where the girls finished second and the boys made history with their first-ever CCS Division II title.
Varsity boys
“This is very exciting for the boys, even though it wasn’t completely unexpected,” Head Coach Stephanie Mackenzie said. “We knew it was possible, but it was going to be the reach goal for the season. To actually achieve it is an incredible feeling.”
Going into the race, the boys were seeded in second. With 17 teams contending for the three spots that guarantee a trip to States, the Eagles had a hard race ahead of them. Junior Sam Hurst led the team with a 15:26 8th place finish, followed by senior Tomas Smilak’s 15:45 12th place. All five scorers finished in the top 35, securing the victory.
“When the boys race, they race for the team, not for themselves,” Mackenzie said. “That just makes the difference; they forget their personal pain to help the team win.”
The boys have steadily improved for the last few years, finishing fourth in CCS in 2022 and second in 2023. Now they have a CCS title with their eyes set on a state championship. To get that CCS title, the boys team broke their third school record of the season — breaking one they had set two weeks earlier by 32 seconds.
“The boys’ strength is in their ability to run as a pack in races, pushing each other for fast times,” Mackenzie said. “The boys are going into the state meet with the mindset of getting another school record.”
Tomas had a standout performance — running 67 seconds faster than his time at the SCVAL finals and getting a 35-second personal record (PR) on the Crystal Springs course. Even more impressively, this improvement came only weeks after Tomas recovered from an injury.
“I think my race strategy was better in this race,” Tomas said. “At SCVAL, I took it out way too quickly, and it hit me really hard, but this time, I took it out slower, and that helped me push myself a lot in the second half of the race.”
Varsity girls
The varsity girls cross country team went into their race seeded second, just behind Saint Francis. Four of their five scorers had faster PRs than junior Sam Witteles, the fastest Eagle finisher.
However, Sam wasn’t phased — she PR’d by 27 seconds, finished 3rd in the entire race, and beat every Saint Francis runner. Sam now holds the fourth fastest time for a Los Altos girl on the Crystal Springs course at 18:14. This isn’t Sam’s only standout performance all season, as she PR’d in every race. In just one year, Sam went from not qualifying for CCS to finishing on the podium, an almost four-minute improvement.
“I’ve changed my mindset before meets,” Sam said. “As long as I give it my all, I’m proud of myself. That mindset change and the amount of work I’ve put in reflects my improved times.”
All five Eagle scorers finished in the top 21, with only a minute between the 1st and 5th. Behind Sam was junior Lily Symon, who finished 11th in 18:39, and senior Axelle Allanic, who finished right behind in 18:41.
“The girls have a really tight pack,” Mackenzie said. “If someone has a rough day, then another girl is there to step in. That’s helped us place well in every meet this season.”
“We’re going into States hoping both teams can get a top five finish,” Mackenzie said, “The best thing would be if everyone finishes the season with a 5K PR, and that would take care of the placing.”
