Sending runners to the CIF State Championships has been no problem for the varsity cross country years for over 10 years. This season, they plan on continuing this legacy. For both teams, this fall season has been one of great wins and new records but also of struggles and injury.

Boys

The upperclassmen-heavy varsity boys team saw extreme highs and lows this season, much due to an inconsistent racing lineup caused by sickness and injury among the whole team. 

“A lot of our team were fighting from injuries, illnesses, and that really showed in our results,” Captain senior Sreyas Kadiyala said.

The Eagles took a rocky start to the season, finishing 14th at their first meet, the Lowell Invitational, with fewer than half of their current top seven runners contributing.

“There’s been a lot of sickness that’s gone through the team, so that just goes in waves,” Head Coach Stephanie MacKenzie said. “But for the boys, they’re looking pretty strong right now. Hopefully, we should have our full top seven racing at League Finals and CCS.”

After Lowell, the boys picked up speed and remained top finishers in most of the following meets, including in the top three teams at the first three SCVAL meets. Two of those were for first place, one of which they set a school record at Baylands Park, with junior Sam Hurst coming in first overall and setting a course record by 14 seconds.

“We all didn’t have much training behind this, so we weren’t performing at the level that we were expected to perform,” Sreyas said. “But now, with that training, motivation, and discipline, we’re getting back there. We’ve proved that with what we did on Tuesday, setting a new school record, and by a large amount.”

As they approach the SCVAL Finals and the CCS Championship meet, the Eagles continue training for fitness while also keeping a healthy team in hopes to qualifying for States.

“Our determination as a team is starting to show, and we’re heading to a place where we really wanna go,” junior Taran Davies said.

The team also attributes great camaraderie to pushing through this season’s difficulties. 

“Having so many guys who are all chasing the same thing and working together, you definitely strongly bond over that,” Taran said. “And that’s why we’re still at it.”

Girls

After opening its season with second place at the Lowell Invitational, the varsity girls team had set out for success from the start. However, like the boys, the team saw a couple of runners get taken out by injury, too. Juniors Lydia Anderson and Emma Beedon—top contributors to the team in their last two seasons—faced stress fractures and haven’t competed on the varsity team this year. 

“The worst part of cross country is injury, but we’ve all pushed through, and hopefully, they’ll be able to run with us soon again,” junior Sam Witteles said.

Despite this, the team was not deterred as multiple rising stars, including Sam, joined it. After spending the last two years on the JV team this fall, Sam grew to become one of the fastest varsity runners.

In the Championship Race of the 45th Annual Clovis Invitational—an opportunity exclusive to the top 20 cross-country teams in California—the team finished 14th. In 2023, Sam finished last on the JV team, but this year finished first in Los Altos with a six-minute improvement from last race.

“That’s the trajectory you just don’t see that often,” MacKenzie said. “The girls team is exciting because it changes every race.” 

In league meets, the team is currently undefeated. As the season approaches its end, the girls continue training to finish in the top four teams at CCS to qualify for the State Championships.

“Now that we’ve been successfully going to the state meet year after year, we don’t change our training that much,” MacKenzie said.