Marvelous pack running at League Finals

For pure excitement in a team sport like cross country, it is hard to match the excitement of a team of pack runners.  Juniors Drew Jack and Yuvan Wickramsinghe were joined by sophomores George Mundo and John Judge in a pack for the entire race at League Finals.  Not only did their pack finish second as a team, but they battled each other down the stretch with Yuvan taking the team medal with the bigger finish.

Here is an interesting side note.  At the end of summer workouts, Coach Mundo sat down with this writer and laid out his projections.  These were pretty bold calls and, as usual, this writer doubted the Coach’s sanity.  Sophomore George Mundo was brand new to the program and showed promise but his Dad was projecting a 16:45 at Lacy Park for George.  Look at the picture on the left to get an idea of what his time was.  Aside from George, Coach Mundo also projected 16:45 for Yuvan and John Judge.  Pretty solid calls.  We look forward to late August 2013 when the crystal ball will once again make an appearance.

George Mundo Wins a Bell

3 Girls Under 20 at Lacy

A rare year is one girl breaking 20 minutes on our course.  Lacy Park is a tough challenge full of spongy grass, tight turns and a hard climb just when the tank is dry.  A pretty little thing with fangs.  It beats almost everyone.  And yet, this year at League Finals, we had three girls under 20!  We have come to expect that of Alissa but to have sophomore Sarah and freshman Olivia join the club in the same race made the day remarkable.  We’re not yet sure if it has ever been done so a little homework will be necessary in the off-season.  What are the chances they could do it again next year?  What are the chances that five of them could do it next year?  That would make a certain coach I know do a finish line dance.

Going Deep at Prelims

The way that the pack ran together at League Finals the previous week, the boys looked pretty solid to secure the last or next-to-last spot in the CIF Finals.  Then a bug hit Drew and he was out of the Prelims.  It looked like the team would be out of the Finals.  What happened is that these guys ran the races of their lives.  Each one.  George chopped 50 seconds off his previous best (the cowbell-winning performance at Mt. SAC Inv) and placed 10th.  That one performance made up 50% of the deficit.  Fellow soph John Judge, who has been chasing George all year, shaved 34 seconds off and grabbed the 33rd spot.  While Mt. SAC is not Yuvan’s type of course, he still took nearly a half minute off his previous.  Perhaps the most satisfying performance was Kenny’s.  He has struggled at Mt. SAC in the past but not on this day.  His 17:32 was 40 seconds better than before.  And finally, the 5th man of the day, Tomas Liu was 38 seconds better.  Big performances were required and big performances were delivered.  Keeping the consecutive Finals streak alive (4th).

Sarah was the freshman phenom last year but the shoe was on the other foot this year.  Freshman Olivia Harrigian came into the program setting a sizzling pace at Bosco Tech, Phil Ryan and Dana Hills.  Sophomore Sarah was generally a minute in back of the new frosh phenom.  Then, Sarah got her old self back at Clovis, recording a 20:37 (roughly equivalent to the same time at Lacy Park).  From that point on, Sarah seemed determined to establish herself as the #2 on the team, even going so far as to try to shadow Alissa at League Finals.  That effort was the iron lady performance as she gave it everything and more.  If the season had ended right there, Sarah would have made the list but not as high as #6.  What moved her up was her performance on the rain course at CIF Finals.  It was a tactical masterpiece as she showed absolute determination to maintain her position in the first third of the pack through the first mile.  After that, Sarah consistently picked off runners ahead of her and had just enough left to sprint to the finish line.  Her 18:28 finish was more than a minute faster than her race on this same course last year for Prelims.  She finished in the top 30th percentile and firmly established her position as the #2 runner on the team.  What most distinguishes an athlete is not their natural ability but their will to excel.  Sarah could have tossed in the towel early on when things weren’t going well.  Instead, she dug down and became a leader.

Yuvan Wickramsinghe
Pack Assassin

The difference between the girls’ team and the guys’ team couldn’t be clearer.  There is not much of an ability gap with the guys so they run as a pack. Packs make each runner better. But these 4 pack rats give no quarter to each other.  They each want to be the team’s #1 runner.  The epitome of that attitude has been junior Yuvan Wickramsinghe this year.  Yuvan rarely sets the pace; he prefers to shadow the pack and then use his speed to capture the gold at the end.  Witness his performance at League Finals and CIF Finals.

Marina Flores
Co-Captain

Lindsay Snaer
Co-Captain