An Intro, and the First Meet of the Season

First off, I'm Calvin Thigpen, and this blog is to revolve around the Maria Carrillo cross country and track team, and during the offseason, probably little tidbits about my own training.

We have an awesome team this year and I would love to chronicle our good times together.

The first meet of the season was the Rancho Cotate Invite. St. Helena's Brian "BFC" Cole won in 14:01, followed by Blake McDowell in 14:07 and Sterling Lockert in 14:12. Carrillo runners also fared well, with Nathan Huckeba running a 14:27, myself at 14:41, and Grant Williams in 14:56. That converts to mile paces of 5:15, 5:20, and 5:26 respectively for the top three Carrillo runners. Gus Greenstein, in his first high school race ever, came in at an amazing 15:15, or 5:33 mile pace. Hats off to the freshman coming in at 4th on the Carrillo varsity squad. Alex Hartz came through in 15:19, a time no doubt influenced by a nagging hip pain. Anton Karrman, who unfortunately has not been able to run with the team for a few weeks, ran a 15:50.

Altogether, the team ran respectable races, losing to Petaluma by a 5-point margin. Look forward to Chris Bendana returning to the team after a recent illness, Anton Karrman whipping into shape in the coming weeks, and Alex Hartz hopefully returning to top form in no time. Most of the varsity team appears to up for grabs at this point, which should make for a competitive and fun atmosphere.

The girls team ran well also, winning the team title. Casa Grande freshman standout Jacque Taylor ran an amazing 16:22 to win the race, followed by our own Kristen Sanzari, coming in at 3rd with a 16:58. Other notable Carrillo harriers included Leanne Fogg with a 17:13, Alia Gray in at 17:46, Sarah Dirado at 18:45, and several others following in the 18 to 19 minute range. The season should be good for the girls as the race begins for the last 4 spots on the varsity team.