 | | | Niki Moore Photos Gint Federas | | | | | | Campolindo qualified so many athletes for the NCS Meet of Champions that head coach Chuck Woolridge nearly lost track of just how many made the cut.
"Well, that's a good question," Woolridge said. "Let me count."
The final tally was 17 and none did better than junior Niki Moore during the two-day event held on May 27 and 28 at Cal's Edwards Stadium.
Moore placed in second in the 800-meter trials on May 27 before winning the finals a day later - becoming the first Cougar to accomplish that feat in program history.
"Meet of Champions is interesting because you have to go through trials and then come back 24 hours later - if you make it to finals - and perform again," Woolridge said. "You have to be poised and relaxed on Friday. However, you're likely to need to get close to your personal best to advance on to the final. So, you're really trying to expend as little energy as possible on Friday, but ensure that you make it."
The boys' 4x400-meter relay team and senior 800-meter runner Sarah Cella also both advanced to the second day of the Meet of Champions. In the finals, the relay team placed fifth, while Cella earned fourth place in the 800-meter race - setting a new school record.
Including the 4x400-meter girls' relay team, which finished in fourth place in the finals, Acalanes brought 11 athletes to Edwards Stadium.
"I think it's a compliment to the kids," head coach John Crain of bringing so many athletes to the meet. "On the girls' side we knew we were good, it was just a matter of getting in the right positions to be able to qualify."
Senior Julia Lyons - who qualified for three events - came in sixth place in the 100-meter race and earned a trip to the state meet in the long jump by placing in third in that competition.
Junior Windy Margerum ran in sixth place in the 100-meter hurdles, while sophomore Muppy Gragg - who qualified for four events - placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles. On the boys' side, junior Ethan Westemeier landed in fifth place in the triple jump finals.
The Mats, who shared the girls' DFAL league title with the Dons, had 10 athletes competing at Cal.
"Making NCS Meet of Champions is a great achievement that a very small percentage of the team make," said head coach Tristan Tool. "The state meet is much more exclusive."
From senior Christian Gonzales to junior Hannah Fishlow and freshman Cassy Haskell, Miramonte had an array of distance runners harboring state ambitions.
Gonzalaes punched his ticket to the state meet by finishing in second place - just half a second behind Campolindo's Moore.
Haskell also advanced on to state, meeting the CIF at-large standard qualifying time even though she finished in fifth place in the 1600-meter finals. Fishlow ran in seventh place for the Mats.
"The girls distance races were stacked this season," Tool said. It was a stellar field."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA