LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Campolindo cross country teams sweep DAL Meet No. 2


Photos provided

Campolindo cross country teams swept wins in every race on the final regular Diablo Athletic League meet of the season in Newhall Park in Concord. The Frosh/Soph Girls and Junior Varsity Boys both tallied perfect scores as Campolindo runners all finished in the first top five scoring positions. Sydney Roberts (21) led the girls' Frosh/Soph race from the start, but Catherine Zhang (20) moved up several spaces to challenge Roberts in the final mile. Roberts took the win and Zhang finished a very close two-tenths behind.

The Junior Varsity boys' top five were equally dominant and were never challenged in their race. After running as a pack for most of the race, Jeremy Ahn (18) finally took the lead and race win. Teammates Max Essl (19), Colin Lekki (19), Charlie Woidat (19) and Casey Chambers (18) all finished within 20 seconds of their leader. The Varsity teams also produced race victories with individual wins by Isabella Chao (18) and Edward Buckley (19). Chao ran unchallenged from start to finish, winning the girls' race by over 30 seconds while Buckley produced a strong surge in the middle mile of the Varsity boys' race his rivals could not match.

The second crucial scorer was Varsity Freshman Dylan Gunn (21), who was fifth overall in his first ever DAL Newhall Park race. The Campolindo wins were impressive considering the loss of several key scoring runners who were sitting out due to injury.

The late-season victories by the powerhouse high school cross country team continue to prove the depth of the program directed by coaches Chuck Woolridge and Andy Lindquist. The strong performance by Campolindo will make for an exciting NCS Championship in Hayward on Nov. 18.