The San Benito and Anzar cross country teams are hoping it’s not
all downhill at the Central Coast Section Cross Country
Championships.
The San Benito and Anzar cross country teams are hoping it’s not all downhill at the Central Coast Section Cross Country Championships.
While today’s CCS final at Crystal Springs begins with a 300-yard downhill run, the race itself won’t be as easy as a descending dash.
The best of the best in the section will converge in Belmont today, and both San Benito and Anzar will enter with high hopes of capturing a top spot in their respective divisions.
For the few and the fast, a top-two spot in Division I and a top-three spot in Division V will extend the season for San Benito and Anzar, respectively, as each team seeks a trip to the CIF State Cross Country Championships in Fresno later this month.
“We’ve done it before,” San Benito boys coach Jess Morales said. “It’s going to take a lot of heart for us to get in the top two.”
Since their previous meet two weeks ago, the Haybalers have been working on strength and speed recently. The course at Crystal Springs – which goes downhill for the first 300 yards, Morales said, straightens out flat, and then climbs back up the same hill from the start – will test the runners to run their own race.
“We just want to pace ourselves and work on the next two miles,” Morales said. “It kind of takes a lot out of you, that first hill. After you run it so fast, you’ve got to really know how to pace yourself … But what you come down you’ve got to run back up.”
Both the ‘Balers and Lady ‘Balers – who finished in first and third, respectively, at the Tri-County Athletic League meet – practiced the course in Belmont last weekend.
With an added comfort level of the course, the boys look to compete with top teams Bellarmine and Carlmont, and the girls seek to battle Carlmont, Gilroy and Salinas.
The CCS meet will also provide some much needed section experience as five freshmen are listed to compete for San Benito, one for Anzar.
“Basically, we’re getting experience for next year … especially when you have a lot of freshmen for the first time running (CCS),” girls coach Josh Morales said. “We’ve just been working on mentality and speed.”
In Division V, Anzar enters as the No. 1 ranked team, but coach Doug MacKinnon feels they’ll have their hands full when they go up against Redwood Christian, Sacred Heart and York.
“Everyone is so close,” MacKinnon said. “We’re just going to run our best and see what happens.”
The Hawks are also familiar with the course after competing at a previous invitational, and MacKinnon is hoping his harriers pay attention to their race and not that of their competitors.
“There’s kind of a long downhill at the beginning of the race that kind of messes you up if you go too fast,” MacKinnon said. “We’re telling the kids to hold back a little bit … Let the race come to them.”
The Hawks, who went undefeated this season and took first in the Coast Athletic League meet, have been tapering their workouts recently and reducing their miles in order to preserve fresh legs for today’s race.
After a full season of training and preparation, all that’s left is the CCS meet itself.
Said Jess Morales, “You can’t do too much now. You’ve trained all season. Now it’s time to run it.”
