Defending CCS champs begin title defense Saturday at RLS
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
Anzar High cross country coach Doug MacKinnon perhaps said it best when asked about his team’s No. 2 preseason ranking.
“We’re not going to sneak up on anyone this year,” he said.
No, they’re probably not. Of course, with the exception of those opponents who failed to do their homework, the Hawks probably weren’t sneaking up anyone last year either, and they still emerged as the Central Coast Section Division V champions, nonetheless.
Despite a Redwood Christian team that had three runners cross the finish line at last season’s CCS Championships before a single Hawk did the same, Anzar still managed to keep the lowest score at the year-end meet, edging the San Lorenzo school, 72-83.
It was the first CCS crown in school history for Anzar, and earned them a trip to the CIF State Cross Country Championships. Obviously, they’re being rewarded this season with the No. 2 ranking in the section.
“We’re gonna be competitive this year,” MacKinnon said. “I think we’ll have a good team. We’re not favored to win, but I think we’ll be okay.”
Redwood Christian carries the No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings, as they return all seven harriers from last year’s runner-up team. In fact, in some rankings, Redwood Christian is seeded No. 8 among all Division V schools in the state of California.
“They didn’t lose anyone,” MacKinnon said. “That’s what we’re looking at.”
The Hawks won’t be short on experience, however, and will return three of their top seven runners from last year.
Sophomore Aaron Hsia-Coron, who finished first for Anzar at last season’s CCS Championships and seventh overall with a time of 17:14, will most likely anchor the team again this season.
Joining him is Israel Parra, who finished fourth for Anzar at CCS and 24th overall in 18:29, as well as Christian Heath, whose 18:32 was good enough for 27th overall and sixth on the Hawks.
“We lost four of our top seven guys. That’s the bad news,” joked MacKinnon. “The good news is that we got three of them back.”
The coach should certainly have his pick as to who fills in the remaining four spots on the team, though, as a total of 27 harriers tried out for the squad this season.
Assisted by Cuco Chavez, MacKinnon will re-introduce a girls cross country team as well, something Anzar has not had in about five years due to lack of numbers.
Naomi Frenzel was the only member of the girls team last season, and will likely lead the Hawks in terms of experience after she recorded a 25:07 at last year’s CCS Championship.
Although the section meet isn’t slated until Nov. 15, the road to CCS begins Saturday at Pebble Beach at the Stevenson Invitational, an early-season meet that provides a good indication of where everyone stands, MacKinnon said.
The meet will start at 9 a.m.
“Everyone enjoyed last season and part of that was winning CCS,” MacKinnon said. “I think they’d like to repeat that again.”
