Saratoga News

Sports

Falcon x-country runners get hot on a cold and windy day

By Dick Sparrer

It may have been cold and windy on Oct. 9, but the Saratoga cross country runners were hot when they competed in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League preview meet at the Crystal Springs course in Belmont.

The Falcons set 12 personal records on the 2.95-mile course with Alan Menezes leading the way.

"Not only did these 12 runners run faster than at the same race last year, but they also set all-time personal records for the Crystal Springs course," said coach Jerry Banks.

Menezes led the Falcons, covering the course in 15:59. Junior Kian Banks ran 16:41, followed by Nick Olsen, Kyle Borch, Will Perera, Eddie Zhang, James Arroyo, Eric Chiang, Joe Stevens, Derek Tow, Avinash Kumar and Bart Whiteley.

"This meet was their first at Crystal Springs this year and sets the stage well for the upcoming league finals and Central Coast Section races, which will also be held on the same course."

The Saratoga girls, meanwhile, were led by junior Katie Nast at Crystal Springs. Nast ran 19:09 to finish fourth overall for the Falcons. Sophomore Karen Wai was 12th.