Los Altos girls cross country runs to successful season

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — In October, the Los Altos High School girls’ cross country team was aimed to get by league rival Los Gatos and develop consistency. The Eagles ably checked those boxes.

In early November, they won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s (SCVAL) El Camino division and set their sights on the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals. CCS challenged the team’s character.

Los Altos tied with Menlo-Atherton at the section finals — Los Gatos was first — but only two CCS teams were allowed to move on to the state meet. The tie had to be broken. Both teams anxiously waited around the famed Crystal Springs course for the outcome.

Coach Steph MacKenzie said it’s difficult to get the top-five runners on a team to all race optimally on the same day. One of the Eagles’ runners wasn’t feeling well, and another, senior Riley Capuano, fell a little short of her normal racing capability and ended up as the team’s fifth scorer.

“It was really stressful because initially, we thought we hadn’t done it,“ MacKenzie said. “We thought we hadn’t qualified.”

The Eagles began consoling each other and mentally closing out the season. But ultimately, it went well for the Eagles.

“They (Menlo-Atherton) actually had the fastest combined-team time for the day, but of course, it all shakes out on points…and our sixth runner was better than their sixth runner, so we got that coveted spot,” she said.

Mackenzie said the CCS experience was a wake-up call for the girls.

“The CCS day was such an example of what sport is all about…they just learned a lot from it, I think. The fact that we almost didn’t make it there, I think, humbled them a little bit which is always a good thing in life.”

The California State Cross Country Championships were next.

“I think the girls felt going into the state meet that they wanted to prove that they deserved that spot,” MacKenzie said. “They felt really bad for Menlo-Atherton. That was brutal for them, to not go in the tie. We just wish all three teams could have gone.”

The Eagles showed out at Fresno’s Woodward Park.

“Our girls had an amazing day…We broke the school record and placed better than any LAHS team (boys or girls) ever has in any division at the State meet,” MacKenzie wrote via email. “I also looked through all the past results and can’t find another girls D1 (Division I) CCS team that has ever placed better than us.”

Los Altos placed 11th eleventh overall out of 118 teams. The top the three team-finishers were Buchanan (Clovis-Central Section), Newbury Park (Thousand Oaks-Southern Section) and Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach-Southern Section).

“It’s very hard for CCS teams at the state meet because the Southern schools have much larger enrollments and our enrollment divisions do not align with theirs,” she said.

MacKenzie already sees blue skies over green pastures for next season.

“Next year, we’re only losing Riley out of that scoring team, and then we certainly have the talent there to move up, and everyone getting better.”

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