All six Alameda high school cross-country teams competed in the North Coast Section (NCS) Cross Country Championships Saturday, Nov. 23, at Hayward High School.

Women’s Competition
The Alameda High School (AHS) women’s cross-country team had the best out of the Alameda high school teams. The Hornets finished in second place in the Div. III competition out of 20 teams. Campolindo High of Moraga won the overall competition.

Junior Olivia Liuson led the AHS team. She finished the three-mile race with a time of 17:48.69. She came in third place individually out of 135 competitors. 

The next Hornet to cross the finish line was senior Geraldine Yue. She finished in 21st place with a time of 19:00.45. Freshman Sophia Carpenter came in 24th place with a time of 19:04.39. Sophomores Katy Hosokawa and Madison Tiaffay finished 33rd and 34th, respectively. Hosokawa finished the race in 19:53.11, while Tiaffay crossed the finish line in 19:53.27. 

The Encinal High School (EHS) women’s team finished 13th out of 19 teams in the NCS Div. IV competition. EHS freshman Tessa Vasquez led the Jets with a 49th place finish out of 130 participants. She completed the course in 21:07.03. EHS senior Gabby Cassaro finished in 64th place with a time of 21:35.14. Sophomore Malou Killian finished 78th with a time of 22:13.28. Senior Melody Ma finished five spots behind her at 83rd with a time of 22:21.94. Sophomore Sarina Given rounded out the Jets’ top five coming in 117th place with a time of 24:34.29.

The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) women’s team finished seventh out of 15 teams in the NCS Div. V race. Pilot junior Aila Owens led SJND with a ninth-place showing out of 127 participants. She finished the race in 18:56.86. Sophomore Natalie Perez finished 14th overall with a time of 19:10.10. The next Pilot to cross was sophomore Jaida Sieu at 48th place with a time of 20:57.37. Junior Ariez Pimentel finished 66th with a time 21:49.24. Eight spots later junior Claire Nocon finished with a time of 22:23.48. SJND senior Danielle Perez rounded out the top five with a time of 22:39.20 for 79th place.

Men’s Competition 
The AHS men’s team finished 10th out of 22 teams in the NCS Div. III race. AHS junior Emilio Cazares was the first Hornet to complete the race in 15:52.48 for 16th place out of 157 competitors. Senior Ian Pang finished 36th with a time of 16:27.50. Senior Patrick Nguyen finished 49th with a time of 16:44.08. Senior Connor Lynch placed 67th with a time of 17:11.08. Benjamin Ting was the fifth Hornet to cross the finish line at 17:13.32 for 70th place.

SJND finished third in the men’s NCS Div. V race out of 24 teams. SJND senior Rowan O’Brien was the first Pilot to finish at 16:23.71 for 17th place. Junior Christopher Ramirez finished in 26th place with a time of 16:46.06. Five spots behind him was senior Christian Granados with a time of 16:49.32. Senior Ellis Cervantes earned 37th place with a time of 16:57.47. Sophomore Arlo Rucker finished in 48th place with a time of 17:13.34.

EHS did not compete in the men’s NCS Div. IV race as a team, but several players competed individually. Sophomore Ben Wilson-Ripsom finished 24th overall, out of 154 runners, with a time of 16:35.02. EHS juniors Myles Ferguson and Gabe Jones finished 107th and 108th respectively. Ferguson finished the race with a time of 18:33.73, while Jones came in at 18:35.25.