Alameda and Encinal high school’s cross country teams had strong showings at the first West Alameda County Conference (WACC) 5K meet Thursday, Sept. 15.
Alameda finished in fourth place in the men’s varsity race, behind Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont while Encinal came in eighth place. Ten teams competed in the 5K, or 3.1-mile race.

The Hornets scored a 90 in the meet — lowest score wins — while the Jets posted a 249. Alameda’s fastest runner was junior Ethan West who completed the trek at Garin Park in Hayward in 18:22.90 for 11th place out of 74 competitors. His teammate senior Liam John finished right behind him in 12th place with a time of 18:24.77.

Hornet junior Devin Rowe was 18th with a time of 18:44.05, while Cedric Murphy finished in 22nd place with a time of 18:50.93. Junior Matthew Yep came in 27th place with a time of 19:17.26 to round out the Hornets’ top five. Julien Aguilar and Cameron Yoon were the two other Alameda team members to compete, but only times of the top five members are counted toward the team score.

Encinal’s fastest runner was sophomore Dylan Auberjuan who finished in 51st place with a time of 21:04.55. Sophomore Michael Chen finished right behind his teammate with a time of 21:06.55. Luis Booth was two spots behind Chen with a time of 21:34.42. John Lacaba (21:42.49) and Jaden Taylor (21:43.01) finished in 58th and 59th place, respectively. Junior Isaiah Cabello, sophomore Sven Schniedergers, junior Theo Wismar and senior Nathan Hui were other team members to participate in the event.

Alameda women’s varsity cross country team finished third in the women’s 5K meet with a score of 60, while Encinal women’s team came in sixth place with a score of 151. Alameda sophomore Lauren Lum finished third overall out of 58 participants. Lum finished with a time of 20:18.11. She finished just ahead of her teammate, senior Lara Vetter, who finished fifth with a time of 20:36.92. Alameda sophomore Maya Carpenter finished in 15th place in a time of 21:46.34, while junior Allie Cvitanovic completed the trek in 21:46.38 for 16th place. Junior Rachel Wellman rounded out the top five runners for the Hornets with a time of 22:22.55 for 21st place. Senior Chloe De Verrier also competed in the 5K.

Encinal sophomore Shelby Nelson was the Jets’ fastest competitor finishing in fourth place with a time of 20:24.02. Rebecca Stiling finished in 28th place 23:02.24. Freshman Marlene Delgado came in 36th in a time of 24:40.44. Anneli Arneson (43rd place, 25:19.01) and Gabrielle Cassaro  (50th place, 26:52.58) rounded out Encinal’s top five. Piedmont won the race.