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Palo Alto freshman Grant Morgenfeld continues to shine on campus cross country courses in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
He led a sweep of the top nine places Saturday in Palo Alto’s 15-45 victory over host Homestead, earning his third individual title in as many meets. Morgenfeld raced 11:04.0, crossing the finish line 12 seconds ahead of teammate Alex Gao.
Joshua Gehring and Gal Rivlin ran well for Gunn but the Titans dropped a 15-45 decision to Mountain View, a formidable group of strong runners. The Spartans and the Vikings were the only schools to finish under an hour (combining the top six runners’ times).
In all, 13 SCVAL schools competed in six dual meets, all at Homestead, organized so there were no more than two schools on campus at any one time.
The pandemic forced leagues to change the way meets are run, taking a cue from days gone by. Dual meets, once the mainstay of cross-country competition, have retaken the spotlight and are proving to be popular.
Center meets and Invitationals, which look a lot like stampedes at times, have been favored in the recent past but have been shelved for the time being.
While runners do not have to wear masks during the actual competition, masks are required at all other times while on school grounds.
With only his teammates able to encourage him along the route, Morgenfeld raced to the second fastest time of the day among the 256 runners on the 2.2-mile course.
Palo Alto (3-0) placed five runners among the top eight overall. Mountain View was represented by three among the top 10. Monta Vista and Los Altos each placed a runner in the top 10.
Morgenfeld was the lone freshman among the top 37 runners (and one of three in the top 50) Saturday. Gunn’s Jake Seley ranked 45th.
Gao was also in rarified air. He’s the only sophomore among the top 12. Paly senior Aleksei Seletsiky followed Gao by less than two seconds. Junior Mateo Fesslmeier, senior David Evans and senior Simon Blanch all finished within seconds of each other.
Girls cross country
Palo Alto sophomores Elizabeth Fetter and Hillary Studdert have constantly been at the top of the SCVAL and it was no different in Saturday’s 16-43 win over Homestead.
Fetter had the best time of the day, winning her race in 12:46.9. Studdert was second in 12:50.1. Only one other runner, also a sophomore, finished in less than 13 minutes.
Senior Katherine Cheng recorded the 10th fastest time of the day with her third-place performance. She was followed by senior Emily Defide. Senior Hailey Hwang and junior Maia Johnsson also figured in the scoring for Paly.
Gunn lost, 15-45, to Mountain View, though freshman Anna Roddin, sophomore Alexandra Wong and sophomore Paige Yun finished in a group.
West Bay Athletic League
Senior Luci Lambert helped host Sacred Heart Prep celebrate its season-opening victory Saturday, leading a sweep of Crystal Springs Uplands in league competition.
Virginia-bound Lambert, who won the 5,000-meter race in 17:45, set the standard on the Gators’ campus, which hosted its first cross country race.
Janie Morganroth, Julia Soderbery, Lucy Paynter and Christina Long followed Lambert as SHP filled the first five spots.
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