XC Takes On Sulfur at Coyote Hills
Coyote Hills: the grueling 2.5-mile cross country course defined by sulfur and the Grinder. Over 150 runners competed on this course at our League meet on Tuesday, September 20, beginning their race on a field full of dozens of foot-deep holes. The middle mile of the course, situated on the side of a cliff, challenged the racers with a strong headwind and choking sulfuric fumes from the Bay. Seconds after escaping the toxic smell, the runners were confronted with a 600 meter-long hill, the Grinder.
Despite these harrowing challenges, your cross country teams traveled to and raced at Coyote Hills – not once, but twice. The first time, after a long three-day weekend, was our first League race, where both teams dominated. Not only were your Cross Country teams plagued by the challenges of the course, we also had to fight a literal plague: many members of the team were sick and others were injured and couldn’t race at all.
Despite all of these
The second race was only for the JV runners; the varsity runners went to the track for a workout, starting to rest up for the Stanford Invitational this Saturday. Despite the loss of their Varsity runners, both the boys and girls teams took 2nd place on this 2.5-mile course. Both teams lost to Head-Royce, but finished ahead of three other schools. In fact, the girls lost to Head-Royce by only 2 points! Two members of the girls’ team unfortunately threw up, beset by the putrid sulfuric stench, and were unable to finish the race. If they had, the girls would have had a shot at winning first place. Never underestimate the might of a cross country course!
Although we brought only our JV teams, the other schools brought both their JV and Varsity – in the words of Isaac L. (‘19), “That’s why CPS didn’t get first as usual!” Just to be clear, CPS JV almost took first place in a race competing against Varsity runners! Overall, both races at Coyote Hills demonstrate the incredible talent, depth, and dedication of the team this year. With such a strong start to the season, the team can’t wait to see what it can accomplish at meets in the future! Stay tuned, and wish a runner good luck for our next race on Tuesday, October 4, in Hayward!