Cross country girls to rely on strong core group for 2018

A mix of experience and youth highlights the girls cross country side going into the 2018 campaign.
Of the top seven from last season’s team that reached the state meet, four runners will return, including two sophomores.

Seniors Noel Rockwell and Finleigh Levinson will lead the squad, along with sophomore Kyla Seely, the top finisher at last year’s state meet. Sophomore Jackie McKillop-Herr rounds out the runners with state experience.

“There are many girls looking to break into the top seven. While the team is led by experience, we have runners such as freshman Charlotte Burch who is running very well,” coach Rich Miller said.

The star sophomores began their season’s well, with Seely and McKillop-Herr placing second and fourth, respectively, in the competitive Lowell Invitational
frosh-soph race.

On Sept. 5, the girls won the Stinson Beach Relays, the typical start to the cross country season.

“We took away a lot of positives from Stinson,” Miller said. “We know that we will be competitive this year, and we will make other teams run fast.”

Along with a solid core, the team is growing in depth, with an increase in size from last year.

“Ultimately, we want to be competitive in MCAL and not have freshmen be terrified of racing,” Levinson said. “There are a lot of freshmen who are going to go for it, and that is exciting.”

After a stunning season in 2017, where the team qualified for the state meet against the odds, the expectations this time are still unsure.

Regardless of this season’s performance, the team will be competitive for years to come.

“We will see where we are this year as the season progresses, but there is no doubt that the future is bright,” Miller said.

The MCAL meet will be on Nov. 7, before the girls attempt to qualify for state championships via the NCS race, which will take place on Nov. 17.

States will be the following week, on Nov. 24.

‘V Boys’ aim for historical program landmarks, state title

When a high school sports team such as the cross country boys comes off a landmark season, paralleled success is typically hard to come by the next year.

Nonetheless, after placing second at the state championships meet last November, the top five contingent all return this fall. This includes seniors Cooper McCarthy, Nicco Pompili, Gabe Reuter, and juniors Amir Barkan and Owen Wolford.

The core ‘V boys’ enter their third year running together. The results have steadily improved as they have risen through the ranks, and this should be the culminating year.

“There are a lot of expectations this year,” McCarthy said. “This is the most stacked top five we ever have had, and that’s exciting.”

The opening act of the new year saw the squad win the Lowell Invitational, a competitive early season indicator, by just three points over a strong Clovis North. Pompili led the way with a sixth place finish, and Barkan finished seventh.

“The confidence makes you loose. It is only a plus,” coach Robyn Berry said.

The squad has usually been reserved when it came to making lofty preseason goals. However, with a strong core group this year, team expectations are clear.

“We are comfortable about talking about the goals, because we are really clear on what they are,” Berry said.

“We want to win MCAL, NCS, and state this year. Qualification to NXN, Nike Cross Nationals, would be a plus as well.

No matter what happens during the regular season, the team knows that November is the most important time to perform.

“There is no such thing as a perfect season, we have already had things stack up against us,” Berry said.

“That’s cross country, and we will only be good if we have everyone at the starting line in the big races.”

If the team triumphs at the state championship, they would be the first Marin team to win since the Branson girls in 2015, and the first boys squad since 2010.

Polo girls look to defend league title, playoff run with strong squad

The water polo girls have their heights set high once again after a semifinal finish in the inaugural

NorCal championships last season. Led by seniors Kate McCarthy and Bella Moynihan, the squad will attempt to repeat for their third straight MCAL championship later this fall under coach Gina Castagnola.

The team has begun with a strong preseason schedule, with matches against high profile opponents Acalanes, semifinalists in last year’s NCS D1 playoffs, and
Carondelet, the other semifinalist in the NorCal playoffs last year.

“We want to win MCAL this year,” McCarthy said. “Our expectation as a team is to continuously work on our personal and team goals.”

Many of the girls have played with each other since elementary school, giving the squad a strong sense of cohesion.
“This is the best girls water polo team Drake has had for years,” McCarthy said.
The team has been promoted to D1 for the 2018 season, adding to the strength of schedule; fighting for titles will be harder than ever.

“With our group of girls, we can conquer a lot this season,” McCarthy said.

Water polo boys searching for trophies in rebuilding year

The water polo boys have a lot to live up to after graduating an historic class last year.

The team won the first ever NorCal championships in 2017, following memorable MCAL and NCS titles.
Seven of the titleholders now play as freshmen in college.

While reaching the heights of last year may be improbable, the current squad isn’t fazed with the task at hand.

“Even though we graduated the seven best players on the team, we still have a lot going for us,” junior Ray Holmberg said.

The team will be led by seniors Logan Anderson and Nick Berry. Juniors Holmberg, Ian Christie, Mason Barnes, and Mac Bihn lead the way for the next generation.

“A lot of the guys have been playing together since fourth grade,” Holmberg said. “We have gotten a lot of additions to the team, and the experience that we lost last year is still here.”

The team plans on defending their NCS title, but competition will be stiff with a strong group of East Bay sides as the main competitors.

Edging closer to league play, the team is currently 5-4, after a strong early schedule against teams from all over California.