By Ella Mahan
Staff Writer
Mira Costa cross country teams ran over the competition at Bay League Finals, winning Bay League and earning a spot in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) preliminaries.
Girls and boys Mira Costa cross country won five out of the six races overall at the Bay League Finals on Nov. 7 at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach.
“Bay League finals on Thursday was an excellent marker for our team,” senior Pnina Tofler said. “CIF and State are so close, so Bay League finals were a great way for us to gauge our team dynamics.”
The varsity girls team raced after the junior varsity boys team, and the Mustangs came in first overall. Senior Tia Pappas was the first Costa runner to finish the race, with a time of 18:38, and placed fifth overall. Sophomore Kayla Kershaw was Costa’s second finisher, in sixth place overall, one second behind Pappas. Tofler came in seventh place at 18:49, with sophomore Ella Parsley finishing close behind Tofler at a time of 18:57.
“We did really well securing the league title by 19 points over PV, who was last year’s winner,” sophomore Seamus O’Meara said. “The race started very fast, but we powered through that challenge in addition to three tough hills to get the win. Next we have CIF prelims, and we hope to do well enough there to advance to CIF finals, then hopefully the state meet.”
The girls varsity team beat Palos Verdes High School, which took first last year, by five seconds. The girls ran as a pack for the majority of the race, which ultimately led them to secure the overall win, according to Pappas.
“I felt like the race went well,” Pappas said. “My team’s main goal was to stay as a pack and be toward the front of the race, and we accomplished that. The race was hard because there were a lot of hills, but I thought that I was able to do very well.”
Boys varsity placed first overall in the fastest race of the night, with senior Billy Atkinson finishing in third place with a time of 15:23. Junior Cormac Carew finished in fifth place at 15:41, with senior Alexander Fiorito coming in sixth place at 15:46, and junior Colin Beale in ninth place at 15:49.
“The team ran okay,” Atkinson said. “It wasn’t the best race for everyone, but we still managed to win the Bay League and get a good training effect for the off-season [and the CIF prelims].”
O’Meara also followed closely behind his teammates during the boys varsity race, finishing in fourteenth place at 16:05. The final runners on boys varsity, senior Thomas Velvin and senior Caleb Hong, finished in sixteenth and seventeenth, respectively.
“I feel proud of myself, and I feel that I did well because although it was a difficult race, I stayed in it and I kept a positive mindset [throughout the race],” Pappas said. “This was my final race in the Bay League, and it felt really good to do well because it is my senior year.”
For boys varsity, Atkinson was the overall top performer for Costa, helping secure the first-place team finish in the fastest heat of the night. Pappas was the top performer for girls varsity, coming in fifth, also helping the Mustangs earn the first-place team finish.
“Next race we will be in a much larger field, so if we want to get good results we are going to have to take control and run as a tight pack,” Atkinson said.
Both girls and boys varsity teams made it to the CIF preliminaries, and many runners beat personal bests throughout the day. This meet was the last of the season for many runners, as varsity members are the only runners to compete in the CIF meets this post-season, beginning today.
“We are currently seeded first in our heat, so teamwork is the leading goal,” Tofler said. “Also, we are trying to get our times faster as a group, which means keeping even paces for the entire race. On Friday, we hope to move up as a group and advance into CIF finals.”
Leave a Reply