Fast Times Abound at Lowell Invite 9/19/09 The story of the day came from a highly talented boy's Junior Varsity team which placed 8th out of 14 teams in their heat. Sophomore's Kevin Hill and Manny Avila led the team with times of 17:08 and 17:25 respectively for the 2.8 mile course. Freshman Josh Pitkofsky and sophomores Jesse Boyle and Bhavin Tandel rounded out the race, all with personal bests of 18:10, 18:50, and 19:41. Sophomore Manny Avila with a 38 overall place

Junior Danny Ragio led the Varisty men's squad with a school best of 17:01, with seniors Erik Deleon, Thomas Merritt, Sergio Mendoza and Sampson Tupua rounding out the squad. For the Fresh/Soph race, freshman Jacob Toms and sophomore Nicholas Blanck ran 15:28 and 17:50 respectively for the shortened 2.1 mile course. On the women's side, freshman Sherry Sanders led the team with a time of 22:24 for 2.8 miles, while senior Stasi Borissenko and junior Natalia Murillo followed close behind. The next race for the Sequoia XC teams will be at the Westmoor Ram Invitational, next Saturday the 26th, with races beginning at 9am.

Serious Talent Displayed at Westmoor Ram Invite 9/27/09 On an unusually hot day in Daly City, the Sequoia Cross Country teams continued to flex their muscles and display new personal bests across the board. Sophomore’s Kevin Hill and Manny Avila placed 23rd and 29th

Freshman Josh Pitkofsky finished in a very respectable 51

in the 171 runner field for the 2.4 mile course in blistering-fast times of 15:14 and 15:20.

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place with a time of 15:43, and sophomore’s Jesse Boyle and Bhavin Tandel rounded out the top 5 with swift finishes of 16:14 and 17:07. Avila and Hill obtained medals for their performances, while Pitkofsky, a freshman who is exceeding expectations this season, was within seconds of obtaining another. Boyle and Tandel continued to improve on the season with inspiring kicks that stunned the competition. Freshman Jacob Toms flourished in a momentous downhill spurt and finished with a time in 17:51, while sophomore Nicholas Blanck rounded out the junior squad with evenly-paced mile splits.

On the varsity girls side Brittney Dehoyos and freshman Sherry Sanders ran new personal bests with times of 18:20 and 18:47, while junior Natalia Murillo crossed the line in frenetic fashion, narrowly-edging out a competing runner. Yet again the story of the day remained with junior Danny Raggio and the boy’s varsity team. Raggio ran another team-best time, this one in a lightning fast 14:54 for the hilly 2.4 miles. Raggio’s kick at the end was so tremendous, competing coaches marveled at his tenacity. Senior Erik Deleon continued his trend of 2nd place finishes while Captain Thomas Merritt continued to find his stride amidst tough conditions. Senior’s Sampson Tupua, Levi Portillo and Sergio Mendoza rounded out the squad which placed a healthy 12th

place out of 19 teams in its heat.

The Sequoia Cross Country Teams will see competition twice in a four day span as they take on the Artichoke Invitational on Saturday October 3rd, then compete in the 2nd PAL League Meet on Tuesday October 6th.

Freshman Sherry Sanders blows by the competition at the Ram Invite

Sequoia Makes Strides at Artichoke Invite 10/4/09 Senior Brittney Dehoyos, in her first season as a varsity runner, ran a team-best 18:07 on September 10, 2009. This past Saturday, just 23 days later, she shattered that mark by finishing in a staggering 16 minutes and 39 seconds, a 7:00 minute mile average. The course at Half Moon Bay High School, 2.34 miles long and with a challenging wall in the middle known simply as “the hill” is a formidable foe for many a runner – yet the Sequoia XC teams proved this weekend that the results are speaking for themselves. After Dehoyos, freshman runners Gaia Bouchard-Hall and Sherry Sanders faced varsity competition and held their own. Bouchard-Hall finished with a sub-18 minute time of 17:52 and Sanders finished just 16 seconds later, continuing a consistent record of improving every single race thus far. Senior Stasi Borissenko rounded out the girls varsity team with another consistent time. For the fresh / soph team sophomore Manny Avila ran the fastest time for a Sequoia athlete when he clocked 14:41 for the course, picking off runners for the duration of the race. Fellow sophomore Jesse Boyle dropped 31 seconds from his previous time with he finished in 15:19, while freshman Josh Pitkofsky continued to impress with a time of 15:38. Sophomore Bhavin Tandel continued his own streak of improvement with a clocking of 15:59 while freshman Jacob Toms rounded out the squad with a time of 17:01. Sophomore Nicholas Blanck was the final Sequoia runner to cross the line. The varsity team saw a new top finisher when senior Erik Deleon finished in a time of 14:57, while top junior Danny Raggio followed close behind in 14:59. Deleon has dropped his mile average every race, while Raggio has started this season well ahead of expectations and looks to surprise many schools come championship week. Thomas Merritt finished next in 15:29, while fellow senior Sampson Tupua and junior Omar Garcia finished close behind, each under 16:30. The Sequoia squads look to compete this Tuesday at Crystal Springs in an all-league meet, with varsity boys starting things off at 3:00pm.

Senior Erik Deleon with a new personal best at the Artichoke Invite

In League, Both Teams Hot -- Girls One Spot From CCS 10/6/09 In the Peninsula Athletic League there are 17 competing teams in cross country. On November 5th, all 17 teams will meet to decide qualifying champions. The top 8 teams proceed to sectionals. Today, almost exactly a month before league championships, the girls team improved to 9th

place.

This season there are only two preliminary meets before the championship race. Today’s race marked the second of the two meets. All 17 league teams were in attendance, and out of those participating the Girls Varsity team finished in 9th, while the Boys improved from 14th to 13th

position. The next 30 days will be a journey to see who can rise in the rankings enough for CCS contention.

Kevin Hill led the way for the varsity boys with a time of 18:50, while Danny Raggio and Erik Deleon paced close behind with times of 19:16 and 19:45 respectively. Thomas Merritt, Jesse Boyle and Levi Portillo rounded out the varsity squad, which finished as a team in 13th position. The team, which has been struggling recently with injuries and sickness improved in the rankings after their performance. Hill placed 47th overall, while Raggio was 55th

out of the field of more than 100 runners.

On the girls side, senior Brittney Dehoyos continued to lead the way, with a team best 22:18. Freshman Gaia Bouchard-Hall and Sherry Sanders were the next finishers with times of 23:54, and 24:07. Rebecca Hernandez and Natalia Murillo completed the scoring five for the team. The girls squad, which last year finished in last (running incomplete) is now one spot away from an automatic qualifying bid for sectionals. The next month will determine how they place at championships. For the lower-classman Manny Avila continued his streak of improvement, with a time of 19:30. Bhavin Tandel finished next in 21:22, while freshman Jacob Toms and sophomore Nicholas Blanck finished for the squad. Senior Sampson Tupua also competed with a time of 22:05 in the boys open race. The course, 2.95 miles long will be the site of league championship in 30 days time.

The top 3 Varsity Boy's Finshers ran 5:48 in tandem for the first mile of 3

Improvement Continues at Aragon’s Center Meet 1 10/18/09 Sophomore Jesse Boyle, a first year cross country runner, dropped his time by 1 minute 16 seconds as he was the fifth scorer for the varsity team this past Thursday. Boyle joined freshman Josh Pitkofsky (19:51), sophomore Kevin Hill (19:50) and junior Danny Raggio (19:20) as varsity scorers for the race. Sophomore Manny Avila continued to drop his season-best mark by running in 18:34 and finishing first for the Sequoia squad. Seniors Erik Deleon and Levi Portillo rounded out the varsity team, with Portillo dropping his season best by 22 seconds. Senior Brittney DeHoyos continued her streak of improvement as well, as she lowered her season-best from 22:18 to 21:45. DeHoyos joined freshmen Gaia Bouchard-Hall (23:10) and Sherry Sanders (24:04) in improving their crystal springs course times. Seniors Rebecca Hernandez and Stasi Borissenko with junior Natalia Murillo rounded out the varsity team for the girls. Sophomore Bhavin Tandel, freshman Jacob Toms and Sophomore Nocholas Blanck also competed, as the fresh/soph squad looked to rebound from a week ago. Both varsity teams lowered their summative team times (the top 5 scorers times) with the boys lowering it by 1:39 and the girls by 25 seconds. Both teams look to continue to improve as they race at Aragon’s 2nd

center meet this Thursday October 22.

Senior Brittney DeHoyos and freshman Gaia Bouchard-Hall run mile 1 in 6:56

Top 10 Finishes, New Personal Bests: Success Abounds 10/23/09

Sherry Sanders had shown steady improvement through the six races this season, settling into a comfortable niche as the team’s third runner. Her personal best of 24:04 was respectable for her status as a freshman, but on Thursday everything changed when she ran a scorching 22:15 for the challenging 2.95 mile course. Sherry finished 5th overall in the girl’s fresh/soph race, one place behind fellow freshman Gaia Bouchard-Hall, who finished in 22:12 while also improving her season best by nearly a minute.

The remaining girls also improved: Stasi Borissenko, Rebecca Hernandez and Natalia Murillo all broke the 30 minute mark on the same day for the course.

Junior Danny Raggio also set a new personal best when he finished in 18:43. This mark placed him as one of the team’s elite as he broke the 19 minute barrier for the first time in his life. Senior Sampson Tupua also dropped seconds, finishing under 22 minutes himself.

The story of the day would not be complete without mentioning the tremendous talent the younger top runners had on the course. Nicholas Blanck finished under 26 minutes for the first time this season. Sophomore Bhavin Tandel crossed in 20:37, nearly 2 minutes faster than a week ago. Fellow sophomore Jesse Boyle improved by nearly a minute when he crossed in 19:38, while teammate Kevin Hill crossed in 19:32 in 34th place overall. Freshman Josh Pitkofsky shed serious time when he crossed in 19:15, a full 35 second improvement for the year.

Above all, sophomore Manny Avila wowed audiences with a 6th place finish from the more than 113 runner field when he finished in 17:49. Leaving runners in his wake with a punishing 6-minute mile pace, Avila helped Sequoia land a 6th place finish out of 15 teams, one point behind the 5th place opponent.

Sequoia hopes to continue this streak of improvement as they visit the third and final Center Meet next Thursday. With only two weeks until championships, the excitement is building to see what records will be broken next.

Kevin Hill and Manny Avila crossed the first mile in 5:30

As League Finals Near, Competition Heats Up 10/30/09

Varsity runner Stasi Borissenko has been a consistent force this season, steadily improving her time through the 8 races so far. After the final Center Meet yesterday, Stasi broke through in a big way: she dropped her personal best time by 1 minute 44 seconds! For this accomplishment Stasi helps the varsity girls team which finished ninth out of all 17 league teams in early October. With such standouts as Britney DeHoyos, Gaia Bouchard-Hall and Sherry Sanders running top times this season, Borissenko adds depth and rounds out a varsity squad set to make sectionals for the first time in almost a decade.

Freshmen Bouchard-Hall and Sanders finished ahead of Borissenko yesterday, with times of 22:01 and 23:40 respectively. Junior Natalia Murillo was the final finisher for the girls varsity squad.

Sophomore Manny Avila once again led the school with a top finishing time of 17:57, while Junior Danny Raggio challenged him the whole race with a new personal best of 18:03. Sophomore Kevin Hill also ran a personal best as he finished third in 18:34. Senior Thomas Merritt and Freshman Josh Pitkofsky finished next on the team just over 20 minutes, while seniors Sampson Tupua and Levi Portillo continued their own streaks of improvement, rounding out the varsity boys squad.

Sophomores Jesse Boyle and Bhavin Tandel also competed, with Boyle finishing in 19:38 and Tandel crossing in 20:48. Frehman Jacob Toms finished with a new personal best of 22:57, falling under 23 minutes for the first time this season. Sophomore Nicholas Blanck was the final finisher for the boy’s junior squad.

The Sequoia Teams look to close out the season on a high note next week as they compete in the PAL Championships. After finishing in the bottom spot last season, both teams look to finish with considerable improvement from a year ago. The race kicks off at 1pm.

Sophomore Bhavin Tandel and Freshman Jacob Toms, set to race

PAL Championships brings Success, CCS 11/6/09

At the Peninsula Athletic League Championship meet on Thursday, the boys team finished 13th out of 17 schools and the girls team finished 11th out of 17. While not qualifying the teams to the sectional meet, these performances are enormous improvements over just a year ago (in 2008 the boys finished 16th and the girls incomplete). In addition, the boy’s junior varsity team finished 10th

Top runners on both sides qualified to run at sectionals based on their individual performances. Sophomore Manny Avila ran a new personal best in 17:47 and was the 38

out of 17 schools.

th fastest finisher. On the girls side, senior Brittney Dehoyos ran 22:15 and finished 33rd while Gaia Bouchard-Hall, only a freshman, ran her own personal best of 21:48 and was the 25th

Third place varsity finisher Josh Pitkofsky also ran a new personal best with a time of 18:57. This mark is the first time in his career that Josh has broken 19 minutes at Crystal Springs. Sophomore Jesse Boyle, senior Thomas Merritt and sophomore Bhavin Tandel rounded out the varsity time, with Merritt breaking his former course best of this season by three seconds.

fastest finisher overall. All three runners’ performances qualified for the sectional meet. Junior Danny Raggio, who was the second fastest finisher for the varsity team with a time of 18:05, holds the first alternate spot for qualifying for the sectional meet on the men’s side. For the women, freshman Sherry Sanders also holds the next qualifying spot with her time of 23:40. The performances displayed by these five athletes have earned them a spot with the best talent on the peninsula, and for only the second time since 1999 Sequoia will be advancing runners to the sectional meet.

On the girls side, senior Rebecca Hernandez broke her previous course best by nearly 2 minutes to finish fourth for the varsity team. Fellow senior Stasi Borissenko finished just three seconds behind. Junior Natalia Murillo also ran a new personal best, outdoing her previous mark by more than 40 seconds.

The Sequoia teams also ran a junior varsity squad with five runners finishing for a team place of 10th out of 17 schools. Senior Levi Portillo led the way with a new personal best of 21:27, beating his previous record by exactly a minute. Freshman Jacob Toms finished next for the team with junior Omar Garcia not far behind. Sophomore Nicholas Blanck, who finished 4th

The Sequoia athletes moving on to the sectional meet will compete Saturday, November 14, with races beginning at 9am. Those not moving on will look forward to an intense distance track campaign with offseason conditioning beginning soon!

for the squad set a new personal record by more than a minute. Senior Sergio Mendoza was the final scoring member for the team.

17 athletes comprised 3 squads for Sequoia