North Monterey County High School is proud to present the 19^th Annual Earlybird Invitational! We’re set once again for Toro Park, site of next year’s CCS Championship in Salinas. Over 50 teams and 2,000 athletes anxiously await the Saturday, Sept. 7^th tradition rich event! Races will be held by grade levels with combined team times being used for overall bragging rights. This may be the most competitive early-season meet in the state of California with many state and section ranked teams and individuals. Our traditional line-up of powerhouse squads from the north and central part of the state continues. The Central Coast Section will shine with 21 out of the top 25 ranked boys’ squads clashing here including 11 out of the top 12!!! The ladies from CCS aren’t far behind with 6 out of the top 10 and 19 out of the top 25! The Central, North Coast, Sac Joaquin, and the Northern Section will also send some of their best including several squads ranked in the top 3 in their section and state ranked squads that always break up the CCS party. As cross country is a true team sport, we’ll start by highlighting the top teams followed by the top individuals.

For the GIRLS, CCS tradition rich squads square off early on here with 4 defending section championship teams with two potential spoilers from the CS and NS!! San Lorenzo Valley (#2 CCS) returns to defend their Earlybird title after winning CCS in DIV and comes in ranked 2nd overall in CCS but as our favorites here. After a fine summer where we saw them first hand working hard at Mammoth Lakes and Toro Park, the ladies from SLV have a cupboard full of experienced harriers led by one of the best in the country! They will also have the services of an all-state transfer later on in the year! They should put on quite the show here and could walk away with an incredible 5^th state title later on! League rival Aptos (#1 CCS) starts the season on top on paper after their CCS win in DIII and will surely have a squad that can take down our favorites. Lying low a tad early on may cost them here but may be a benefit when the chips are down in November. West Valley (NS), with a section title to their credit, & Madera South (CS), with the hardest working summer program, will spoil the CCS party with both teams returning 5 girls! St. Ignatius (#5 CCS), the 4^th placer from last year, always brings their army to Earlybird. Menlo Atherton (#6 CCS), Monta Vista (#8 CCS), & Los Altos (#10 CCS) round out the top ranked squads. Although, keep an eye on San Benito (#16 CCS), they usually come out of the gates hard and could mix it up. They were 2^nd here last year. Other CCS teams looking for a top 10 finish include Carlmont, Valley Christian, Scotts Valley, Willow Glen, Fremont, Homestead, Santa Catalina (Def CCS DV Champs), The King’s Academy, Greenfield, & Santa Cruz.

The senior girls’ race has all-everything Anna Maxwell (SLV) returning to go after her 3^rd Earlybird win! The reigning STATE CHAMPION in the mile with a stunning personal best of 4:42 on the oval has the tools to take a shot at any course record this year. She made the National Footlocker Championships 2 years back as well as the World Junior Track Championships this past spring and seeks a redemption season after a sub-par showing for her late last year. Last year she blazed a 5:26 slight uphill first mile here for a commanding 17:28 win and we’ll see what’s in store this final time for her. Teammate Claire MacMillan (SLV) may tag along for a bit and should roll after a fine 18:24 at CCS here last year! She was spotted a couple of weeks back touring the Toro layout over and over with thoughts of a good day here. Kendall Hacker (St. Ignatius) has been 3^rd once and 2^nd twice at Earlybird. Another top 3 showing could be in the cards after a splendid 18:29 CCS Champ effort last year! Clare Peabody (Aptos) won 2 years back and was a state finalist in the mile at 4:49! , but will now have her hands full with Anna. Abby Sherman (SLV) will give them a 3^rd girl shooting for a top 5 finish after her 3^rd place last year. Alex Lathos (Notre Dame-Salinas) has been 3^rd and 4^th here and has 2:15 speed to kick down her rivals. Lauren Shlee and Kylee Kiesow (Willow Glen) will work together nicely. Lizzy Tardieu (Santa Catalina) was a CCS champ in DV and will mix it up. Other challengers include Jessica Jensen (SLV), Daisy Jimenez (Madera South), Anna Lee (Evergreen Valley), Delaney Faggard (West Valley), Taylor Fortnam (Menlo-Atherton), and Jackie Tarsitano (Notre Dame-Salinas).

For the senior girl teams, San Lorenzo Valley dominated 2 out of the last 3 years and should put on quite the show! Look for 4-5 girls from them in the top 15!! Menlo Atherton has a good crew but will be trying to hold off St. Ignatius, West Valley, and Valley Christian for 2^nd.

The junior girls’ return 2 time Earlybird champ Jenny Xu (Monta Vista) after she stormed onto the scene 2 years back winning the 9^th grade race with a great 18:59 clocking and backed it up with a 19:12 win last year! Although, appropriately named Jenna Storms (West Valley), will literally storm onto the scene and may spoil Jenny’s streak after her section championship run last year and her 18:53 at state! Yulisa Abundis (Aptos) was 6^th last year but may climb into the top 5. Grace Ling (Lynbrook), Hannah Allen (Homestead), and Amy Quinones (San Benito) were all top 5 here last year and won’t want to give up those spots! Other top 10 challengers include Maddie McKenzie (Carmel), Karen Jimenez (Aptos), Alexa Flags (West Valley), Karina Martinez (Madera South), Michelle Watkins (Pacific Grove), Nicole Colonna (Pinewood), Lizzie Lacy (Menlo School), Julia Chang (Monta Vista), and Jessica Germany (SLV).

The team race here is wide open with a nice battle up-front between San Benito, Monta Vista, and Los Gatos. If West Valley and Aptos can find a 5^th girl by meet time they could steal the show!

The sophomore girls’ returns Jaqueline Escalera (Fremont) going for her 2^nd win after being the only 9^th grader last year under 20:00 at 19:58! It will be a difficult title defense with Lauren Jacob (Los Altos) as our favorite here! Lauren cruised to a 17:49 time at Toro last year good for 2^nd at CCS and is the class of the field. Zoe Enright (Menlo School) and Jamie Boutteae (Christopher) were 2^nd and 3^rd last year but may find it hard to duplicate that with newcomers Jonnie Montano (Madera South) and Matti Peoples (Aptos) spoiling the party! Also watch speedster Annalisa Crowe (Menlo Atherton) after her fine 2:15 800! Other top returnees include Riley Mason (Leland), Madeleine Yip (Monta Vista), Jocelyn Sosa (Greenfield), Zoe Lam (Los Gatos), Cate Ratliff (Santa Cruz), and teammates Ashley Mathews and Sarah Thompson (Santa Teresa).

The team race could be a two-team battle with Carlmont trying to hold off Menlo Atherton with Monta Vista and St. Ignatius chasing.

The freshman girls’ race kicks off the meet and could immediately make decent teams great teams! We never have much information on the young ones but keep an eye on Franki Navarro (Madera South) after her 9^th grade course record run at the Dennis Dewitt Invite in Madera!

The BOYS from the Central Coast Section are not afraid to meet early on here with 11 out of the top 12 ranked teams toeing the line in week 1!! That being said, our pre meet favorites make yet another trek to what are now familiar stomping grounds from the Central Section of California. Although the CCS showed well before 2002 with top performances by Bellarmine (1998), San Benito (1999), and Aptos (2000 & 2001), other sections have been taking home most bragging rights for quite some time. From 2002-2007 the titles went to Central Section powerhouse Madera. In 2008, Redondo Union rolled into town from the Southern Section and dethroned the Central Valley kings. CCS stormed back in 2009 & 2010 with Bellarmine highlighting. Two years back Madera South, headed by Coach Rich Parris who led Madera to its streak, held off the Bells for a thrilling 80:31 to 80:43 win and both teams repeated the feat last year with Madera South running exactly 80:31 once again to tie their time that ranks 3^rd fastest ever at the park!!! The performances by Madera South and Bellarmine have made them Earlybird legends! So what’s in store for 2013? Much of the same!! We have 4 squads currently ranked in the top 30 overall in state! We called a Madera South victory last year and it held true and we are going with Madera South from the Central Section as favorites to defend their title once again! After a couple of top 10 finishes at the State Meet in Division 1, the Stallions look to get into the truly elite teams and take home a state plaque this year. Some may say it can’t be after losing their #1 man to graduation but the heart of the team returns and they’ve added some of the top 9^th and 10^th grade runners in the state to their line-up! Plus, a couple of role-players last year have now become team leaders joining their already battle tested front runners! Watch out! Division I rivals Bellarmine (#1 CCS) and Carlmont (#2 CCS) counter for the CCS after placing 9^th and 10^th at state respectively. Bellarmine has the upper hand on paper of the two local powers and could pose a threat to Madera South through 3 runners but their 4^th and 5^th may seal their fate here. They feature the greatest depth in the state with the usual army of 120-130 boys! Carlmont comes in after yet another coaching change and we’ll see how the crew reacts to that plus the loss of one of their top guys to a transfer. They always seem to find a way to put it together come CCS and are the defending section champions. Homestead (#3 CCS) will find itself in new territory this year starting the season highly ranked and we’ll see how the team handles the added pressure all season. Los Altos (#5 CCS) returns an interesting mix of runners that had their year of development and should enjoy a year of competitiveness at the elite levels.  Other top 10 CCS ranked teams include Los Gatos (#6), Lynbrook (#7), Saratoga (#8), Leland (#9) and Aptos (#10). Other teams hoping to break up the pedigree chart include San Benito, Scotts Valley, West Valley, Alisal, Seaside, Escalon, Monta Vista, St. Ignatius, Sobrato, Willow Glen, Wilcox, Santa Teresa, and host North Monterey County.

The senior boys’ will have a first time winner as the last 3 champions are not here. Don’t be fooled by that! The field is loaded with many returning challengers along with top late developing elite guys that will provide a truly memorable race! Terence Rabuzzi (Los Altos) was 2^nd last year and will hope for one spot better after a sizzling 15:46 run at state last year. But, he was bested by Scott Edwards (Scotts Valley) with a 15:44 run plus he added a magnificent 4:12 mile at state in track good for 7^th overall! If those two are only thinking about each other then our dark horse pick for the win is quickly improving Michael Marquez (Madera South). Not on the radar last year he may just take the win here! A few Earlybird veterans including Cooper Sloan (Homestead), Steven Velarde (San Benito), and David Garcia (Madera South) who have had to play second fiddle many years will have to rely on sheer will and experience. Raymond Meijer (Bellarmine) had a nice spring and should also be ready to roll here. If the pace is slow keep an eye on our 800 meter specialists Brandon Sutton (Homestead), Galdino Bravo (Sequoia), and Jesus Covarrubias (Wilcox) who ran 1:54, 1:56, and 1:57 respectively! Other top talents to watch include Arthur Schulte (Carlmont), Justin Barry (Bellarmine), Matt Seidel (Bellarmine), Ryan Dimick (Carlmont), Rohit Sarathy (Lynbrook), Zechariah Snel (Seaside), James Welsh (Monterey), Jacob Hicks (SLV), Andrew Blankley (Bellarmine), Giorgio Liantano (Homestead), and Nick Risner (Santa Teresa).    

Bellarmine put on a show 3 years ago winning the freshmen team race by 70 points, 2 years ago winning the sophomore race by 73 points, and last year winning the junior race by 85 points with these senior guys!!! At this rate they may win this one by 100 points! Hoping to keep Bellarmine within 100 points will be Los Altos, Homestead, Carlmont, and Monta Vista.

The junior boys’ have 2 separate champs locking horns for the coveted 2^nd win! Returning champ Steven Sum (Saratoga) is favored to do so! Steven has a personal best of 15:32 at Toro as a 10^th grader and should have a magnificent year as he hopes to improve on his current 21^st fastest ever at the park! Chris Foster (Los Gatos) won 2 years back and was 2^nd last year. Look for a great battle up-front early on! After them it could look like a Bellarmine and Madera South dual meet with Miles Meijer, Alex Sasser, and Tucker Meijer (Bellarmine) trying to out dual Juan Macias, Luis Becerra, and Daniel Perez (Madera South). Edgar Bonilla (King City) and Jose Gonzalez (Seaside) are two locals hoping to break up the team fest. Also watch Samuel Blake (Westmont), Ryan Burd (Bellarmine), Andy Shen (Lynbrook), Joey Gronovius (Homestead), Jacob Garrissere (Santa Teresa) and host school teammates Oscar Mora and William Samples (North Monterey County).

Bellarmine won the 10^th grade race last year by 102 points and are heavy, heavy favorites once again! Teams hoping to stay remotely close include Carlmont, Saratoga, Madera South, and King City.

The sophomore boys are shaping up to be very intriguing as many young pups have developed nicely and could take the win here! Our favorite is defending champ Eduardo Herrera (Madera South). The young stallion is already battle tested after a year of varsity state level running as a 9^th grader and should be ready to rock and roll! Not afraid to push the pace we could see a magnificent effort here early on in the day as cool temperatures may still be around! A couple of young talents who both blitzed a 15:56 time at Toro could play spoilers. They are Ben Zaeske (Los Altos) and Justin Robinson (Lynbrook). Patrick Olson (Aptos) leads a nice crew for them. Marcus Avila (Bellarmine) blazed a 1:57 800 as a 9^th grader and could hang on for the ride here until the kick! Others to watch include Stephen Crowe (Los Gatos), Juan Gutierrez (San Benito), Brent Mogensen (Monta Vista), Alex Sasser (Bellarmine), Kevin Lehr (St. Ignatius), Andreas Godderis (Los Altos), Gabe Cheek (West Valley), Christopher Reed (Homestead), Joey Johnson (Leland), Elijah Changco (San Benito) Shawn Silverman (Lynbrook), Dennis Mandudzo (Menlo School), Sanjay Mohan (Los Gatos), Daniel Dabel (Homestead), and host school teammates Freddy Torres and Owen Ibarra (North Monterey County).

We have a great team battle shaping up here with Bellarmine trying to hold off fast closing Los Altos, San Benito, and Homestead!   

The freshmen boys’ race welcomes the stars of the future although this year we feature one star that is already shining brightly! Remember this name, Miguel Villar (Madera South). Miguel is fresh off a class meet record romp at his team’s home invite last week and will now test himself at the storied Toro Park layout! It should be quite the show from a youngster. We’ll see if any brave young souls go with the hot pace.

Bellarmine as a team has an army and will take on any challengers each and every year!

Ever since the CCS meet has moved to Toro Park on alternating years the park records have been constantly taking hits! The freshly set course record of 15:02 by CCS star Yohaness Estifanos (Milpitas-2012) should be safe today. Instead, the top guns here will be shooting to eclipse the 15:34 mark to make the all-time top 25 list! Steven Sum (Saratoga) is already on the list and hopes to improve his 15:32 best and we’re looking at 2-3 other guys that could do that this weekend, especially in the senior boys’ race! For the ladies, Tori Tyler (Gunn-2004) blazed a 17:16 course record and threw down a mark that we thought may be out of reach. Anna Maxwell (SLV) had other thoughts and tore the course up on way to a 17:28 2^nd best ever at the park last year. We will watch the clock closely and see if Anna takes a shot today! To make the top 25, the elite girls will have to run 18:24 which is quite challenging this early in the season.

As far as team time records are concerned, the boys from Carlmont dazzled last year at the CCS Championships with a first ever sub 80:00 clocking at the park with a standing course record of 79:58. Madera South has given the park record a great scare the last 2 years at Earlybird and may have the hands on deck here to take a shot once again. It will take a very special day from their 4^th and 5^th men to get it done but they do have the crew to pull it off especially if the weather cooperates! Madera South will need to average 15:59 for their top 5 and may pull it off! Bellarmine and Carlmont could also be within a minute or two of the record! The girls’ team time record of 96:01 set by Los Gatos 6 years ago averaging 19:12 for their top 5 girls seems within reach of San Lorenzo Valley if they are ready to roll, especially with Maxwell leading! If they don’t get it here they certainly could get it later on with their added transfer if they return to the park in full force! To crack the top ten team times ever at Toro Park, boys’ teams will have to break 81:39 and girls’ teams 98:30. Good luck to all and we hope you enjoy the meet!

THE 2013 19^TH EARLYBIRD WILL BE THE BEST EVER, GUARANTEED!

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