The boys team gets off to a hot start in a meet earlier this season. Photo courtesy of Sally Li. 

By Connor Van Ligten

At the Crystal-Springs Belmont course on Friday, November 3rd, the Menlo Cross Country Team turned in a performance for the ages in WBAL finals, clinching a CCS berth for both the Boys and Girls teams. Senior Robert Miranda broke both a league record and his own personal record, finishing first overall with a time of 15:01.

Freshman Kamran Murray’s time of 16:01 was a personal best, breaking the freshman league record in a stellar 3rd place finish. Due to team time, the boys team’s fifth place finish punched their ticket to CCS. Junior Josh Eichbaum, freshman Justin Creamer, junior Alejandro Ross, freshman Egan Lai, and senior Thomas Yang finished 17th, 29th, 48th, and 49th, respectively, with times of 17:04, 18:00, 18:20, 19:12, and 19:23.

The varsity girls team turned in another top-tier finish, netting first overall. Sophomore Kyra Pretre finished second overall with a time of 18:23. Charlotte Tomkinson, also a sophomore, finished 5th overall with a personal best of 19:09. Freshman Marisa Castagna finished 11th with a personal record of 19:57. Sophomore Katie Aufricht, freshman Gabby Kogler, sophomore Amanda Foster, and sophomore Cameron Boom finished 17th, 18th, 22nd, and 31st, respectively, with times of 20:51, 20:53, 21:04, and 21:39 respectively.

Overall, both teams turned in an amazing finish, in which every runner broke their personal record for the course. With both teams in CCS Finals, the Knights will be looking to capture titles for the girls and boys squads on Saturday, November 11th, in the Toro Park course in Salinas.