Huge Wins for Cross Country, a Shout-Out in the San Jose Mercury News, and JV Football Remains Undefeated

Cross country stars Corey Gonzales, grade 11, and Niki Iyer, grade 9, sailed to victories this past week, with each defeating last year’s league champions for their victories. Iyer won plaudits in the San Jose Mercury News for her previous wire-to-wire varsity win at the Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs. The junior varsity football team remains undefeated after a blowout win, and girls golf is preparing for their CCS qualifier this Wednesday. Here are the scores and results from mid-October:

 

HUGE WINS FOR GONZALES AND IYER

At Bayland Park last week,  Gonzales defeated the previous year’s league champion by 10 seconds, running the fifth best mark in the 5 km course’s history for the win. Gonzales raced to victory by cruising through the early portion of the race, then kicking it into high gear to sprint past the only other runner who had stayed with the leaders on his way to a final time of 16:15.

 

Iyer continued her hot streak, setting a course record for the 5 km by besting last year’s league champion and winning by a whole minute. Claudia Tischler, grade 12, finished sixth in the varsity race. The runners will compete in the league finals on Thursday.

 

FRESHMAN PHENOM MAKES THE MERC

Iyer made the San Jose Mercury News just a couple of weeks into her inaugural high school season. She was featured in “After School,” The Merc’s blog for high school sports in Santa Clara and San Mateo, after winning the varsity girls individual race title at the Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs. Despite being “super, super nervous” in anticipation of the race, Iyer leapt out ahead of the pack and lead wire-to-wire, never trailing. Her time was the fifth fastest to-date of all CCS runners this year and the 10th best for any freshman ever in the course’s 70 years of existence. As the San Jose Mercury News’ Darren Sabedra reported, Iyer was simply aiming to finish in the top 10 with a time under 19 minutes. Instead, she finished first with a time of 18 minutes and 3 seconds, trumping the old Harker mark by 50 seconds in a performance that Harker athletic director Dan Molin called “truly elite level.” “Oh man, it was amazing,” Iyer was quoted as saying. “I didn’t expect this at all.”

 

The article can be accessed here: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/hssports/2013/10/15/menlo-girls-tennis-team-wins-200th-league-match-in-a-row-mitty-and-valley-christian-to-clash-in-volleyball-showdown/.

 

THE TEAM’S FUTURE

 This fall, Julia Amick, grade 7, took first place in the grade 7/8 division at the WBAL Middle School Cross Country Meet at Hallmark Park, and will complement Iyer’s efforts next year.

 

GIRLS STAY AT .500

The girls’ record in league play now stands at an even 3-3 after a 4-3 loss to Sacred Heart and a 6-1 victory over Notre Dame San Jose last week. This week, the girls go on to play Menlo and Crystal Springs. Their match against Crystal Springs this Thursday is the team’s senior day. A ceremony will follow the game at 5:30 p.m.

 

GIRLS DROP ONE PRIOR TO CCS QUALIFIER

Last Tuesday, Lady Eagle golfers dropped their match against Castilleja, despite senior Kristine Lin’s 36. Congratulate Lin and her fellow senior Connie Li on their years at Harker, and wish the team well this Wednesday. The CCS qualifier is today, so wish them luck!

 

AFTER 1-1 WEEK, GIRLS NOW OWN 10-7 RECORD

Girls volleyball lost to Presentation on Monday in straight games, then bounced back with a three-set victory against Mercy San Francisco on Friday. After the split week, their record now stands at 10-7 overall. The girls will hit this road this week to play Sacred Heart Prep and Castilleja.

 

BOTH TEAMS LOSE TO FREMONT

Both the girls and boys water polo teams lost to Fremont last week, with the girls dropping their game by a margin of 7-1 and the boys losing 8-6. For the girls, Anushka Das, grade 11, was the only scorer, while Helene Dworak, grade 10, had eight saves in goal. For the gents, Billy Bloomquist, grade 11, led the team with four goals, and Eric Holt, grade 11, added another two. The water polo teams will host Wilcox this Thursday at the Singh Aquatic Center at Harker.

 

JV STAYS UNDEFEATED

The junior varsity football squad crushed Lynbrook on Friday 34-8 to remain undefeated through three games. This Saturday, they’ll look to extend that streak to four against North Monterey County High School.

 

On Thursday, varsity cross country runs in league finals at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park. Girls varsity tennis plays their senior day against Crystal Springs at 3:30 p.m. at the Decathlon Club, followed by a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Both girls volleyball teams play Castilleja School, with junior varsity playing at 4:30 and varsity playing at 5:45 p.m. All three water polo are also in action against Wilcox High School at the Singh Aquatic Center. The girls varsity water polo team leads off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity boys at 5:45 p.m., and the boys varsity water polo team at 6:45 p.m. All teams are off on Friday, but Saturday, junior varsity football has an away game at North Monterey County High School.

 

GO EAGLES!