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Twin titles for Pumas Maria Carrillo girls and boys win league crowns; next up: NCS championships at Hayward Saturday, November 13, 2004 By DEWEY FORGET THE PRESS DEMOCRAT When it comes to North Bay League cross country, Maria Carrillo rules. The Pumas captured the boys and the girls league championships Friday at Spring Lake. The girls finished well ahead of Montgomery and Rancho Cotate, and later in the afternoon the Pumas ran away with the boys competition. Montgomery was second and Santa Rosa third. Next stop for the Pumas: The North Coast Section meet, Nov. 20th at Hayward, where they will tackle the top cross country teams in Northern California, including Miramonte and Campolinda, which are both state ranked in the boys and girls divisions. The Maria Carrillo girls are ranked No.1 in the state in Div. III, and the Maria Carrillo boys are ranked sixth. Both teams finished the league season undefeated at 14-0, and both are 28-0 in league over the past two seasons. "This may be the best girls team I've had at Carrillo," said longtime Pumas coach Danny Aldridge. "I've had teams run faster times here at Spring Lake, but from first through five, this is the best. "Many programs have an outstanding runner now and then, but we stress team." Carrillo's Kristen Sanzari pulled off a mild upset, running the 2.97-mile course in 18:05, outfinishing teammate Leanne Fogg by a scant 10 meters. Race favorite Amy Robinson, the Pumas' team captain, was fourth behind Rancho Cotate's Shannon Rich. "I had a side ache and couldn't shake it until the final 800 meters," a disappointed Robinson said. "I ate pasta just before the race. I don't know if that was the problem." Running over a muddy course, Sanzari, a sophomore, led from start to finish, but it wasn't easy. She was pressed by Fogg every step. At the 1¼-mile split, Sanzari's lead was about 20 meters; but by the 2-mile mark, Fogg had cut the lead in half. "She (Fogg) came up next to me and we ran that way the final mile until the last hill, then we both went all out," Sanzari said. Fogg, also a sophomore, may be the most improved Puma runner, and this may have been her best effort. "I do better with more training." Fogg said. "In the bigger meets, I have more adrenaline." As expected, Dawit Tesfasilassie, Piner's top runner, easily took the boys race. His time of 15:31 was the ninth best all-time at Spring Lake, behind Ukiah's Ryan Mack, who owns the course record of 14:50. The Carrillo boys took five of the first six places. Alex Wolf-Root was second, Michael Brew third, Tim Cumbo fourth, Logan Ensign fifth and Diego Moulton was sixth. Andy Roth, a wrestler who uses cross country for conditioning, ran a respectable ninth for the Pumas. Very little separates the top five Pumas runners. A range of 17-28 seconds has been the normal spread, and against Cardinal Newman in a dual meet during the season, the difference was just 13 seconds. "We do run a very tight spread," said Wolf-Root, who finished ahead of Brew for the first time this year. "I guess I'm just a good mudder." Aldridge, who has had his share of top runners, including his daughter Jenny, said this boys team is one of his best because of their great camaraderie. "They are very supportive of each other. Since we don't have a great individual runner, they have to rely on each other," he said.
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