GHS girls x-country team receives at-large spot in Saturday’s
meet.
GILROY – The Gilroy High girls cross country team got a big surprise Wednesday as the Lady Mustangs received an at-large bid to go to the CCS meet at Toro Park this Saturday. Instead of top runners Stephanie Radtke and Christina Hernandez going alone, the entire girls team will join them.
“I’m very happy for the girls,” said head coach Wayne Scott, whose squad heads to Saturday’s section meet for the third consecutive season. “This is a big event for the program – especially considering where we started this season.”
In August, there were only commitments from two girls to run cross country – senior captain Sayako Uchida and returning sophomore Stephanie Radtke. No other girls seemed interested in coming out.
“When I left Gilroy for the summer, I thought that the girls cross country team was in relatively good shape with eight to 10 girls who would be running,” Scott said. “In August, those girls disappeared. One moved out of the district, one went to a private school, a couple went out for other sports and some just refused to even give it a try. With only two girls out and needing at least five for a team, the recruiting started in earnest.”
Sophomore stand-out Christina Hernandez was the first to join.
“Some of the kids were telling me about Christina who was running a few miles a couple of times a week with her dad,” Scott said. “Christina has been a great addition for this team. She ran in junior high but did not run last year. She has been a good runner and has been a great training partner for Stephanie.
“Christina is a great all-around athlete and has developed steadily throughout the season,” the coach added. “She has great potential as a runner and is now a serious consideration for other teams looking to beat us.”
The next to come out was senior Jennifer Bennett – who was talked into coming out by her brother, Steven, a member of the boys squad.
“Jen is much more of a jumper/hurdler-type than a distance runner,” Scott said. “The fact that she managed to stay out, help the team and complete the season is a major accomplishment.”
The last girl to come out was freshmann Claire Matt – who tried out for the volleyball team in the fall. After not making the spikers, Matt, encouraged by her parents, decided to give cross country a whirl.
“Claire has made much improvement this year and has some potential to be a good high school runner if she ever takes it seriously,” Scott said. “The big sell for Claire was that she could earn a varsity letter after being cut from the JV volleyball team. Now she not only is going to earn that letter, she is going to get a CCS participation pin as well. How many freshmen can claim that?”
After completing the regulard season with a 1-4 record, the Lady Mustangs came on strong at the league finals – finishing in third place and, ultimately, earning the at-large bid with the showing. Now, the five-runner squad is headed to CCS.
“This is a great opportunity for our underclassmen to see what some of the best runners in the state look like and how they stack up against them,” Scott said. “It blows my mind that the girls cross country team has such trouble getting girls out. As far as I know, the girls cross country team is the only Gilroy team to go to CCS the last three consecutive years. With that level of success, we may be the best program on campus that no one knows about.
“Couple that with the fact that cross country is one of only a handful of sports where a freshman has a real shot at earning a varsity letter and I don’t get it,” Scott said. “I’ll be back next year. I know that the girls running programs (cross country and track) at Gilroy are the sleeping giants on this campus. This is my second year here and I’ll stay around to see what happens next.”
