After a long season of practice and persistence, the OVS girls’ cross country team secured the Condor League championship on Wednesday with a strong showing at the league final.
The Spuds were bolstered by a first-place finish in the league final by senior Momoe Takamatsu, who outpaced all runners to earn the individual Condor League title in the three-mile race at Dunn School.
Momoe ran the fastest race of her life to win the Condor League crown, finishing in a blistering 21:11. Her nearest competitor was nearly 40 seconds behind.
“I was relieved for sure,” said Momoe, who was very emotional after the race. “I didn’t believe at first that I had won, but I worked so hard for this.”
In addition to Momoe’s fast finish, two other OVS runners, sophomore Gilim Bae and senior Vivian Yan, earned medals for their top ten finishes. Gilim finished in third place with a time of 22:43, and Vivian came in sixth with a time of 23:27.
The OVS girls came within seconds of winning the league final.
They ended up tied with Dunn School for first place in that race, but Dunn got credit for the win due to cross country’s tie-breaking system.
However, the league champion is determined by a point system that tallies team finishes for all league meets throughout the season.
Based on the girls’ performance this season — the OVS team won two of the three Condor League meets — they earned enough points to earn the Condor League title. The other members of the championship team are Iris Hou, Ally Feiss, Winnie Chang, Natalia Huang, Ellen Hou and Sunny Chang.
For OVS cross country coach Fred Alvarez, that title wasn’t as important as watching the girls learn to work as a team throughout the season, and run their best at season’s end.
“I could not be more proud of the way these girls came together this year,” Mr. Alvarez said.
“They ran in 100 plus degree heat, and they ran when they were sore and they ran in the early morning darkness,” Mr. Alvarez added. “They committed themselves to improving each and every day. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
It is the second time in four years that an OVS runner has won the Condor League cross country title. In 2011, OVS senior Reika Kijima won the indiviudal cross country championship. She is now running cross country and track for the University of Southern California.
On the boys’ side, several runners came up with season-best performances at the league final.
Senior Andy Cheng ran his personal best in a speedy 19:06, while junior Victor Gong was less than a minute behind, setting his personal record with a time of exactly 20 minutes.
This cross country season was the first under a league realignment that saw longtime Condor League members Cate and Thacher move to the Tri-County Athletic Assn.
Mr. Alvarez said the realignment has improved the competitive spirit of the league, bringing more parity to sporting competitions.
“We are all now competing on a much more level playing field,” he said. “This is really in keeping with the spirit of the Condor League, and what this league is all about.”