Fall Sports Preview: Girls' Cross-Country

This is the first in a series of sports previews. Over the next two weeks, as school starts, we'll highlight all the fall high school sports. Check back for our previews of soccer, water-polo and football later this week.

Girls' Cross-Country

Coach: Coach Bill Taylor begins his 33rd year coaching the Drake Cross-Country and Track teams.

Highlights of 2009 Season: The girls' team didn't lose a dual meet in 2009. (In fact, they haven't lost a dual meet in two years.) The Drake team, then, advanced to the California state meet after taking second place at the North Coast Section in Division IV.

Final MCAL standing in 2009: In cross-country, there are two MCAL pennants and championships awarded – one for the dual meet season and one for the MCAL championship meet race. The Drake girls won the MCAL pennant for the dual meet season, and took second place to Redwood at the MCAL championship race.

"The dual meet pennant required nine separate victories," said Taylor.

Returning runners: Last year, the team had four girls take all-league honors at the MCAL championship race, three of whom will be returning. Incoming Junior Ellie Ryan took 6th place at the 2009 MCAL meet. She will, hopefully, said Taylor, be joined by Senior Julia Saunders (9th place at the 2009 MCAL meet) and Junior Mackinzie Stanley (11th place at the 2009 MCAL meet).

According to Taylor, Lindsay Rogers and Summer Lawson will round out the championship team. "They did the job in 2009," said Taylor.

The team doesn't start practice until Aug. 16, however, and no one will know for sure who's coming out until then. There is at least one ninth-grade girl expected to join the team in defending their MCAL title and return to the highly-competitive state meet.

The season starts with Drake hosting a dual meet against Novato on Sept. 23.

JV: Over 60 people came out for the cross-country team in 2009, making for a deep and talented team. However, MCAL decided to eliminate the JV championship race that used to be held at the same time as the Varsity championship race, meaning there is no longer a JV title awarded. Taylor, along with nearly every cross-country coach in the league, has been appealing this decision.

"It shows no understanding of the sport," he said.

It also means that JV runners have to prove themselves over the course of the season in order to have a shot at racing in the November MCAL Championship meet or in the North Coast Section and state meet in the weeks following.