Our boys would toe the line first. Their work was definitely cut out for them. Ranked 8th in Division 2 as recently as November 2nd, they needed to pull off the next-to-impossible task of finishing in the top 3 to advance to State. Anyone with their senses about them had already penciled in Los Gatos and Los Altos in the number one and two spots. After that it was going to be a free-for-all for third, with teams like Leland, Cupertino, Willow Glen, Aragon, and Serra in the mix.

After the gun went off, it didn’t take Richard Ho of Leland long to put himself in the lead, followed closely by Grant Foster of Los Gatos. They were the two odds-on favorites to win; Ho had the fastest CCS time at Crystal to date, a 15:10.

But cresting the hill just before the mile mark, just a few seconds back from Ho and Foster, was our own Aubrey Myjer, running quite within himself and shouldering none of the mental burden of leading the pack as the three raced up the hill in front of the screaming scrutiny of the hordes of family and friends awaiting at the top. Aubrey is an astutely instinctive runner, knowing exactly what pace will work for him on any given day: he passed the mile mark in 4:53, two seconds faster than at Leagues and precisely fulfilling one of the two predictions he had made when we chatted at the pasta party the night before.

Kevin Staatz was 7 seconds back, several seconds faster than at Leagues

then the trio of Tommy Rutner, Marcus White, and Nick Van Osdol at 5:19. David Williams was tucked in behind them at 5:21.

then the trio of Tommy Rutner, Marcus White, and Nick Van Osdol at 5:19. David Williams was tucked in behind them at 5:21.

Sam Moore wisely chose not to try to stay with those four this time, as that approach had backfired recently. His 5:35 was his slowest opening mile since September, and that would pay huge dividends later.

When the runners cleared the 2-mile flag pole, there had been a juggling of the order of the top three runners. Richard Ho was still solidly in the lead but now it was Aubrey who was in second, about 30 meters back.

Up Cardiac Hill the order would not change but it was apparent Aubrey was slowly gaining on Ho. A week and a half earlier Aubrey had waited a little too long to reel in the leader in the League race, and fell just short at the finish. Aubrey’s a bright kid and he wasn’t about to make that mistake again. As the two left the Serpentine area and entered the thick brush area that hides the runners as they round the bend high above Hiway 280, Aubrey was in full-on “stalk” mode, poised to pounce on his unsuspecting prey (an approach used so well by some of our girls).

Behind Aubrey, the battling would be no less intense. Kevin Staatz had cruised by the mile mark 8 seconds ahead of his League time, and that time had led to a PR (don’t forget all our guys had turned in PRs at Leagues). Kevin was vying for position against the #1’s from other teams, especially trying to stay ahead of the Los Altos scorers, who tend to finish in rapid succession.