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Sibling rivalry has the potential to be a great motivator. It is shows on the San Lorenzo Valley boys cross country team as brothers Nick and Jacob Hicks find themselves pushing each other week in and week out.
But they’re not the only star siblings on the team. Landis and Claire MacMillan have made named for themselves as part of one of the strongest Cougar teams in memory.
The Hicks brothers
Though Nick is a senior and Jacob a sophomore, the two have run some of the best times in the county. Jacob has yet to best his older brother, but as a sophomore, he has posted some better times than Nick did in his 10th grade season.
“I have better junior high run times than he did,” said the feisty younger brother. “I am hoping to catch up with his current times later this season.”
The boys are both a part of the Cougars No. 2 ranked team in the state in Division IV. The team often travels to invitational meets around the state.
“It has turned into a really fun family event,” Nick said of running against his brother. “We have outgrown the ‘stop touching me, stop touching me’ stuff and have a blast going to events and seeing each other succeed.”
The Hicks brothers along with Cody Johnson, Landis MacMillan, Branden Caldwell and Matt Abernathy have produced some of the top times for Division IV statewide.
“We are all pushing to get ready for (the) state meet,” said Cougar Head Coach Rob Collins. “We currently have the best division IV program in the state as both the boys and girls are ranked No. 2 in the state. I am really, really proud of our kids.”
Johnson and Nick Hicks are ranked No. 4 and 12 respectively in the state.
Though the Cougars are riding high on the charts in the state rankings, the division IV enrollment requirements put them very near the bottom of the pack. With only 722 students in the school, SLV competes against schools that have up to 1230 students.
The MacMillans
Landis and Claire MacMillan are another sibling pair who run for the Cougars. Fortunately they don’t have to run against each other thanks to the gender divide.
Landis, a senior and Claire, a sophomore are both integral parts of the Cougar’s winning formula.
“We have had close to a dozen groups of siblings who run together here,” Collins said. “There are some awesome running families in the valley.”
Both the boys and girls teams are 6-0 in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League dual meets and both teams have yet to lose an invitational meet in Division IV.
In recent action, Nick Hicks won an Oct. 13 SCCAL dual meet against host Harbor in 17 minutes, 8 seconds at Schwann Lagoon’s 5-kilometer run.
SLV’s Hyllery Hershberger won the meet against host Harbor, finishing the course in 21:22. The Cougars run next at the Mount Sac Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 22.
