Maxwell, Cougars win at Stanford

With senior runner Anna Maxwell leading the way, the San Lorenzo Valley varsity girls cross country team ran away with Division IV Stanford Invitational title on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Maxwell, one of the top runners in the country, blew away all the competition, taking the top spot in the 5-kilomter race in 17 minutes, 22 seconds. She finished 41 seconds ahead of second place RaynJoy Norton of Burlington Edison High School.
But Maxwell did not earn the team victory alone. Freshman Abbey Meck took 7^th in 18:47 and senior Claire MacMillan finished 11^th in 19:03. Other scoring runners for the Cougars were senior Jessica Jensen (21^st in 19:47), freshman Katie Lamb (60^th in 20:57), junior Jessica Germany (86^th in 21:38) and sophomore Nicole Roth (99^th in 21:46). The field consisted of 222 finishers from 31 schools.
The Cougars finished with 98 points to win the meet, ahead of second place Cheyenne Mountain with 114 points and third place St. Mary’s of Berkeley with 138 points.
Scotts Valley’s girls also showed well placing ninth with 247 points, as senior Valerie Morrison took third overall in 18:25. Morrison was joined by teammates Hayley Herburg (52^nd in 20:47), Katlyn McNulty (57^th in 20:53), Maddie Barton (65^th in 21:03), Mikaela Inman (70^th in 21:15) and Kaylee Craft (89^th in 21:39).
 
Boys
San Lorenzo Valley High School senior Jacob Hicks finished tops among local boys at the meet. Hicks took 18^th overall running 16:38. Seconds behind was Scotts Valley’s Scott Edwards who finished 21^st in 16:44.
Overall, the Falcons outpaced the Cougars as a team, finishing 7^th with 242 total points. Several other top Falcon runners were sophomore John Ross (31^st in 16:55), junior Nick Heath (34^th in 17:02) and junior Draven Hawk (57^th in 17:24).
For the SLV boys who took 20^th with 512 points, senior Matt Abernathy (77^th in 17:36) and senior Jacob Anderson (108^th in 18 minutes) rounded out the team’s top three.