The Paly girls and boys teams swept their cross-city rivals, Gunn, yesterday afternoon in the city championships. It was the last meet before league finals, and also their senior night.

The Frosh-soph boys raced first, with sophomore Ryan Kim finishing second. Sophomores Jorell Clark, Gavin Hasse Guilio Denfendi-Cho, and Monty Webber finished out the five scorers, placing third, fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively.

Varsity girls ran next, and the lady vikes beat Gunn ins a clean sweep, placing first through fifth. Sophomore Kinga Czajkowska won, followed closely by senior Hillary Studdert. Soon after freshman Amaya Bharadwaj, seniors Elizabeth fetter and Finley Craig completed their race.

“With the varsity girls sweeping 1-5 it felt like all of us were running closer together which was a great atmosphere for senior night,” Craig said.

The boys varsity likewise dominated their competition, with sophomore Grant Moregenfeld winning his race by nearly a minute and setting a new course record. Senior Kelvin Moresi finished second overall and for Paly. A Gunn runner placed third, then senior Phela Durosinmi, junior Neddie Kiessling, and senior Micheal Murphy came in as the third, fourth, and fifth scorers, respectively.

“It was a great opportunity to test ourselves against the last time we were there,” Morgenfeld said. “I think we had some great performances that represent the progress our team has made over the season.”

Girls Varsity B also beat their Gunn opponents. The top five scorers placed first through fourth, then sixth, in the following order: freshman Alli Katila-Miikkulainen, sophomore Megan Lemoine, freshman Maya Caren, freshman Allison Ma, and freshman Simone Batra.

“Yesterday’s race was so fun!” Lemoine said. “It was only two miles so it went by pretty fast It was also really nice getting to race with the seniors for one of the last times this season.”

After these victories, the team celebrated their senior night, complete with posters and kind words.

“It was a great way to bond with the team,” Durosinmi said “It was really wholesome to see all the underclassmen present the posters.”

See results:
http://lynbrooksports.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/XC/2022/pa-city.htm

See Photos: (courtesy of Malcolm Slaney)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/malcolmslaney/albums/72177720303193323/with/52455529963/