Paly Cross Country had an all around strong performance at the first SCVAL meet this season with several noteworthy individual performances and an overall strong team showing for both the boys and girls divisions.

Coming off of third place finishes in the team standings for both varsity boys and girls at the previous meet, the cross country team looked to come out strong in the first SCVAL meet of the season.

Paly boys tallied a final score of 59, giving them first place in the division. Junior Grant Morgenfeld had an exceptionally strong showing, placing first in the individual standing with an overall time of 15:40 for the Baylands course. Morgenfeld continued his success from the previous meet where he also placed first in his division.

Paly girls placed second overall, with a final score of 54. Sophomore Kinga Czajkowska was Paly’s top runner in the girls division placing second overall with a time of 18:15 for the course. Several other Paly girls runners also had strong showings which helped the team lock in a high position in the standings.

“It was great to have 9 people racing varsity and together we were able to get second place beating Los Gatos” senior Finley Craig said.

Although it is only the beginning of the season, the cross country team is showing promise for both girls and boys. The team is aiming to continue their success throughout the rest of the season and hopefully be competitive at the state level.

“Overall, I’m very happy with how our team did and I think there were some great performances by many individuals and also some great team results,” junior Zachary Spain said.