Senior Hunter Larson stamps ticket to state meet
Senior veteran Hunter Larson joined an elite list of Windsor High School runners on Saturday at the North Coast Section Championships, finishing 15th overall in the Division 3 race to punch his ticket to state. In doing so he became just the fourth runner in school history to accomplish the feat.
The four-year standout will now set his sights on the prestigious CIF State Cross Country Championship on Nov. 30 on the classic Woodward Park course in Fresno.
Larson saved his best performance of the season for just the right time, negotiating the 3.0-mile Hayward High School course in a sizzling, 15:51.
“Hunter is a team captain and is a fantastic model for the rest of our team,” WHS coach Brandon Bronzan said. “He worked his tail off, starting in the summer, to put himself in position to qualify. He ran a fantastic race.”
The Windsor boys contingent logged an impressive ninth place finish (out of 22 teams), with Larson followed closely by teammates Dustin Smith (18th place, 16:02), Landon McAllister (21st place, 16:08), Max Hidalgo (88th place, 17:37), Kevin Manni (90th place, 17:39), Tallen Theis (91st, place, 17:43) and Steven Vail (101st place, 17:59).
Leading the way for the Windsor girls were sophomore Lilja Chung (16th place, 18:41), Nataleigh Johnson (44th place, 20:14), Erin O’Mara (53rd place, 20:37), Ava Smith (69th place, 21:05), Prissilla Tucker (85th place, 21:55), Jayda Pignataro (92nd place, 22:14) and Erika Hovland (114th place, 23:46).
The NCS meet was the final event of the season for the Jags, finishing the year with their second straight boys and girls North Bay League Redwood Division titles.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of this cross country team,” Bronzan noted. “The wildfires tried their best to knock us off course, but they didn’t complain once and worked hard to finish the season on a strong note. It’s a fun group and I’m sorry to see the season coming to an end.”
