 | | | Photos provided
| | | | | | At the 2013 California cross country state championships, senior Aidan Goltra churned out his second state title.
Goltra's 15:02 performance was just shy of the division record, and qualifies him for the Nike National Championships to be held in Portland on Dec. 7.
The boys' team finished fourth place overall. Wrapping up their senior season in style, both Ben Weinberg and Will Moran improved over their 2012 state meet times by 34 seconds.
The Cougar girls, who headed to Fresno as the No. 2 team in the division, came out on top with a team title.
After a heartbreaking 2011 performance that saw the team title slip away in the final mile, and an injury-plagued 2012, the three-time state championship veterans juniors Brighie Leach, Mary Orders, Rachel Johnson and senior Haley Shipway refused to lose.
All four athletes set new career bests for both course and distance. Leach separated from the fray early, running in the second spot. Her time of 17:51 is now third on the school record list.
Orders and Johnson held on to top 20 positions. Orders' performance was over a minute faster than her previous state meet while Johnson knocked 27 seconds off her 2012 mark.
The decisive factor for the 2013 squad was its insurmountable depth, provided by freshman Sarah Cella and Shipway, who crossed under the finish banner in 32nd and 34th place, respectively.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA