A Few Words from Coach Danny:

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did watching our athletes compete at the state cross country championships. I was really proud of how the kids represented the school and themselves. It was great to see all the parents, family members and spectators come out for the meet. Dinner the night before was awesome. A special thanks to Karen and her parents for making it possible.

What's Been Happening:

            On Saturday the kids had to get up early to head over to the state meet as we were the second and fourth meet of the day. Katy was our lone representative in the Division V girls race. Katy placed 21^st in a time of 19:39, which is a 6:20 per  mile average. I thought Katy ran a very spirited race, full of heart. Katy came through the first mile in 45^th place, which was a very smart way for her to start the race given her lack of fitness due to her injuries. It was only through her pure determination that she was able to work her way up through the field to finish in the 21^st spot. Under the circumstances – great race Katy!

            The varsity boys team finished 12^th in their race. Their 12^th place finish tied the previous best finish by a Division V boys team from the redwood empire. Congratulations boys on being one of the best Redwood Empire Division V boys team ever. Leading the way was Jax in 34^th place. Jax's time was 16:58, a 40 second PR over last year's time. And it was 24 places better. Just another very strong race for this talented young man. Our second runner, in 61^st place, in a time of 17:33 was Jacob. It's good to see Jacob get back to running with confidence and with a good closing last mile. I think this was Jacob's best performance of the year. Our third runner of the day was Patrick in 75^th place with a time of 17:42. Patrick showed that his break out race last week was no fluke with another strong performance. In 76^th place was Austin, in 17:46. Austin's performance was big as the team needed him to run really well to help us secure that 12^th place finish. Our 5^th runner in 82^nd place was Aaron in 17:52. It was nice to be able to see Aaron run a state championship and perform so well after losing last season to knee surgery. It was a great send off for our only senior. In 126^th was Graham in 18:40. Graham was fighting some stomach issues, but had a great season and was a big part of why we had the success we had. In 163^rd was Morgan, in 19:54. Although this wasn't one of Morgan's best races, I very proud of how he fought back from his mid-season injuries to be part of our first team at state.

What’s coming up:

            The cross country season is pretty much over. There is no more practice and the meets are done. Varsity athletes, please turn your uniforms in to Kevin or Chris.

            We hope to see you all at the awards dinner on Sunday December 4^th at 2 PM. Then, after a short rest, we can all start practicing for track and field.

SA XC State Meet 2011

SA XC State Meet 2011, a set on Flickr.

Coyotes go to Fresno to run in the State Meet!

NCS 2011

NCS 2011, a set on Flickr.

A great day in Hayward for NCS. Boys Varsity and Katy Lee advance to the state meet.

A Few Words from Coach Danny:

Congratulations to the boys and Katy for qualifying for the state championship. I thought all the kids ran well this week at the NCS championship and we are looking forward to going down to Fresno for the state championship next weekend. A big thanks to all you parents for coming down to the meet on Saturday and supporting all the kids. I know they all appreciated it as much as I. And the after race pizza party was a lot of fun. Thanks to Chris for coming out and cheering us on!

What's Been Happening:

            On Saturday we went to Hayward High School for the NCS Championship meet. It was a beautiful day for running. The girls were the first race of the day for us. The team placed tenth. Our first runner was Katy Lee (19:01) placing 8^th. Katy PR'd on the course and qualified for the state championship. I thought Katy's performance was inspiring and a very brave effort, considering she was fighting through the last month of the season with a leg injury. Our second runner was Kiana (20:30) in 31st place. I know Kiana was a little disappointed with the results, but she had a great season and should be proud of all she has accomplished. I'm looking forward to seeing her play some basketball next because she is also a great basketball player. Our third runner was Emily in 23:36, for 68^th place. Emily finished off a fine season with another solid run. One of my goals for the new girls was to have them average under 8 minutes per mile and Emily crushed that on Saturday. I think by next year she could be looking at getting close to 7 min per mile. Our fourth runner was Amy in 23:49, in 71^st place. Amy continues to grow as a distance runner and getting further away from that sprinters mentality. She has proved to herself and to us that she can run strong over 3 miles. Next year she, too, will take huge amounts of time off her performances. Our fifth girl was Clare in 23:57, for 73^rd place. Clare returned to the scoring top five, helping the team with a strong run and ending her season on a very positive note. The sixth runner was Yzzy in 26:25, 95^th place. Friday Yzzy was fighting a stomach virus. Yzzy has such a strong love for running and team spirit that she dragged herself to the meet even though she wasn't feeling her best, just to help the team. Even though she was under the weather, she improved her time over last year by 2 ½ minutes. Our next runner was Sinclaire in 26:34 for 96^th place. Sinclaire was our only freshman to make the trip to NCS and considering this was her first really big meet, I thought she held up quite well. I'm looking forward to even more success from her next year.

            Our second race of the day was the Boys' Varsity. By placing fourth the boys earned us a trip to the state championship. They are the first SA team to do that, and I don't think it will be the last. The boys team time was over 5 minutes faster than last year. Leading the boys was Jax in 16:27 for 11^th place. As he has been doing all year long, Jax closed over the last mile with great success.  I don't know how he does it, but he just seems to find another gear. Our second runner was Patrick in 16:53 for 27^th place. This was a great surprise and a very spirited run. Until this race, Patrick had never been any higher than our fifth guy. So much talent and so much promise! I'm excited to watch him run over the next two years. Third for us was Aaron in 16:57, in 28^th place. As always, Aaron ran a very steady and controlled race. He's our Mr. Consistent and has been a great team leader for the underclassmen all season long. Fourth runner was Jacob in 17:08, 39^th place. Jacob had a little bit of a rough race, but because of his strong will and big heart he was able to fight through it and still finish strong to help guarantee that the team made it to the state championship. In my eyes he is a true warrior. The fifth runner for us today was Austin O. in 17:21, in 41^st place. I could see that Austin was hurting in the middle stages of the race, but there is no quit in this kid. As he knew on this day that he was our fifth scorer and his points we going to play a big role in us making it to the state championships. He mustered up a strong finish and believe me, we all appreciate it. Sixth today was Graham in 18:17, 64^th place. As always, Graham put out a 100% effort and fought hard to the finish, even though he was a little bit off. I'm looking forward to a big rebound performance from him at the state meet. Seventh runner was Morgan in 18:39, 82^nd place. Morgan PR'd by over 40 seconds from last year and continues to get stronger each week. And I think he's going to have a big race next week in Fresno.

What’s coming up:

            Those who qualified will be headed for the state championship in Fresno next weekend. We will be leaving Friday at 9 AM from the school. If you will be traveling down with us, please let me know. Kids going in the van should pack a lunch to eat on the way (turkey sandwiches!) and have some running clothes available. If you are traveling separately, we plan to meet at the course at Woodward Park in Clovis at 2:30. This will be a good time for the kids to buy T shirts, get pictures and have a practice run on the course.

            The athletes will be staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites, 885 Gettysburg Ave in Clovis. (559.348.0000) While they were fully booked last week, they may have rooms opening up this week as other teams cancel.

            We also have rooms at the Holiday Inn Express at 650 W. Shaw Avenue in Clovis that are available for the families. Please let Cate know by Tuesday if you will need a room there (cate1802@hotmail.com.)

            We have reservations for dinner at 5:30 at DiCicco's Italian Restaurant (it's a pasta feed!) at 408 Clovis Avenue in Clovis. Please let Cate know how many from your family will be joining us for dinner so that we can update the reservation.

            On Saturday the Division V girls run at 9:05 and the boys will run at 10:10. For those of you who cannot join us in Fresno, the results will be posted on line.

            Michael has posted maps and details on the team blog site under the “Race Info” tab as well.

NCS CIF Cross Country Championship Recap!

Congratulations for the great performances from the varsity squads! As a result the boys team has made their mark in Sonoma Academy history by becoming the FIRST EVER cross country team (boys or girls) to qualify and earn a trip to the prestigious CIF Cross Country State Championships! Also, Katy Lee qualified (for the third consecutive year in a row) for an individual spot at the CIF Cross Country State Championships!

Click here for NCS Girls results.
Click here for NCS Boys results.

Thank you to all the parents for their continued support. The teams would not have come this far without your help. As we continue post-season racing we congratulate those who have concluded their season and look forward to seeing everyone at the Fall Sports Banquet on December 4th.

Happy Thanksgiving/ Holiday break!

Reiff Awarded Saucony/Heart and Sole Redwood Empire Runner of the Week!

Congratulations Jax!



"Reiff finished a solid second at the CMC Championships, covering the difficult Ft. Bragg 2.9 miler in 18:13. While he may have been over a minute back of champion - and new course record-holder Joe Carrillo - Reiff led his Coyotes to their second straight CMC title, and in great fashion. The Coyotes, led by Reiff, scored a near-perfect 20 points, as only Carrillo broke up their scoring five."

Sonoma Academy Boys Ranked # 3 in NCS! Girls "On the bubble"

Click here!

A Few Words from Coach Danny:

Congratulations to all three teams: Varsity Boys, Varsity girls, and JV Boys for bringing Conference Championships plaques home for the second year in a row. I'm so proud of the way the teams responded to the challenge of repeating and defending their conference titles. Of the 31 athletes that ran at CMC, 29 of them PR'd. That's some great running! All year long the kids have worked hard to become a team and support one another and at the CMC meet all that working together and all that team spirit was on display through their performances. These kids make me look good as a coach.

            Thank you so much to the parents, Michael and Julia for making this such a successful season.

What's Been Happening:

            Last Wednesday we went to Ft. Bragg for the CMC championship. We took a nice bus ride up highlighted by song and laughter. The first race of the day was the JV Boys race. The JV Boys scored 38 points, beating 2^nd place Cloverdale by a scant 6 points. The JV team was lead by Eli (Johnny) in 5^th place at 20:47. This boy is going to make a strong bid for Varsity next year. In 7^th was Hayden (21:12) with a very fine performance. 8^th place was Eli (21:14) in a nice bounce back race from last week. In 12^th was Billy (21:59) who continues to run very strong races. Justin (23:00) came in 16^th and as the 5^th scorer secured the team win. In 20^th was Oscar (23:40), one of the most improved runners from last year's team. In 23^rd place was Chauncey (24:00.) His performance is showing good things to come. In 25^th place was Chris (24:18) who continues to be one of the most improved runners from the beginning of the season until now. In 29^th place was Sean in (24:58) a nice season ending run.

            The second race of the day was the Varsity Girls. The girls won with a score of 54 to second place St. Helena's 66. The girls were lead by 2^nd place Katy (21:27) - a purely gutsy race by a very gutsy girl. 4^th in 22:58 was Kiana. I knew she was saving her best races for the end and she did just that. 14^th was Yzzy in 25:46, the most improved runner on the team. A year ago Yzzy was in the bottom 20 and now she is in the top 20. 18^th was Emily (26:26), she ran a well pace race with a lot of confidence. 22^nd was Amy (26:54) with another solid race. She was our 5^th scorer, locking in the title for the girls. 23^rd was Claire (27:20). it was nice to see her aggressive running style. In 29^th was Sinclaire (27:45), the top freshman on the team and the only one on the team to go to NCS. 47^th in 29:17 was Lilly, with a very fine end of season run. In 48^th in 29:31 was Zoe who is continuing to have a very fine season. In 55^th in 30:31 was Maddy who keeps working her way right up the team ladder. In 59^th in 30:43 was Nora with a much better run than last week. In 64^th in 31:31 was Katherine finishing her senior year on a strong note. Shani came in 67^th in 31:57 looking strong.

            The third race of the day was the Boys Varsity. The boys won in 20, followed by Cloverdale at 94. The 20 points that the boys scored was the lowest total put up by a team since 1968. Leading the way in second was Jax in 18:13. That performance earned Jax the Heart & Sole Athlete of the Week. It was an amazing run. Third in 18:33 was Aaron with a big break through run. I look for big things from him at NCS. Fourth in 18:41 was Jacob, as always, solid as a rock. Fifth in 18:51 was Austin O. with another amazing effort. 6^th place in 18:57 was Patrick with another big time performance. In 16^th in 19:48, Graham ran a solid race in borrowed shoes. In 24^th in 20:12 was Morgan with another solid effort post injury. 28^th in 20:25 was Austin G. It was a great season by Austin.

What’s coming up:

            From here on out it will be Varsity only.

            Friday we will be having a Varsity pasta feed at the Johnson's. Time and directions will be given out later in the week.

            The NCS Championship meet will be in Hayward at Hayward High School on Saturday 11/19. For anyone who needs a ride, we will be leaving from the school at 6:15 AM sharp. If you are driving on your own we would like to have the girls there no later than 8 AM and the boys no later than 8:30. The girls will be running at 9 followed by the boys at 10. The top five teams in each race will get to go to the State Championship in Fresno along with the top 5 individuals. Last year Katy Lee and Jax Reiff made the cut as individuals.

            After the meet, Christine Lee has made us reservations at Mary's Pizza at 121 San Marin Drive in Novato. Folks who are not able to make it to the meet, are welcome to join us for the after party. We should be there about 2 PM.

            Chris has already made reservations for the athletes in case they make it to Fresno. After NCS, any parents who are interested in going to Fresno with us should contact Cate (cate1802@hotmail.com) for hotel info.

CMC Championship 2011

CMC Championship 2011, a set on Flickr.

Three SA teams win championships!