The physical and mental demands of competing in cross country is rivaled by few other sports. That’s why Los Gatos coaches Geoff Elmore and Ibet Allan stress the importance of having fun and building upon workouts to keep their athletes fresh for the duration of the season.
The Wildcats are quietly enjoying a fine season, hitting their marks with the plan to peak come November, the month of the Central Coast Section and CIF State Championships. On the girls side, seniors Piper Pyle and Elise Greenstreet along with junior Kiley Horwitz lead the way. Pyle advanced to the CIF State Meet last season, putting together a career-best performance at Crystal Springs to earn the final spot in Division II.
Pyle and Greenstreet have an opportunity to earn individual state berths this season, though they’ll have to be at their best as competition is fierce. Pyle is coming off a career-best performance in the prestigious Asics Clovis Invitational on Oct. 10, covering 5,000 meters in 18 minutes, 56.4 seconds, besting her previous best time by 23 seconds at the Woodward Park Course.
The result was another feather in the cap for Pyle, who has been remarkably consistent from the get-go. She placed third in the season-opening Ed Sias Invitational before a solid 14th-place showing in the ultra-competitive Woodbridge Classic on Sept. 19. Her time of 18:00.7 established a 22-second PR in that event. Four days later in the first Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Meet at Baylands Park on Sept. 23, Pyle finished fourth in 19:41.9.
Given the level of competition in the Woodbridge and Asics meets, Pyle has been particularly sharp in her race performances. Greenstreet and Horwitz are also putting together terrific seasons. In the SCVAL meet, Greenstreet placed sixth in 19:47.1 and Horwitz 12th in 20:18.2 over the 3.1mile course. After the top three, there’s a significant dropoff.
“Piper, Elise and Kiley are more experienced runners and faster by a lot,” Elmore said. “The other girls behind them are doing quite well, but they’re just less experienced and younger.”
On the boys team, junior Kevin Sacco has been consistently strong, with first, second, sixth and 19th-place finishes prior to the Asics Invitational. He established a massive 38-second PR in the Woodbridge Classic.
“Kevin is solid and is running a lot faster this year,” Elmore said. “He’s a year older, physically stronger and he trained aggressively throughout the summer. In past years he peaked too early, so this year he’s either physically strong enough to handle his preseason training regimen, or he hasn’t peaked yet, which is a great sign. So we’re very happy with that.”
There’s plenty of fast company behind Sacco as well. Senior Peter Malone, junior Finn Allan and freshman Batu Duygulutuna have also excelled, as each have posted either a season-best or PR over specific distances or courses this season. In the Asics Invitational, Allan was the team’s top finisher in the 240-participant Division III field, placing 55th.
Duygulutuna was 61st, Sacco 62nd and Malone 92nd. Duygulutuna is coming on fast, having placed 40th, 57th and 24th in his three prior races before his solid showing in the Asics Invitational. He’s earned rave reviews from Elmore, who isn’t one for hyperbolic statements.
“There’s a good chance you’ll be writing about Batu beyond Los Gatos and into the future—he’s that strong,” Elmore said. “His lifetime miles are pretty high for a kid his age, and that’s helped him remain injury free. Batu has been able to handle a training load that’s higher than most freshmen and his body is responding exceptionally well. I can’t wait to see how he does the rest of the season.”
Senior Jackson Cresta (17:12.1), sophomore Casey Allan (17:36.8) and senior Luciano Pucci (17:42.9) rounded out the team’s effort at Asics, one of the biggest meets in the Western U.S.
