Gaels Cross Country

Dublin High School - 8151 Village Parkway - Dublin - California - 94568 - (925)833-3300

 

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November 27, 2010 - California Interscholastic Federation State Championships - Woodward Park, Fresno - 9:30 AM

Nickles Ranked 9th in Northern California, 3rd in NCS Division III


In the most recent mid-season rankings published by the Cross Country Express, senior Shelby Nickles is slotted 9th in all of Northern California, regardless of division.  She is also currently ranked 3rd in the North Coast Section in Division III.


Cross Country Express Northern California Rankings 10/17/10    Cross Country Express NCS Rankings 10/10/10

Ainslie 8th; Frosh/Soph Boys Closing Gap on Dougherty Valley


DFAL Center Meet #2

Shadow Cliffs Regional Park, Pleasanton

October 20, 2010


After an 11-day layoff between races, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team showed very little rust at the Diablo Foothill Athletic League Center Meet #2 at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton.  The Frosh/Soph Boys Team continues to dominate Acalanes, Alhambra and Miramonte and is quickly closing the gap on rival Dougherty Valley and featured a top 10 finisher in this race.


Highlights


The Frosh/Soph Boys Team continues to make headway in the tough DFAL with another 4th place team finish, narrowly losing to Dougherty Valley for 3rd.  Sophomore Kenneth Ainslie had his 2nd top 10 finish of the season, taking 8th with a time of 10:40.7 over the approximately 2.0 mile course.  Classmate Nathaniel Hale stepped up in a major way with his 11:37.9 performance, scoring for the first time this season as one of his normal scoring teammates was sick.  Freshman Caroline Nolan (17:37.1) easily ran her fastest pace of the season in the Frosh/Soph Girls race.  The Varsity Girls Team saw everyone improve their placing from the previous DFAL center meet and were led by senior Nadia Saenz (21:30.5) over the 2.95 mile course.  Classmate Alex Nolan (18:01.3) led the Varsity Boys Team with his 3rd top 20 finish of the season.


Results    Photos

Nickles Ranked 7th in Division III in California


Senior Shelby Nickles has been ranked 7th in Division III in all of California by www.dyestatcal.com after her very impressive 18:29 performance at the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno on October 9, 2010.


DyeStatCal.com 10/21/10 Rankings

Nickles Ranked 9th in State, Mentioned in NCS Division III Preview


In the most recent rankings by www.dyestatcal.com, senior Shelby Nickles was ranked 9th in California in Division III.  She was also mentioned as one of the runners to watch for in the North Coast Section Division III Preview by Northgate High School head coach Peter Brewer for the Cross Country Express.


DyeStatCal 11/9/10 Rankings    NCS Division III Preview

**Nickles 1st Team All-DFAL, Varsity Girls 4th**

*Frosh Soph Boys Continue Improvement*


Diablo Foothill Athletic League Championships

Hidden Valley Park, Martinez

November 6, 2010


Emphasizing running their best in the championship season, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team definitely put their best foot forward in reaching their goal at the DFAL Championships at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez.  The Varsity Girls Team was 4th after being ranked 7th coming into the race and the Frosh Soph Boys Team was a very respectable 5th in one the most competitive races in recent history.  Every athlete that ran in the 2009 DFAL Championships improved their times and nearly every athlete ran their best times at Hidden Valley Park of the season.


Highlights


In the Varsity Girls Race, senior Shelby Nickles started her postseason in historic fashion, becoming the first girl in school history to make the All-DFAL 1st Team three years in a row with her 5th place, 19:02.0 performance.  Junior Hannah Villanueva (23:27.1) ran nearly 2:30 faster then 2009 to help round out the 4th place team.  The Frosh Soph Boys Team were lead by sophomores Kenneth Ainslie (11th – 11:42.2) and Jordan Nguyen (15th – 11:47.5) and had tremendous improvements from classmate Michael Reinemann (12:52.1 – 1:11.2 improvement from 2009) and freshman Manpreet Natt (16:58.8 – 4:43.4 improvement from previous race at Hidden Valley Park).  Freshman Caroline Nolan also made great strides to kick off her postseason, running 16:41.1 which was nearly five minutes better than she had run at Hidden Valley Park this season.


Results    Photos    Mark Nickles Photos    Thang Nguyen Photos

Colwell 2nd; Frosh/Soph Boys Crush Acalanes, Alhambra & Miramonte


DFAL Center Meet #1

Hidden Valley Park, Martinez

September 29, 2010


Running in their second race in five days, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team proved to the entire league just how tough they are, racing well on flat legs and in tough heat at the first Diablo Foothill Athletic League Center Meet of the season at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez.  A rising star is among us with another top five finish and our Frosh/Soph Boys Team crushed three of their toughest rivals – Acalanes, Alhambra and Miramonte.


Highlights


Fresh off of her first victory of her young career, freshman Jillian Colwell ran another outstanding race, taking 2nd place in the Frosh Soph Girls race in 14:24.7, which was 10 seconds faster than she ran here at the same course 18 days prior at the Ed Sias Invitational.  Team and classmate Caroline Nolan (21:39.8) also enjoyed the same 10 second improvement.  The Frosh/Soph Team continues to make headway in the tough and rugged DFAL by crushing three of their fiercest rivals.  The sophomore tri of Jordan Nguyen (11th – 12:13.5), Kenneth Ainslie (15th – 12:28.4) and John Henry (17th – 12:33.5) all finished in the top 20.  Rounding out the scorers were freshman Garrett Garcia (13:10.9) and sophomore Ryan Durflinger (13:30.4).  Freshman Thomas Lee (14:51.4 – 0:50 improvement vs. Ed Sias) and Rithvik Reddy (21:40.0 – 0:12 improvement vs. Ed Sias) and sophomore Kevin Ong (14:30.9 – 0:44 improvement vs. Ed Sias) all showed substantial gains in their performances over this tough course.  Seniors Shelby Nickles (24:18.4) and Alex Nolan (18:01.3) led the Varsity Girls Team and Varsity Boys Team, respectively.


Results    Complete Results    Photos

Colwell, Ainslie & Nickles Winners; 5 More Medal; 5 Make All-Time List


Farmer Invitational

Hayward High School, Hayward

September 25, 2010


With one breakthrough race after another, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team made a very loud statement that they are going to be one the best teams in the East Bay with their dominating performance at the Farmer Invitational at Hayward High School.  Running on the same course as the North Coast Section Championships, the Gaels had individual winners in 3 of the 4 races they were featured in, had 5 others medal and etched 5 more names into the school record books, one of them being a school record.


Highlights


In the Varsity Girls race, senior Shelby Nickles continued her hot start to the season, winning this race going away after medaling in the previous two invitationals.  Her winning time of 18:42 was good enough to set the school senior record by nearly two minutes!  Not far behind her was classmate Ariel Graykowski (4th – 20:16), whose performance also landed her in the school record book as the 2nd fastest senior ever.  Her 51 second improvement over last year’s race helped her clinch a medal.  Juniors Hannah Villanueva (23:12 - #5 Junior) and Kaila Stephens (33:47 - #10 Junior) also made it onto the all-time lists.  The Frosh/Soph Boys Team is starting to realize their full potential after having EVERY teammate run their fastest mile pace of the season.  Leading the way were sophomores Kenneth Ainslie (1st – 11:04) and Jordan Nguyen (2nd – 11:06), who tag teamed every opponent until Ainslie pulled away for the victory.  Not far behind was fellow classmate and medalist John Henry, whose 6th place, 11:25 performance was 2:28 faster than he ran here in 2009!  Freshman Manpreet Naat (19:28) made his Dublin debut.  The day got started out in grand fashion as freshman Jillian Colwell (1st – 13:43) really set the tone for the Gaels triumphant day, winning for the first time in only her second race of her very young and bright career in the Frosh/Soph Girls race.  The Varsity Boys Team were paced by senior medalists Alex Nolan (6th – 17:10 – #9 All-Time & #7 Senior) and Eric Yun (12th – 17:35).  What a great day for the Gaels!


Results    Complete Results    Photos    Mark Nickles Photos


Thang Nguyen Photos    All-Time Lists

Nickles Medals Again; Frosh/Soph Girls Major Improvement


De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational

Newhall Park, Concord

September 18, 2010


After running so well at the Ed Sias Invitational last Saturday, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team showed major improvement over that performance against a much deeper field at the De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational at Newhall Park in Concord.  Running against nearly 50 high schools from around the state, the Varsity Girls Team featured another medalist while the Frosh/Soph Girls Team had everyone improve their mile pace time from a week ago by well over a minute!  Also, three Gaels made their cross country debuts.


Highlights


After medaling last week, senior Shelby Nickles added another piece of hardware to her trophy case with her 6th place, 18:32 performance over the 3.0 mile course in the Varisty Girls Race.  Classmate Ariel Graykowski (20:24) had a 0:17 improvement of her mile pace from last week.  Following in the footsteps of the upperclassmen, the entire Frosh/Soph Girls Team showed tremendous improvement in their mile pace from just last week in covering the 2.0 mile course.  The team was comprised of three freshmen – Wing Yiu Cheung (20:40 – 2:35 improvement), Ashley Glynn (21:57 – 1:32 improvement) and Caroline Nolan (19:31 – 1:19 improvement).  Senior Alex Nolan (17:07) ran the fastest time of the day for the Varsity Boys Team while fellow senior Chris Boboc (19:09) had a 0:08 improvement of his mile pace.  Sophomores Jordan Nguyen (28th – 11:56.18) and Kenneth Ainslie (29th – 11:57.83) just missed medals in the Frosh/Soph Boys race while classmate Zachary Warzyniak (13:29) had a 0:16 mile pace improvement in the Frosh/Soph Boys Unlimited race.  Running in their first races for the Gaels were sophomore Lam Dang (17:15) and Nathaniel Hale (13:47) and freshman Patrick Gerlach (20:57).


Results    Complete Results    Photos    Mark Nickles Photos

Nickles Medals; Frosh Soph Boys 7th


Ed Sias Cross Country Invitational

Hidden Valley Park, Martinez

September 11, 2010


The Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team opened up their season racing season with a bang at the Ed Sias Invitational at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez.  The Frosh Soph Boys Team showed major improvement from their performance here last year, the Varsity Girls Team featured a medalist and a couple of tremendous breakthroughs, and 13 Gaels toed the line for their first races ever!


Highlights


In the Varsity Girls Race, senior Shelby Nickles picked up where she left off last season with a 4th place finish against a very tough field with a fine time of 12:28.9.  Medaling is this race was extremely impressive considering that the top eight returners from North Coast Secion Division 3 were in this race.  Classmate Ariel Graykowski (14:09.1 – 0:52.1 improvement vs. 2009) and junior Hannah Villanueva (15:23.2 – 1:11.4 improvement vs. 2009) both had amazing improvements from this race last year.  Continuing the theme of improvements, the Frosh Soph Boys Team had an entire team gain from last year.  Leading the charge were sophomores Jordan Nguyen (11:54.0 – 1:00.9 improvement vs. 2009), Kenneth Ainslie (11:56.6 – 0:21.7 improvement vs. 2009), John Henry (12:20.9 – 3:00.2 improvement vs. 2009) and Michael Reinemann (13:40.0 – 1:16.2 improvement vs. 2009), who all showed how hard training over the summer pays off.  Sophomore Mitch Kless (13:47.9) and freshman Garrett Garcia (13:06.0) were running in their first races ever and sophomore Ryan Durflinger (13:40.0) helped round out the scoring for a 7th place team finish, up from 13th last year.  Also running in their first races for the Gaels were seniors Chris Boboc (13:01.0) and Jonathan Brillante (15:31.0), sophomores Anthony Bollack (14:34.6), Kevin Ong (15:15.7) and Zachary Warzyniak (14:01.1), and freshmen Wing-Yiu Cheung (25:51.6), Jillian Colwell (14:35.6), Ashley Glynn (25:02.2), Thomas Lee (15:41.4), Caroline Nolan (21:50.2) and Rithvik Reddy (21:52.1).

Nickles Mentioned in NCS Division III Preview


Senior Shelby Nickles has been mentioned in the first North Coast Section Division III Rankings written by Northgate High School coach Peter Brewer and published on the Cross Country Express.  Nickles was 5th in 18:32 at the NCS Championships in 2009 and is the 3rd fastest girl returning.  With that finish, she became the school record holder at the Hayward High School Course and also became the first female in Dublin High School history to make it to the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships.

Cross Country Express NCS D3 Rankings

Nickles 7th, Advances to 2nd Consecutive CIF State Championship


North Coast Section Championships

Hayward High School, Hayward

November 20, 2010


Racing in the coldest, muddiest and wettest race of the season, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team still found a way to make history at the North Coast Section Championships at Hayward High School in Hayward.  The Varsity Girls Team had the second best team performance in Dublin High School history, starred another monumental feet of becoming the first girl at DHS to make it to two consecutive California Interscholastic Federation State Championships and also featured six girls making the all-time lists.  The Varsity Boys Team were led by a youth movement, featuring three underclassmen making the all-time lists.


Highlights


In the Division III Girls race, senior Shelby Nickles would not be denied her second consecutive trip to the CIF State Championships.  Her 7th place, 18:41 performance allowed her to become the first girl in DHS history to make it to two consecutive CIF State Championships, puts her #1 on the All-Time Senior list, and propelled her to the 3rd Team All-NCS.  The Varsity Girls Team also had many historic performances as well, running to the 2nd fastest team time in school history and having 6 girls make the all-time lists - seniors Ariel Graykowski (19:51 - #2 AT & #2 Senior) and Nadia Saenz (22:37 - #7 Senior), juniors Shirley Chen (22:48 - #4 Junior) and Hannah Villanueva (23:13), and freshmen Jillian Colwell (21:17 - #7 AT & #4 Freshman) and Caroline Nolan (24:12 - #6 Freshman).  The Varsity Boys Team featured a youth movement, running 6 underclassmen including 3 who made the all-time lists.  The lone upperclassmen, senior Alex Nolan, led the team with his 17:39 performance.  Sophomores Kenneth Ainslie (17:42 - #5 Sophomore) and John Henry (18:33 - #10 Sophomore) and freshman Garrett Garcia (19:40 - #8 Freshman) helped lead the charge for their bright future.


Results    Girls Complete Results    Boys Complete Results    Photos

 
Nickles Medals; Average Improvement From 2009 – 1:37!


Clovis Cross Country Invitational

Woodward Park, Fresno

October 9, 2010


Running on the same course as the California Interscholastic State Championships, the Dublin Gaels Cross Country Team ran as if it were State at the Clovis Cross Country Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno.  Racing against over 150 high schools from California and Nevada, the Gaels had a medalist and an average improvement of over a minute and a half per athlete who ran here in 2009!


Highlights


Running in the invitation only Championship Varsity Girls Race, senior Shelby Nickles ran to the fastest time of any girl in all of Northern California, medaling in 9th place with a time of 18:29 and a 1:39 improvement from 2009 to kick off the improvement parade.  The 13th place Frosh/Soph Boys Team were led by sophomore Kenneth Ainslie (18:15) who even after being the lead the wrong way was able to take off nearly a minute off his 2009 performance and just missed a medal by one spot.  Classmate Ryan Durflinger (20:21)
showed the most improvement of any Gael on this day, butchering off more than 5 minutes from 2009!  Freshman Jillian Colwell also just missed a medal by a few places, running a fine 21:33 over her first 5000 meter race.  In the Division 3 Varsity Girls Race, senior Ariel Graykowski (20:53) continues to eat up runners in the last mile while teammate junior Hannah Villanueva (23:21)
had the greatest improvement for a Lady Gael, clobbering her 2009 performance by over 3 minutes!  Senior Alex Nolan ran the fastest time of the day for the Gaels, pacing to a 17:38.


Results    Complete Results    Photos

 
Nickles Makes History, Competes at 2nd Consecutive State Championships


California Interscholastic Federation State Championships

Woodward Park, Fresno

November 27, 2010


Capping off her amazing career in historic fashion, senior Shelby Nickles became the first female in Dublin High School history to compete in two consecutive CIF State Championships.  This puts her in very special company as only James Attarian (class of 2008) and Jeremy Grace (class of 2008) had accomplished this feet for the boys.  She also had the honor of running in the fastest Division III girls race in the history of the SIF State Championships, running to a time of 19:34.  Congratulations to Shelby Nickles on her brilliant running career here at Dublin High School.  Go Gaels!


Results    Complete Results    Photos