The dynastic run of the Dublin High School Boys Cross Country team continues, as the Gaels edged out Granada to win its 5th consecutive East Bay Athletic League title on Saturday, November 6th at the Championship Meet.
Dublin set the course record for any team to ever run at Concord’s Newhall Park, recording a time that was 40 seconds faster than the previous mark. The Gaels now possess the fastest team time at every significant course within the North Coast Section, along with Woodwark Park in Fresno which is the site of the CIF State meet.
The Gaels’ average time on the 3.1 mile course was 15:33 and they finished with a score of 33, while the 2nd place Granada Matadors average time was 15:40 with a team score of 45. The victory was even more remarkable when considering that Granada had defeated Dublin in two previous encounters prior to Saturday’s EBAL Championships. Dublin had 2 of the top 3 and 6 of the top 15 runners.
The Gaels’ Sharvin Manjrekar finished in 2nd place overall with a time of 15:17, while Daniel Trampe came in 3rd place with a time of 15:29. Joshua Turpin came in 6th with a time of 15:31, and Cole Turpin came in 9th at 15:37 to give Dublin 4 of the top 9 finishers and an insurmountable lead. Matthew Morgan came in 13th place at 15:47 to round out the scoring positions.
The distinction of winning five consecutive league titles has only been matched twice in school history. The first program to go on such a remarkable run was Girls Basketball (1988-1992), and the only other program to put together such a dominant run was Boys Golf (2010-2014).
With another EBAL title in hand, the Gaels now turn their attention towards another potential NCS title and CIF State berth when it races at Hayward High School on November 20th. Considering that Granada moves into Division II for NCS, the Gaels are a strong favorite to defend their crown and advance to the CIF State Meet.
On the Girls’ side, Dublin finished in 5th place overall despite missing its’ top two runners due to injuries. Freshman Lasaya Balupari was the Gaels’ top performer with a time of 19:01 to finish in 14th place. Assuming the Gaels get healthy by the time of the NCS meet, there is a strong chance that Dublin’s entire team can qualify for the CIF State Meet as well.
