On November 21st, 14 of the fastest boys and girls on Dublin High’s cross country team raced like never before at the annual NCS meet, or North Coast Sectional, held at Hayward High School.

The top 7 boys and 7 girls from DHS’s team qualified for spots to race against the best schools in Dublin’s division at the meet. Besides being a difficult meet in itself, NCS is also a chance for runners to qualify for the state meet, where the very best runners in California compete against each other in the final championship of their season.

Every participant was required to run the same 3 mile course, with terrain ranging widely from flat grass and hills to rough dirt and cement. When the runners were not busy racing or warming up, they could be found simply hanging around Dublin’s tent, trying to spend as much time off their feet as possible. They typically enjoyed listening to music, stretching and rolling out, or napping before races to be as energized and prepared for their run as they could be.

From Dublin’s NCS team, two talented and esteemed runners qualified for the state meet – Gabby Gamboa, a senior, and Anirudh Surapaneni, a junior. Though they were incredibly excited to have made it to State, it was a mix of emotions for the two.

“When I found out I made state individually, I didn’t know how to feel at first,” said Gabby. “The girl’s team was supposed to make it to state together, but we ended up one spot from qualifying. I really wanted the whole team to go together.”

“The girls got fourth place overall, which was one place away from state, and the highest placing in DHS history,” said Evelyn Morehead, a runner for the girls’ NCS team. “One of our girls, Gabby, also broke a DHS cross country record in her race at the state meet,” she affectionately added about her teammate’s success. Both the girls’ and boys’ team also managed to make history as the fastest NCS teams DHS has ever had.

Though NCS was a difficult meet with different results and overwhelming emotions in store for each of the 14 runners, DHS’s cross country team and its bond is one that cannot be broken apart.