Senior runner Eshaan Hussain ended his high school cross country career on the highest of high notes last month.
Hussain set a school record time of 15:26 on the 5K course to place 14th at the CIF State Finals on Nov. 30 at historic Woodward Park in Fresno.
Hussain’s efforts, which was the best individual finish at state in Cal High’s history, helped lead the team to a 19th place finish in the Division 1 race and a 31-point victory over crosstown rival Dougherty Valley.
“We beat Dougherty, which was kind of our goal for the season,” Hussain said. “They’ve historically been better than us, so we’re making progress as a team.”
Hussain’s performance came on the heels of his second place finish at the NCS Championships on Nov. 23 at Hayward High. Hussain ran the three-mile course in 16:05 as the boys’ team placed third in the Division 1 race and seventh overall.
The team’s finish helped Cal advance to the State Finals as a team for the second straight year.
“This year we had a wet, muddy course for NCS, so it presented a little bit of a different challenge,” coach Nick Shea said. “I’m definitely happy and I’m going to look fondly on this meet. It’s a good opportunity to establish what we can do in the future and keep that growth mindset and stay hungry.”
At the NCS Championships, the Grizzlies put together a great team effort, finishing with four top 20 finishes. They included senior Jonathan Mills-Lawrence (11th, 16:52); freshman Arjun Vivek (16th, 17:11); and junior Gustavo Mendes de Oliveira (19th, 17:18).
Senior Aidan Dube, who didn’t finish the NCS race, was the second best runner at state with a time of 16:00, good for 76th place.
For the girls, Cal placed fifth at NCS but did not advance to the State Finals as a team.
But sophomore Emily Bellinger advanced to state after placing fifth at NCS with a time of 18:48. She improved on the slightly longer course at state by recording a time of 18:59 to place 73rd overall.
At state, Bellinger was the third fastest NCS runner.
“Getting the experience helped and this year we were able to build on that.¨ Bellinger said.
Other top performers for the girls at NCS included sophomore Advika Richhariya (31st, 21:10); junior Alicia Pombo (33rd, 21:36); freshman Nithya Kuchibotla (35th, 21:47); and senior Grace Delmada (38th, 21:55).
Flag Football
After a strong debut season in which the Grizzlies won the first EBAL title last year, Cal looked to back that up by winning the inaugural NCS championship.
But after defending their EBAL title, the second-seeded Grizzlies fell short of their ultimate goal by losing 19-18 at home to No. 4 Alhambra in the NCS semifinals on Nov. 14.
Cal (20-6 overall) finished the season ranked 19th in the state, according to maxpreps.com.
“I preached all year, ‘Don’t chase the play, let the play come to you,” coach Brad Bretzing said.
The Grizzlies reached the NCS semis by beating Encinal 47-14 in the opening round and Las Lomas 13-12 in the quarterfinals.
Cal also notably swept their league rival San Ramon Valley (22-4) in the regular season and beat the Wolves 27-26 in double overtime in the EBAL title game. The Grizzlies are 6-0 against the Wolves the last two years.
Coach Frank Grgurina has been an integral part of the teams success, said senior slot corner Ashley Woon.
“He’s great at making sure we maintain a team mentality and having the same end goal,” Woon said.
Football
The Grizzlies had another strong season overall, reaching the NCS quarterfinals before losing to eventual Division 1 runner-up San Ramon Valley.
Cal (8-3) was beaten by the Wolves for the second time this season when it fell 35-7 on Nov. 15. The Grizzlies’ only other loss was to De La Salle.
The Grizzlies finished third in EBAL.
Standout junior running back Jhadis Luckey led the team in total offense, averaging 186 rushing yards per game. He was named co-MVP of NCS after finishing the season ranked sixth in the state with 33 TDs.
Luckey’s biggest highlight came in the regular season finale win at Amador Valley when he rushed for 425 yards and a school-record of seven touchdowns. Cal beat the Dons 54-48 in overtime.
One of the other highlights, especially for the seniors, was finishing with a perfect 4-0 record against Monte Vista in their careers.
Cal needed 26 years of play to get their first win against Monte Vista in 1999. But since then the series has been back and forth with Cal leading the series 11-10 since 2004. The Californian couldn’t obtain records of the game results from 2000-03.
For the Class of 2025, the team has never lost to the Mustangs. Starting freshman year, the Grizzlies have dominated the series, wrapping up the series by putting up a 50 spot in Cal’s homecoming game.
Senior receivers Matteen Rekhabi and Wesley Wineigner aren’t surprised by their ownage of Monte Vista. But senior running back Parker Quimby knows the reason for this class’s 4-0 records
“We have been able to play with grit against Monte Vista because of Coach [Danny]Calcagno’s great coaching and leadership,” Rekhabi said.
Things are always heated on both sides when these schools meet, with both teams giving a little extra.
When Monte Vista comes up on the schedule, not only is the game important because of the rivalry but also because it’s a league game. Even with the urgency to win being apparent, Calcagno and Rekhabi don’t treat the game any differently.
¨Going into it we immensely want to win because it’s a league game but we don’t prepare any differently.¨ Rekhabi said.
After Calcagno’s five years at Cal, he has led the team to a solid winning record of 37-26.
“This year was a big win because I thought on paper Monte Vista would be the team to beat,” Calcagno said.
Girls Tennis
For the first time in eight years, the women’s tennis team finally qualified for NCS.
“It was a great feeling to go back to NCS and it made it special for the seniors that have built the foundation for the future,” coach Manny Vazquez said.
But the season ended with the team feeling a little disappointed after having their NCS run end at the hands of eventual champion Dublin.
No. 13 Cal lost at fourth-seeded Dublin 6-1 in Nov. 12 in the opening round of NCS.
Members of the team expressed how it was slightly unlucky to be going against Dublin, one of the top seeds, to open NCS. But they kept up the fight and didn’t get discouraged by the end of the season.
Junior Mahita Chava feels that even if they were going against the strongest team in their league, they didn’t give up.
“You’re not winning for yourself, but you’re winning for someone else,” Chava said. “You have to win for the people who may have lost in their round.”
The team will still cherish the memories of NCS.
“Even though it’s not because of me [that the team qualified for NCS] I’m very proud of our team,” freshman doubles player Lam Ngyuen said.
Nguyen said how this experience fostered her love for tennis.
“It’s a great way to bond with my teammates,” she said.
Senior team captain Graciella Barco said she is proud of the team and how much they’ve improved over the years.
“I definitely think the team improved,” Barco said. “Compared to how it was when I started as a freshman, I feel a strong team.”
Barco also feels like everyone has changed individually from a physical and a mental standpoint.
“The team significantly improved, and I’m really proud of the change and the team overall,” senior team captain Xiwen He said.
Girls Golf
The girls golf team wrapped up another solid season by placing 11th out of 21 schools at the NCS Division 1 Championship last month.
The girls shot a team score of 461 at Paradise Valley Golf Club in Fairfield on Nov. 4. Senior Emily Zhang led the team with a round of 80, followed by sophomore Kate Shu’s 82.
Cal qualified for NCS after placing seventh in league with a 6-7 record. Some of the team’s highlights included a season-opening road victory over defending league champion Monte Vista, and road wins against Amador Valley and Foothill.