Had they lost horribly at the Nov. 15 All-City meet? No, the team blasted away all visible signs of competition at the AAA meet as usual, with the varsity girls winning another title exactly as they have done for the past 29 years. Did they draw as much attention at the state meet? No, Lowell was still a small fish in the big ocean of California high school cross country and couldn’t place among the top half of its competitors at State, exactly as it has been for the past 29 years.

But a drought that had lasted a long three years was blissfully lifted when freshmen runners Tamara Purpura and Aaron Hill became the first freshmen since the junior class’s freshmen year to capture a spot on the varsity state-meet team.

Alexis Kim, Colie Smith and Jaimie Ngo,Cross-country MVPs

“There were so many new faces,” senior varsity runner Jaimie Ngo, part of the graduating crop of runners who can boast about their freshman year state meet experience, said of the freshmen on the state meet team. The ability to give upperclassmen a run for their money is definitely a sign of potential, according to Ngo. She especially sees this quality in Purpura, who was the second lady Cardinal to cross the State meet finish line despite running with a nasty case of pneumonia. Ngo was the first. “I’m glad Tamara’s on the team because she will really benefit us later on,” she said.

Hill enjoyed his first State meet experience, despite finishing “near the end. It will motivate me in races in the city. I hope to get better each year.” A surplus of state newbies also meant more runners to bond with during the stay in Fresno.

“There weren’t only freshmen but sophomores too; a lot of people went for their first time,” Ngo said. “It was usually with the same people before, but this year it was different and we got to know everyone.”

Whether teammates were looking up the meaning of their subconscious minds in psychology textbooks, playing on Gamecubes or, in the case of the seniors, taking advantage of the hotel’s free DSL to work on college applications, the state meet was a time of bonding and a perfect way to end the season.

The Lowell’s pick for a cross-country boys’ MVP undoubtedly goes to senior varsity runner Colie Smith. Smith, a transfer student from Philadelphia, has thrived in San Francisco’s perfect running weather and consistently placed first in AAA meets with quite a bit of time to spare. Though the city champion did not do as well at state as he had hoped, placing 129th out of 200 runners, Smith still met most of the goals he had set at the beginning of the season.

“There were a lot more fast people” at California’s state meet than at Pennsylvania’s state meet, he admitted. “But I did run in the 16:50 range for 5K as I had hoped.” Many runners agreed with Smith’s MVP status.

“Colie was always out there in front at practice and encouraged us to go faster,” junior varsity runner Hans Meimban said. “Even if we were tired, he’d still run with us.”

The cross-country girls’ MVP was a bit harder to choose, but in this case, the title of girls’ MVP goes to both Kim and Ngo, the protective mother hens of cross country. The pair always arrived first at meets to lead the newbies around the course and point out the forks in the path. Although some team-bonding events did not go smoothly, they were the organizing force behind last Friday’s cross-country banquet at Naan n’ Curry.

Ngo ran consistently this season, always among the first Lowell girls to finish in a race. She finished 134th out of 200 at State with a time of 20:29.

“I feel secure with them around,” sophomore varsity runner Diana Zhen said. “Every time I’ve been injured, I’ve gone up to them and they’ve given me a lot of advice.”