Sports Briefs: AW runners Stieg, Sharp set pace at Lowell Invitational

Archie Williams High junior Ani Stieg and Redwood’s Sydney Middleton won their girls varsity heat races during the two 2.88-mile heats held to accommodate the large field during the Lowell Invitational cross country race held Saturday at Golden Gate Park.

Stieg led the pack in 16 minutes, 44.1 seconds to finish 14.4 seconds ahead of the next runner, Ariya Kaushek of Menlo.

The Bulls’ Audrey Spaly, who had the fastest time at the Stinson Beach Relays last week, placed fifth in her  heat Saturday at 17:00.1. She was followed by Marin Catholic senior Gabby Hays (18:05.7) in 15th and Branson sophomore Farrah Allen (18:11.8) in 18th place. Terra Linda senior Annie Carmona (18:23.9) led the Trojans with a 22nd-place finish. San Marin senior Quincy Dean placed 91st (21:24.1).

Middleton was the first Marin runner across the finish line in her heat at 16:57.0. Tam’s Emma Gardner (17:18.2) finished 15th. Junior Katherine Rogers set the pace for San Domenico as she finished 79th (19:37.9).

The Branson School girls took first place in the standings for their heat, while Terra Linda finished fifth. Archie Williams took 13th place in the opening girls heat race, which featured 18 teams. In the second girls heat race, Tam took ninth place, just six points ahead of 10th-place Redwood. San Domenico finished 20th among 21 teams.

Boys cross country

Archie Williams senior Ian Sharp posted the fastest time among the boys runners from Marin in the two 2.88-mile heats during the Lowell Invitational held Saturday at Golden Gate Park. Sharp clocked in at 14:13.0 to place fourth in his heat, with Redwood senior Nicholas Kemsley close behind in 10th (14:26.1). Tam senior Caeden Gardner placed 31st (14:53.2). San Domenico junior Alton Bender (17:48.8) placed 165th among nearly 200 runners in the heat.

Branson senior Jasper James took sixth place (14:50.2) in his heat race, with San Marin junior Justin Catanach ninth (15:05.0). Terra Linda junior Shahan Ajmani (15:43.9) placed 34th.

The Peregrine Falcons placed seventh in the heat standings, with just two points separating them from eighth-place Tam. Redwood took 12th place. In the standings for the other heat, Marin Catholic placed fifth, with Branson 12th.

Softball

Archie Williams pitcher Paige Murphy announced via social media that she’s committing to Tufts University. Murphy was named as the MCAL’s softball player of the year last season after posting a 1.58 earned-run average with 185 strikeouts over 133 innings. Murphy also hit .486 for the Peregrine Falcons, who earned their first MCAL postseason appearance in eight years.

Girls volleyball

Cherise Castagne had a season-high 10 kills on Monday as San Rafael took down Piedmont in four sets. Elsa Kehoe had 14 kills and 15 digs for the Bulldogs (12-5). Abby Sims added 30 assists and Olivia Dugan had 31 digs. Adelaide Gaw had 11 digs and three aces.

Girls golf

Alessia Ducati shot a 43 at Mill Valley Golf Course to lead Tam past Terra Linda, 220-241, on Tuesday. Mia Schlotman led Terra Linda (0-6) with a 54.

• Archie Williams edged Novato, 186-199, at Marin Country Club on Tuesday as the Falcons’ Mirabelle Davis and Hornets’ Hayley Picetti tied for medalist honors at 39.
• Lizzie Liu fired a 38 at Peacock Gap to lead the Branson School over Archie Williams, 186-241, on Monday. The Peregrine Falcons’ Ksita Chiu came around at 52.

Tennis

The annual Tiburon Challenger returns to the Tiburon Peninsula Club on Sunday, Sept. 30 for a week of elite exciting tennis featuring some elite players. The tournament, which in recent years has included 2023 and 2024 US Open semifinalists Alex Michelson and Ben Shelton, and Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, the US Open doubles champions from 2021-23. For information on tickets and special events, visit www.tiburonchallenger.org.

Job openings

Redwood High School is currently looking to hire a head coach for the freshman girls basketball team and assistant coaches for the freshman and junior varsity baseball teams.