The Vikings didn’t place a scoring runner in the top five finishers of the race, which resulted in the Gunn Titans sweeping the Vikings. The Vikings and Titans were the only teams partaking in the race.

Head coach Paul Jones was not surprised by the results because of the strength of Gunn’s squad.

“We got fully expected results, that’s why we started all seniors,” Jones said.

Some runners were satisfied with the race, acknowledging Gunn’s domination this season.

“I think Gunn is one of the strongest teams in the area,” senior Leigh Dairaghi said. “Our team did really well and a lot of people improved a lot.”

The Vikings’ top finisher was senior Susan Heinselman, who finished in 13 minutes and 18 seconds over the fast and flat 2.18 mile course.

For the seniors, this was their last race at Gunn in their running careers. An annual ceremony that acknowledges the graduating seniors is held at Gunn each year, this year being no exception.

Every underclassman improved upon or matched her time from earlier in the year, when the Vikings competed on the same course, according to Jones.

The runners were pleased with the conditions on the course, as the cool weather with gusts of wind was in stark contrast to the hot weather of the previous race earlier in the year.

“We really had nice course conditions; usually when we run here it is really hot and awful,” Dairaghi said.

It was evident that it was Spirit Week at Paly, as several Gunn runners and coaches noticed the wacky clothes that many people were wearing.

”It was a little colored by this being homecoming week,” Jones remarked.

From this point on, the Vikings will fill their roster with the best runners in varsity, according to Jones.

“We are running our best runners at SCVALS (Santa Clara Valley Athletic League),” Jones said. “Some of the ones to run varsity are Lydia [Guo] and a few others.”

The girls’ next race will be on Oct. 7 at Crystal Springs High School for the Crystal Springs SCVAL Championship.