Meanwhile, the boys are expecting greater participation.
What it means for 2007 is anyone's guess.
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The Cougars have never traveled to that meet. It will be a season of firsts for Half Moon Bay, as the team will also be in a De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational in Concord on Sept. 15, Pepperdine Invitational in Malibu on Sept. 22 and the Castro Valley Trojan Invitational on Oct. 13.
Meanwhile, Half Moon Bay will once again run in the Ram Invitational at Westmoor on Sept. 29 and go to the Mt. SAC Invitational Oct. 19.
Most importantly, the Artichoke Invitational returns on Oct. 6, after a one-year hiatus.
Second-year coach Paul Farnsworth is excited not only with the returning runners, but the schedule as well.
"Every course on our schedule has at least one hill, with the exception of Pepperdine," Farnsworth said.
Farnsworth expects Half Moon Bay to be a player when it comes to both the Peninsula Athletic League title and a berth at the state meet.
The Half Moon Bay girls are led by Sammy Hamilton, who finished third in the PAL and won the Central Coast Section title last year. She went on to finish fifth at the state meet, the highest individual placing by a Half Moon Bay girl at the state meet.
Kathleen Abadie, Chelsea Michaels and Anna Mathiasen are also back, along with Lauren Virgen. Farnsworth isn't sure if Megan Correa, a two-time state participant, will come out this year.
Half Moon Bay finished fourth at the PAL meet last year. Like the Cougars, the three teams finishing ahead of them were not hit hard by graduation. Champion Carlmont's No. 5 runner graduated. Woodside had its No. 1 and No. 6 runner graduate.
Menlo School, a Division IV rival, said good-bye to its Nos. 2 and 5 runners.
Half Moon Bay placed fourth at the CCS meet last year. For the most part, the top three finishers were not hit that hard by graduation. But Thea Lee, the top runner for defending champ Carmel, graduated.
San Lorenzo Valley returns to Division IV after several years up in Division III. However, those Cougars are not as powerful as those teams of past years. Last year was the first time in a long time that San Lorenzo Valley didn't qualify its team for the state meet.
Meanwhile, on the boys' side, Half Moon Bay has returning state qualifier Bryce Williamson. Frank Lima, David Edwards and Aaron Bothan are expected to contribute. Freshman Jared Cilia could be a scorer for the varsity. Matt Thornton and John Edwards will battle for scoring spots on the varsity team. The team is also expecting good things from sophomores Ryan Dill and Matt Thornton.
Last year, the boys finished 10th as a team at PAL and fifth at CCS. The team didn't advance to state.
In addition, someone could show up and make a contribution, like Jose Montoya did last year.
"I am very excited for the season," Farnsworth said. "We are still very young. We have some talent."
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