Not many people knew about Northgate High's Will Melton last year, his first season running cross country after giving up football.

The senior is certainly on the radar now.

At the Diablo Valley Athletic League meet held Nov. 6, Melton kept up with College Park standout Jeff Bickert through the first third of the 3.0-mile course at Martinez's Hidden Valley Park. Melton eventually fell to a second place in a time of 16:21, but the solid result helped Northgate take second place as a team at the event.

The finish — one of his best of the year — gives Melton some good momentum heading into the Nov. 21 North Coast Section Division III meet at Hayward High School. He'll be looking to lead the Northgate boys to a top-four finish in the loaded D-III field, which would earn the Broncos an automatic berth to the CIF State Championships.

If the Broncos don't qualify as a team, Melton could still earn an individual berth. Besides the prestigious Mt. Sac Invitational, Melton has finished in the top 10 of every race he has competed in this year, including a first-place finish at the Ram Invitational held at Wesmoor High in Daly City on Sept. 29.

"It's his desire, his desire and intensity," Northgate cross country coach Peter Brewer said of Melton's improvement over the last two years. "He really wants to improve and he really wants to run in college. He has specific goals. He doesn't understand why he has to take days off

Chad Whittington also ran a strong race at the DVAL championships, finishing sixth in 16:41. Whittington and Melton are two of 12 seniors on the Broncos' boys team. They've been the top two runners all year in what has turned out to be one of Northgate's best teams in awhile.

"We can hold our own against any of (the Division III) teams," Brewer said. "It's been quite a plumb for Northgate cross country to be considered in the same breath as some of those teams. We're pleased to be in the conversation."

Northgate's frosh-soph team won the DVAL title and beat perennial power College Park, signaling to Brewer that the Broncos boys may be strong for years to come.

The Northgate girls team, hampered by injuries and with only a handful of seniors, took third at the DVAL meet. Julia Hoh was their top finisher with a 16th place finish in 21:55.