James Lick Track Team Opens 2020 Season Strong at Willow Glen Invitational

The 2020 Track season is oficially underway with the James Lick Comets joining 35 other track teams at the Willow Glen Invitational on Saturday March 7th. As has seemingly become a yearly tradition, the meet dealt with somewhat chilly conditions and bouts of rain throughout, at times making conditions very unsuitable to strong track performances. Nonetheless, the team had some very strong early performances, with a grand total of 27 PRS in the meet, more that at any invitational from the 2019 season.

The meet began with the frosh/soph girls 4×100. The team of Jenny Fimbres, Cecelia Usui, Daniela Huitron and Jenny Gomez combined to run 1:01.60 with some very rough exchanges in what was the first ever track meet for 3 of the 4 members of the team.

Jenny Fimbres handing the baton to Cecelia Usui 

Field events were already ongoing at this time as well and saw a number of solid performances for the Comets. In the frosh/soph girls discus, Sara Hawkes lead the Comets with a PR of 65-8.5, a PR by over 5 feet. Jimmie Chircop cracked the 60 foot barrier for the first time as well throwing 60-5 for a 4 foot PR. Francia Castro PR’d by almost 10 feet, throwing 59-10 and Emma Demblewski got a small PR of 57-10.

At the same time, Frosh/Soph boys high jump was going on. Jordan Lagura, the team’s top frosh/soph athlete, cleared 4-10 in his first try at the event and clearly has a much higher ceiling. Chris Escobar, the starting center on the frosh/soph basketball team went 5-0 in his first ever track meet, and only 3 days of practice so far, showing great potential as well. Lastly in boys Triple Jump, Jamie Vong went 37-4, opening the season just 4 inches off his PR. Geo Campos went a solid 35-10 in the event as well.

Back on the track, Ruth Rodriguez was the only frosh/soph girl for the Comets, and she opened her season with a PR of 6:37. The frosh/soph boys 1600 saw all 3 Comets PR. Omar Sanchez and Justin Nguyen both ran 5:44, 13 second PRS for both boys who broke the 6 minute barrier for the first time at our end of XC time trial. Carlos Nava took 6 seconds off his PR to run 6:22, and he’s only been out at practice for a few weeks since he was wrestling in the winter.

Justin Nguyen (Lane 2) and Omar Sanchez (Lane 1) Storming to PRS in the 1600 

Omar and Justin are following the path of great improvement to varsity levels laid down by Brandon Cruz, Jerricho Habon and others on the team. Both Comets ran with us all summer, yet by late August, Omar could only run 7:03 for the 1600 and Justin only 7:31. The fact that they lowered their PRS to under 6 by the end of XC, and now open track season with big PRS gives us great cause for hope for both boys futures.

The varsity girls 1600 saw multiple PRS as well. Jessica Cervantes lead the team with a 2 second PR of 6:22. Next was Lizbeth Espana in 6:29, ripping 9 seconds off her PR. Keyla Sifuentes, a newcomer to track after an excellent first XC season took 13 seconds off her PR to run 6:33. Ashley Preciado and Emely Lopez came in together at 6:41. This was an 11 second PR for Emely, and while it wasn’t a PR for Ashley, she is more than 20 seconds ahead of her start from last year.

The boys 1600 saw Brandon Cruz lead the group in 5:06. Melvin Estrada also had a solid season opener of 5:14. Nien Tran ran 5:29, a long way from his 5:01, but we’ve learned that Nien takes a longer time than most to get in shape. Jerricho was off to a good start in his 1600 but took a fall and suffered minor injury, only running 5:32 despite going through 800 meters under 5:10 pace.

The hurdle races were next. Cecelia Usui made her debut in 21.58 despite a -1.8 m/s headwind. I’ve been fortunate enough to have coached 2 CCS Qualafiers in girls hurdles and 3 division champions between Andrea Ortiz and Valeria Cortez, and neither of them ran as fast as Cecelia did her first try at the event. Yesenia Martinez ran the varsity girls event in 20.25 into a -2.5m/s headwind. A wind this strong makes a big difference, as the wind conversion formula indicates that time would be a 19.53 under neutral conditions, a strong start to the season.

In the boys 110 hurdles, Rodolf Ocampo made his debut as the team’s highest ranked returning athlete within the CCS in the past decade. After some very strong 60 hurdles performances in early February, Rodolf had spent the last 3 weeks in the Philippines with family, only arriving the night before the Willow Glen Invite, hardly ideal for great performance. Even so, he ran 16.60 into a headwind to place 5th in the meet, narrowly losing to fellow CCS qualifiers. Jamie Vong made his debut in the event in 18.31, a very strong time for his first try. Dekota Castro-Lopez ran a big PR of 19.61, a PR by over 2 seconds despite the headwind. I feel very strong about our hurdles group heading into this season.

Ruth managed a small PR in the 400, running 1:22.01 and proving that she is truly a long distance runner. Hektor Olivera and Navbir Kahlon ran 1:04 and 1:05 in their first attempts at the event. Yeimili Adame managed a very strong season opener of 1:05.52 a PR by .13 to start the season. This is an excellent start, even faster than the season opener of Paloma Contreras when she won the WV title for the team in 2015 and qualified for CCS. In the boys varsity 400, Hector Hidalgo ran a 1:01 in his first attempt at the event and Angel Guerrero lowered his PR a full second from 59.40 to 58.28.

Rain began just in time for the 100s but the team still managed some solid early performances. Newcomer Jenny Gomez was the fastest lady Comet of the day, running 15.17, a very strong early performance. Jenny Fimbres was not far behind in 15.32, just .02 off her PR already. The flying Jenny’s will look to spearhead the frosh/soph girls 4×100 all season. The young lady COmet throwers also showed up strong in the 100, Jimmie Chircop ran 16.04 and Sara Hawkes 16.13. This pair looks to help form a formidable throwers 4×100. Franica Castro (17.67) and Daniela Huitron (17.80) rounded out the FS girls 100.

Jordan lead the team in the F/S boys 100 running 12.42, just .06 off of his PR. Justin took .3 off of his PR to run 13.41. Soreya Thach made his debut in 13.58. Jose Garcia took a big chunk off of his PR lowering his 100m best from 14.41 to 13.68 (and on his birthday no less).

Miny Pham and Azalea Galinato ran very similar times of 15.20 and 15.23 as the only varsity girls competing, solid early season times. Despite the bad weather, and the fact that he’s still dealing with a hamstring injury, Raven Alcantara ran 11.69 to open his season. In similar conditions in 2019, Raven ran 12.02 at Willow Glen, and managed to end the season with a best 11.47, so this 11.69 clocking is a very strong performance in my mind. Geo was the next Comet in at 12.09. Rodolf and Jamie ran 12.21 and 12.22, PRS for both boys though Rodolf has run faster with a big tailwind. These 4 figure to be the ‘A’ team for the 4×100 this season, and we’ll be aiming to soon have all 4 under the 12 second barrier.

More field events were being contested at this point. Jordan had a strong day in the frosh/soph long jump, going 18-5 to place 3rd overall. Soreya and Jose also competed with Jose managing a 6 inch PR. Yesenia went 27-2 in triple jump, and 4-2 in high jump to start her season. Minhy and Cecelia also long jumped, though both were short of their PRS.

In the varsity girls discus, Adriana Marcelino threw her 2nd best toss ever, 75-6 to place 13th out of 33 throwers. In the boys Shot Put, Hugo Marquez threw 23-6.5. Sara narrowly missed medaling for the team, placing 5th in the frosh/soph girls shot put with a toss of 24-4, 4 inches shy of 4th place. Clarrisa Morales also had a strong debut of 23-00.50.

Back on the track it was time for the 800. Justin and Omar both netted PRS with Justin running 2:32 and Omar running 2:36 in just their 2nd try at the event. On the varsity girls side, Mya Hammond lead the group with a seasons best 2:54. Emely managed a 2nd big PR on the day, running 3:05 for the event. Brandon barely missed his PR running a high 2:19 in the event. The final event of the day for the Comets was the 300 hurdles. Both Yeimili and Dekota achieved PRS despite some rain. Yeimili ran 55.53, and Dekota 51.32.

Considering the weather, it was a very strong meet for the Comets. The team will continue gearing up for their season with the K-Bell Invitational on Saturday March 14th. The team will have it’s first dual meet of the season at home on Thursday March 19th against the Prospect Panthers.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

James Lick Track and Field: 2020 Season Preview

The Winter season of CCS sports is nearly over which means that the time for Spring Sports is nearly here, brining with it yet another James Lick track season. The 2019 season saw the Comets achieve their first winning season in the ‘B’ division of the BVAl ever, with the varsity boys squad finishing 5-2. This is a particularly exciting year given the string returners on the boys side especially, setting the team up to be competitive against every team they face in the division.

The division has a slightly new look with Perennial power Pioneer moving up to the ‘A’ division and Branham High School moving down. Pioneer went 7-0 on both the boys and girls sides last season, so their departure opens the door for new champions, although Branham will provide stiff competition in their stead.

Below, you can see lists of the top returning athletes in the division (based on marks in 2019) in each event. Obviously it’s tough to say what new athletes will show up, but this provides a decent idea of where the team stands in different areas.

Top Returning Boys

Top returning Girls

2019 Boys Point Scoring breakdown 

Event Group	Average Points Per Dual Meet	Points Available Per Meet	Average Points as percentage of Available	League Finals Points
Distance	15.85	27	59%	7
Hurdles	12	18	66%	12.5
Jumps	23.25	36	65%	30
Relays	4.28	10	43%	14
Sprints	11.85	27	44%	10
Throws	4.71	18	26%	1

As this chart shows, the boys were an above average team in the division in 3/6 event areas, and were nearly league average in 2 others. Throws was the team’s real weakness in 2019, and it is a weakness the team, and throws coach Raul Lopez are working hard to rectify.

The team’s strongest event was boys hurdles and the event figures to be an even greater strength for the team this season. Rodolf Ocampo made it all the way to CCS trials last year after breaking through for a PR of 15.97 at last year’s BVAL finals. For reference however, he did not even run under 17 seconds until our division finals meet, and he should make a run at being the ‘B’ division champ in the event. Factor in Josh Merin who finished 6th in teh division in only his 3rd attempt at the 110 hurdles and these two seniors should form a very strong 1-2 punch for the team.

Things are looking good as the team comes out of conditioning. We use the early season to work n acceleration, with athletes like Rodolf running the 60 meter hurdles at the Los Gatos All Comers meet. A year ago, his PR in the event was 9.97. In just two all comers meets this year, he’s lowered his PR to 8.87.

The team has to deal with the loss of Salvador Lopez, the team’s #1 jumper from last season who is now at Piedmont Hills HS. Still, a strong jump core of Jamie Vong, Geo Campos and Jordan Lagura will look to keep jumps an event of strength for the team after scoring points at division finals last year. Jamie is another athlete off to a great early start. Last season he ended with a long jump PR of 18-6.5 Defying even his own expectations, this past Saturday at the all comers meet, Jamie managed a massive new PR of 19-7.

The team last top distance runner Erik Olsvold who graduated last year, but the team still has a number of scoring distance runners returning. Jerricho Habon is the #2 ranked 800m runner in the division and Brandon Cruz and Mark Orpia both return as sub 5 minute milers already, meaning distance should still be an area of strength although a very strong Branham distance squad will shake things up as well.

The sprints and relays squad was the team’s most improved last year. The 2019 team was the first 4×100 team from James Lick since 2001 to make CCS and 3 of the 4 members of the team are back. The returning members of the team who are conditioning are all ahead of where they were last year as well. After running the 60 meter dash 3 times last year, Raven Alcantara ended the season with a PR of 7.41, the fastest time we have on record. In only one all comers meet this season, Raven has run 7.28.

A year ago, the team’s top 5 boys in the 60 were Raven: 7.41,  Geo Campos 7.60, Salvador Lopez: 7.83, Josh Merin: 7.83 and Misael Herrera at 7.99. Geo and Josh are still in basketball season, Sal is at piedmont and Misael has graduated, yet the sprint team is poised to be much stronger this year based on early 60 meter times.

The team’s top sprinters so far, with still one all comers meet to go are:

Raven: 7.41

Rodolf: 7.53 (pr of 8.17 in 2019)

Jamie: 7.61 (PR of 8.07 in 2019)

Eric Dang 7.71 (a newcomer Sophmore we’re very excited about)

Jerricho Habon 7.72 (PR of 8.07 in 2019).

These times have been achieved without 3 of our 5 fastest returning sprinters.Our team’s acceleration is well ahead of where it was at this time a year ago.

Boys throws were the team’s biggest weakness last season, but coach Raul is hard at work trying to fix that. Throws in the ‘B’ division are a relatively weak event currently, and several newcomers are looking to make an impact.

From top to bottom, the boys squad should be a force in the division, looking for another winning season, and maybe even a division title.

 

Event Group	Average Points Per Dual Meet	Points Available Per Meet	Average Points as percentage of Available	League Finals Points
Distance	13.55	27	50%	21
Hurdles	13.1	18	73%	24
Jumps	14.86	27	55%	0
Relays	1.73	10	17%	3
Sprints	7.72	27	28%	1
Throws	14.85	18	82%	32

The girls team was very strong last year in throws and in hurdles but both events will take a huge dent with the graduation of Valeria Cortez and Marquise Nelson. Both athletes made CCS in throws, and Valeria in particular scored the most dual meet points of any Comet on record last season, she will not be easily replaced.

The strides made by athletes like Adriana Marcelino who improved her discus by over 10 feet last year, will be key to keeping the Comets competitive in throws. A batch of young throwers is coming out from winter sports, including the younger sister of Charli Chircop. Charli threw 118-2 in discus in 2018 to set the school record, and her sister Jimmie is a Sophmore now, we can only hope she is a chip off the old block.

In hurdles, the loss of Valeria hurts, but Yesenia Martinez remains as a strong athlete in the event, a former BVAL qualafier. Natalie Rem will also have an impact as will freshmen Ceclia who is looking like a future star so far.

With a healthy season, Natalie can take the team far in jumps. She is still one of the top jumpers in the league with her triple jump PR of 33-4 being particularly strong in the division. Much of the girls season hinges upon her performance, as the team’s projected top sprinter as well. Lisbeth Galdamez has been a very reliable sprinter for the team, and if she can have one more breakthrough she could go from consistent 2nd and 3rds for the team in the 100 to achieving event wins. She and Yesenia also form the team’s solid 1-2 punch in long jump. Yeimili Adame has been the team’s top 400 runner and will look to end her senior year strong, coming off of a strong soccer season.

In distance, the team will also have to overcome the loss of Arlet Miranda. This is not an easy task but the younger distance girls stepped up huge in cross country to go 4-3 without Arlet. Jessica Cervantes and Lizbeth Espana are both in shape to PR already based on the al comers meet where Jessica ran 6:27 for the full mile (current PR of 6:24) and Lizbeth ran 6:38 (same as her PR for 1600). These two will be relied upon heavily, alongside young talents like Daisy Flores to help the team score points in distance.

The girls squad is looking to rebound from a 2-5 season, and add a couple more wins to the ledger this year. The team is determined to make our 3rd year in the ‘B’ division our most successful so far.

The team will compete at the Los Gatos all comers meet on Saturday February 22nd. The following week the team will face Independence in a scrimmage meet. Finally the season will truly begin on Saturday March 7th when the team competes at the Willow Glen Invitational.

JLXC All Decade Team 2010-2019

As we wind down the year of 2019, I thought we could take a look back at the decade and determine the James Lick Cross Country All Decade Team. Ultimately this a subjective list, based on the times of the runners of this decade with particular emphasis on Crystal Springs (our league finals course) and our league race course of Montgomery Hill and Alum Rock Park.

I was a senior on the 2010 XC team, and have been a coach on the team since 2013. As a result, I was either a teammate or coach of every member of this all decade list. This list will be my best attempt to give James Lick it’s best top 7 boys and girls of the decade with a few honorable mentions.

Boys Honorable Mention:

1. Ricardo Flores Class of 2011

Ricardo really emerged as a senior running 16:22 at Montgomery Hill, the 6th fastest league race time of the decade. His struggles at Crystal Springs  (18:08) PR keep him off the list. Every other member of the all decade team managed a sub 18 3 mile, a feet Ricardo never quite managed.

2. Gustavo Aguilera Class of 2017

Gustavo really built himself into being a great runner through hardwork. As late as his sophomore year his PRS were 17:50 at Montgomery Hill and 18:47 at Crystal Springs. Over the next two years he took these decent but unspectacular times down to 16:53 at Montgomery and 17:39 at Crystal Springs. He was the 5th boy on the 2016 league championship team, the best team of the decade by far, but his PRS fall just short of some other members of the list.

The Boys list

7. Benny Reeves Class of 2011 

It’s always a weird thing to include yourself on a list like this but frankly I think it would be dishonest not to. At my best league meet at Alum Rock, I ran 16:28, the 7th best league race time of the decade for a James Lick boy. My Crystal Springs mark of 17:30 ties Inteus Castro-Lopez for 5th of the decade. The next few boys on the list I put above myself despite the fact that I was faster than them at Half Moon Bay HS, Newhall Park and Mt. Sac, all courses we had in common.

6. Karan Singh Class of 2015

Karan only makes this list because of his final month as a senior. He was a quality runner as a senior but really went off at the end of the season. With one month left in his career, he just barely managed to crack 17 minutes for a league meet, running 16:50 at Montgomery Hill, only the 12th best league race time of the decade for a Comet. At BVAL finals however, he ran 17:17 at Crystal Springs, the 4th fastest Comet of the decade at our most important course. He did even better at Toro Park, running 17:27 at CCS.

His lack of early performances keep him low on the list, but if this list was based on single most impressive performance he’d be #4 on this list.

5. Mark Orpia Class of 2020 

Mark may have gotten higher on this list if not for an injury plagued Senior year. He ran 16:19 at Montgomery Hill (the 5th best league race time of the decade by a Comet) and he did it as a junior. He also ran 17:34 at Crystal Springs, 7th best of the decade. Across the board he had quality invitational times as well. The fact that he didn’t get to run a single league meet hurts his case but the fact of the matter is he was our team’s #1 runner for two seasons in a row.

4. Inteus Castro-Lopez Class of 2018

Inteus was a runner who surpassed all expectations we had of him. He ran with a limp as a result of a metal plate in his leg, but still managed to run 16:17 at Montgomery Hill, the 4th best Comet league meet time of the decade. His 17:30 at Crystal Springs ties him for 5th best their as well. He didn’t have the high ceiling of the rest of the boys on this list but he was a reliable runner, exactly the kind of runner you want for a 4th or 5th boy. He was the #4 boy on the 2016 league championship team.

3. Erik Olsvold Class of 2019 

There is a very good case to be made that Erik should be #1 on this list. In an ideal world he definitely would be. As a sophomore he was the #1 boy on the 2016 league championship team. He was the individual champion for the ‘B’ division with a time of 16:22. He was also the only Comet to win a league meet with an outstanding 15:27 time at Montgomery Hill. That race is the #2 Montgomery time in school history, the best time of the decade and arguably the single most impressive performance of the decade by any Comet.

What hurts Erik’s case were injuries his junior and senior year that never allowed him to come close to this form again. This coupled with the fact that he was never able to compete in invitationals meant he was never as reliable as the next to boys on the list. In a single race where you needed any of these boys at their peak to try to win a race, Erik would be the best choice, but the reliability and consistency of the next two boys place him 3rd in my humble estimation.

2. Nathan Bernardo class of 2017 

Nathan’s leadership was essential to the championship of 2016. He had very strong times at every course he ran. 15:52 at Montgomery Hill, 16:45 at Crystal Springs and the best Mt. Sac time of the decade. He is #2 in the decade at De La Salle, Lowell, and Half Moon Bay all because of the #1 boy on this list, but Nathan was as consistent  a competitor as a coach could ask for.

1. Azael Zamora class of 2018 

Azy as a senior was the most impressive male James Lick runner of the last 15 years. His 16:37 clocking at Toro Park was perhaps the most impressive Comet performance of the decade. His 16:17 at Crystal Springs was not only the best of the decade, but it put him on the top 20 list in school history at our area’s most historic course.

His best league race time was 15:41 at Alum Rock Park, and he is the only boy on the list to crack the 13 minute barrier at half Moon Bay, as well as the only boy this decade to run under 17 at Crystal Springs for 2 seasons in a row.  He also came the closest to making the State meet of any boy in the decade. For all of these reasons I feel confident in stating that Azael Zamora is the cross country runner of the decade.

 

Girls 

 

Honorable mention: 

1. Jessica Cervantes 

Jessica is only a junior now so she has one more season ahead of her. This year she established herself as a strong varsity girl, running 21:32 at Montgomery Hill  (7th best of the decade) although injuries stopped her from running at Crystal Springs, she is close to making this list for her reliability over the past two years, including being the #4 girl on the school record Montgomery team of 2018.

 

The Girls list

 

7. Milka Perez Class of 2018 :Milka was maybe the most talented girl runner I’ve ever coached, but she didn’t stick with it. As a freshmen she practiced only 1-2 days a week and still ran 21:12 at Montgomery Hill (7th best time of the decade and #1 freshmen time) and 21:38 at Crystal Springs ( 4th best time of the decade and #1 freshmen time). At Toro Park for CCS she ran 21:30 far more impressive as the #3 time of the decade. She didn’t run sophomore or senior year, and her junior year (after suffering an ACL tear in soccer) she was a quality runner but simply not at this level. So again, while her times indicate she is higher than 7th, the fact that she only competed for 2 years keeps her off this list in my opinion.

6. Yeimili Adame Class of 2020: Similar problems hold Yeimili down on this list. Her Montgomery Hill time of 20:13 is 4th best of the decade, and it was as a junior. She only ran a bit as a senior, and her Crystal Springs time of 22:12 is strong, (7th best of the decade) but she was capable of more, as she didn’t run league finals during her best season. This keeps Yeimili in the #6 spot.

5. Paloma Contreras Class of 2015: On the other side of the spectrum we have Paloma. She didn’t have a performance as impressive as Yeimili’s Montgomery or Milka’s Toro Park but she was very consistent and reliable, the #3 girl on the 2014 league title team. Her 21:02 at Montgomery is still the 6th best league meet time of the decade as is her 21:43 at Cyrstal Springs. Paloma’s reliability is exactly what you want out of a #5 runner.

4. Maria Mendoza Class of 2017: Maria, like Yeimili and Milka were not as strong as senior as they were earlier in their career. Maria was the 4th girl on the 2014 title team and was a strong runner but as a junior she blossomed. She ran 20:31 at Montgomery Hill, (5th best of the decade) but her Crystal Springs time of 20:35 is what really stands out. It’s the 3rd best of the decade and only 2 seconds from #2. It also puts her 6th in school history on our most historic course. Her struggles as a seniro hold her back from moving up even higher on this list.

3. Ana Tapia Class of 2010: Ana was always very strong at our league meets, winning several race in the ‘C’ division in 2009. As a senior, her best time of 20:03 was very strong, the 3rd best time of the decade behind only the two girls ahead of her on the list. Her best Crystal Springs time was only 21:52, 6th best of the decade, but her reliability and great league meet time make her deserving of the #3 spot on the list.

2. Daniela Camacho class of 2015: These top 2 spots were very easy to decide on. Daniela ran the 2nd best time of the decade at Montgomery Hill, Alum Rock Park, Half Moon Bay, Stanford, De La Salle, Mt. Sac, and Toro Park. Her highlights include a 19:33 clocking at Montgomery Hill in leading the team to a league title. She also held the Artichoke invite school record for 2 years at 15:38 until it was beaten.  She is undoubtedly the #2 James Lick girl of the decade behind the one girl who beat her on every one of those courses ^.

1. Arlet Miranda class of 2019: This was not a difficult call. Arlet was a varsity runner from her freshmen year on, and while she had an injury plagued career, she STILL managed to be very reliable. She was the fastest lady Comet of the decade on every course she ran and even set a school record at the Artichoke Invitational. On other courses she is #2 all time behind Kayla Matsuda. No James Lick girl has ever made the State Meet in cross country but Arlet came the closest, she ran 20:02 at CCS as a sophomore to miss making State by 1 place and 7 seconds (it still kinda haunts me).

 

As stated in the beginning, this list does involve a lot of subjectivity. One could debate several other runners as being on these lists, but this was my personal take on who should be considered the top 7 cross country runners of the decade.

I hope you enjoyed this breakdown, I’ll try to do an “All-Decade track Team” before the year ends as well.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

 

 

 

Comets End Season Strong at CCS Finals. Varsity Girls finish 4 places better than rank

The 2019 cross country season officially came to a close for the James Lick cross country team at CCS finals. The finals were hosted at the historic Crystal Springs course, the same 2.95 mile course that the team ran at BVAL Finals. In what has been a down year in large part due to injury, the team went in hoping to end on a strong note and start healing up for track. The team resoundingly achieved  this goal.

The varsity girls squad went into CCS ranked 13th out of the 14 complete division IV teams that qualified for the CCS meet, only ahead of Kipp High School. Besides this, the team was still without team #2 runner Mya Hammond whose breakthrough season ended early for medical reasons. To further add to the team’s woes, Jessica Cervantes, consistently the team’s #1 runner had to drop out of the race due to knee injury. The team’s depth was on display however, as the team beat expectations despite missing their 1-2 punch to finish in 9th place. This is only the 3rd top 10 finish (on record) at CCS for the girls in school history. The team also had the 2nd lowest spread in the race (time distance between 1st and 5th runner) with a spread of 1:16. Only CCS champion Menlo, with an impressive 6 second spread did a better job of finishing close together.

The team was lead by breakout star Keyla Sifuentes. In her first cross country season, Keyla has improved by leaps and bounds all year. At her first race, Keyla managed to run 8:40 pace for the 2 mile course at DeLaSalle High school. A few weeks later, she was our #6 girl running 24:06 at the Crystal Springs Center Meet (8:06) pace. Here at CCS, she was our #1 girl with a  time of 22:47. This was a PR by 1:02, and the 7:43 pace she ran is the best of her career by far.

Daisy Flores was next in 23:03, a PR by 53 seconds as well. As only a freshmen, Daisy’s time is very impressive, the 6th fastest James Lick freshmen time in the entire BVAL era (since 1996). Lizbeth Espana loped 50 seconds off of her PR too to stop the clock at 23:26. Emely Lopez finished at 23:48 for a small PR and Ruth Rodriguez picked up the slack to run 24:03, and 11 second PR as the 5th girl. Ashley Preciado ended her HS career as the 6th girl in the race.

Again, heading into the race the girls were ranked 9th, ahead of just Kipp High School. The team defeated Kipp, Carmel, LCPA and King City to finish 9th, narrowly losing to Seaside High School who took 8th. The fact that team’s top 5 are all non seniors, (as well as a 1-2 punch that didn’t race at CCS who are also juniors) gives the team great optimism as we look ahead at what could be a very strong year in 2020.

The varsity girls before the race 

The boys team only ran 3 runners. Junior Omar Fimbres ran great, taking nearly 30 seconds off of his PR to stop the clock at 18:13. Nien Tran (18:30) and Brandon Cruz (18:39) competed hard but did not PR in their final HS race.

With the season coming to an end, everyone will take a well earned break and our focus as we look ahead to track is very clear: Stay Healthy. Injuries are a part of any season, but losing the team’s top 2 boys in the early part of the season is a recipe for disaster. Likewise Jessica, Mya, and Lizbeth, 3 of the team’s top 5 on the girls side missed/ didn’t finish a race in a combined 9 races due to injury this year. This team has a lot of potential if we can stay healthy, and that will be at the center of our attention as we work towards a 2020 track season in which the varsity boys are coming off their first winning season in the ‘B’ division with over 90% of the team returning.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Comets Show Season Long Improvements at Watermelon Run

The watermelon run has been a tradition on our team for the past decade or so, and it continued with the 2019 addition on Wednesday November 6th of 2019. The team runs the north rim time trial (3.03 mile) course, the same course we time the athletes on to start every season to see how much they’ve improved over the course of the season. It’s always a fun day to see just how radically some of the team’s athletes have improved.

The first big improvement was from junior Omar Fimbres who ran the course in 20:58 compared to a previous best of 23:17. It should be noted that this course should take longer to complete than any other course the team competed due to it being longer and hillier than every other course we run.

Abraham Benitez was the next boy in. He ran 22:58, a nearly 5 minute PR from his 27:40 clocking back in August. Luis Escamilla took 1:43 off of his PR to run 23:07 not far behind. A trio of freshmen were next. Justin Nguyen was the fastest of the freshmen throughout the year, and he began the season at 29:10 for the course. Fellow freshmen Carlos Nava and Omar Sanchez ran 30:06 to start the season. The boys finished with Justin leading at 23:33, Omar next at 23:41 and Carlos following at 23:43, huge improvements by the 3 boys who we’ll be counting on to be varsity boys sooner than later.

Another two frosh/soph runners, Ronaldo Castillo and Navbir Kahlon were next in 24:18 and 24:19. Both boys ran high 28s to start the season. Jessica Cervantes ran a 30 second PR to be the first girl in at 24:20. Mariana Perez and Josue Gomez came in next at 24:30, big PRS for both runners, with Mariana especially loping over 7 minutes off her time to start the season. Her time also indicates she’s ready for a huge PR at CCS.

Daisy Flores was next in 24:52, giving the team a 3rd girl under the 25 minute barrier. Ruth Rodriguez and Jason Madrigal came in close together at 25:27 and 25:35 respectively. Keyla Sifuentes and Estefani Herrera came in together at 26:20 and 26:24, Estefani taking nearly a full minute off of her PR. Melanny Sanchez took over 3 minutes off of her PR to run 27:34. Luis Gonzales and Kaylena Gil came in at 28:00 and 28:03. For Luis it was the best pace of his career, and for Kaylena it was a 3 minute PR. Deisy Carlos in 32:15, a 10 minute PR, and Huu Thai rounded out the Comets day. The team notched 15 PRS out of only 19 possible, a very solid way for most of the team to end their season.

The big improvements across the board give the team optimism as it looks ahead towards next year, and gives confidence to our athletes competing at CCS next week.

The top 3 varsity boys as well as the varsity girls team will compete at Crystal Springs on Saturday November 16th at CCS finals.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

Comets Compete Well at BVAL Finals: Both Varsity Teams Qualify for CCS for 2nd consecutive season

The James Lick cross country team  competed at the 2019 edition of BVAL Finals on Monday November 4th at the historic Crystal Springs cross country course. BVAL finals is significant as the final race of the year for most runners, and the final determinant of team standings for the league season. It is also the CCS qualifying meet, with the top half of teams (24 total teams in the league so top 12 as long as full teams are run) qualify for CCS. Each of the CIF divisions are also guaranteed 1 representative team. With only 3 division schools in the BVAL, that meant the Comets just needed to beat San Jose and Gunderson to clinch a CCS berth, a feat the team managed to achieve.

Conditions were warm and many runners across the league struggled as a result, though we as a team competed quite well despite the heat.

The meet began with the varsity boys race. The varsity boys team has struggled this season with the loss of 1-2 runners Mark Orpia and Jerricho Habon since early in the season. The top trio of Nien Tran (18:20) Brandon Cruz (18:35) and Omar Fimbres (18:40) competed quite well with Nien and Brandon both breaking the 19 minute barrier for the first time. After that, the team’s lack of depth really stung with Geo Campos (20:30) and Jo-Jo Bradley (21:25) coming in next. Melvin Estrada rounded out the group. This was good enough for a 16th place finish out of the 24 BVAL teams. The team also defeated Sobrato, meaning that although the squad went 0-7, we will not be in last in the final standings.

The team did handily beat Gunderson and San Jose to clinch a CCS berth but in many ways it was a disappointing season. For reference, if Mark and Jerricho simply had been healthy enough to MATCH their finals times from last year (not ambitious as the top 3 boys all ran at least 30 seconds better than last year) the team would have finished in 9th place. This is the nature of sports, staying healthy is a big part of success and we were simply unable to do that this year.

The varsity boys prior to the race

The next race was the varsity girls, a far greater source of strength for the team this season. The team placed 12th of the 24 BVAL schools. Though not every school had a full team, this was a solid middle of the pack performance and the team clinched a CCS spot by being the top D4 school.

Jessica Cervantes lead the team in a PR of 22:57. Keyla Sifuentes (23:49) Emely Lopez (23:55) and Daisy Flores (23:56) all broke the 24 minute barrier for the first time. Yeimili Adame ran 24:26 for her final high school race and Ahsley Preciado rounded out the team in 25:12. This was all without team #2 runner Mya Hammond who is recovering from injury, and Lizbeth Espana, the usual #5 who dropped out during the race due to ankle pain. The girls clinched a middle of the pack finish in the division and even defeated 2 ‘A’ division schools in Piedmont Hills and Andrew Hill. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the team is that the top 6 runners this year are non seniors, and they will look to get valuable experience at CCS finals in 2 weeks.

The varsity girls before the race

The JV girls were next, and for the 2nd year in a row, they achieved the Comets top finish on the day. The team came in 6th in the entire BVAL and saw a few strong performances. The best performance was by Ruth Rodriguez who lead the team in 24:15, a PR by over 2 minutes and the 5th best JL time on the day. Mariana Perez (24:59) and Estefani Herrera (25:44) were next in as a solid 2-3. Melanny Sanchez ran a PR of 26:16. Kaylena Gil had a rough day but was the 5th girl in 29:20. Deisy Flores rounded out the team in 30:50.

The frosh/soph boys race was next on the docket. Justin Nguyen and Omar Sanchez lead the team, both running huge PRS of 21:22 and 21:26 respectively. Their previous bests were 22:46 and 23:07 respectively. Navbir Kahlon narrowly missed his PR running 23:08, fighting through leg pain to be the #3 boy. Josue Gomez took 30 seconds off of his PR to run 23:35 and Carlos Nava was the 5th boy in 24:03. Jason Garcia ended the frosh/soph day in 26:06, a 30 second PR.

The final race of the day was the reserve race, and it was combined between boys and girls. Abraham Benitez lead the Comets in 21:35 a very solid performance. Josh Merin was next in 22:10. Luis Escamilla took 48 seconds off of his PR to stop the clock at 23:05. Luis Gonzales and Yesenia Martinez ended the Comets day by squeezing under the 30 minute barrier.

Looking around the league, many teams struggled mightily, suggesting that our team had a great day in terms of improvement. For example, the 29 competing Comets achieved 14 PRS to end the season. Compared to Santa Teresa, a top level ‘A’ division team that achieved only 4 PRS from 25 athletes. I for one am proud of the fact that our team competed hard despite not ideal conditions and can say that every member of the team went out with an effort to be proud of.

The team will compete in a final team event, the Watermelon Race this week, before the top runners on the team prepare for CCS finals on Saturday November 16th back at Crystal Springs.

Mile Time Trial Shows Big Improvement for Comets

I didn’t write a blog last week because our final league meet and the Mt. Sac Invitational in Southern California made the weekend quite a whirlwind. This blog will recap our recent mile time trial as well as those races, with an eye ahead at BVAL Finals. 

Every year, we begin our cross country season with an early mile time trial and then another trial just a week out from league finals. This is mainly for the newer athletes on the team to see their improvement and get a fast confidence builder as we head towards league finals.

At league finals, all 3 BVAL division (A’ B’ and C’) compete together in each race, making it the perfect opportunity to compare teams across the league. It also serves as the final determining factor of standings for the year, as well as the CCS qualifying meet. All these factors make it the biggest meet of the year in most regards. The mile time trial gave us a lot of confidence in our team’s ability to finish the season strong.

The first Comet boy in was our only varsity boy to run all out. Nien Tran managed a 15 second PR, stopping the clock at 5:02 with no competition. Omar Fimbres was the next Comet across in a 7 second PR of  5:40. Josh Merin ran a PR of 5:42, and Rodolf Ocampo did the same, running 5:49. Jonathan Bradley broke the 6 minute barrier for the first time to run 5:53. The same was true of Abraham Benitez (5:55) Luis Escamilla (5:56) Omar Sanchez (5:57) Justin Nguyen (5:57) and Ronaldo Castillo (5:58).

Those last 3 boys are all freshmen and we’re very pleased with your extreme improvement this season. Neither Omar nor Justin could run under 7 for the mile at our beginning of the season time trial, so the fact that they can now run under 6 is something to be proud of. We will be leaning on these boys for the future since we’re so heavy on seniors currently.

Navbir Kahlon ran 6:09 compared to a previous best of 7:20, and Josue Gomez lowered his PR from 7:03 to 6:17 as well. Carlos Nava took 24 seconds off his PR to run 6:28. Daisy Flores shattered the 7 minute barrier to be the first girl in on the day, stopping the clock at 6:34. She is the 3rd fastest freshmen I’ve coached at the end of season time trial, behind only Milka Perez (6:15) and Arlet Miranda (6:22). More girls trickled in not far behind her.

Keyla Sifuentes (6:46) Lizbeth Espana (6:48) Mariana Perez (6:49) and Emely Lopez (6:52) all streamed in together with freshmen Jason Garcia at 6:50 for a 1 minute PR. The mile times were PRS for Keyla, Mariana and Emely as well. Ruth Rodriguez was the next girl in at 6:55, giving the team 6 girls under 7 despite our top 2 runners not running the trial. Melanny Sanchez netted a PR of 7:34 and Adriana Marcelino had one of the very best PRs on the day, running 9:11 compared to a previous best of 10:08.

The big improvements set up the Comets for success at finals.

Mt. Sac/ League Meet 4 Recap 

Our 4th league meet was a very hot day, and coming just a week after some big breakthroughs in ST race #3, there were not many PRS across the league. For example, Garret Hedlund of Pioneer won ST #3 in 14:57 but won ST #4 in 15:31. Still, a few Comets did manage to PR. Justin Nguyen ran 20:10 in the frosh/soph race, an 11 second PR. Rodolf Ocampo also netted a PR in the reserve race of 20:08. On the girls side, on a day where 3 of the Comets top 5 runners did not run due to injury concerns, Keyla Sifuentes lead the team in 23:09, a 19 second PR. Melanny Sanchez also netted an 11 second PR of 26:33.

We too a dedicated group of upperclassmen to the Mt. Sac Invitational last weekend as a reward for their dedication. Jessica Cervantes lead the girls group in 23:05, placing her 13th on the school’s all time list for the course. Emely Lopez was next in 23:39, the best time she’s ever achieved on a near 3 mile course. Mya Hammond, Ashley Preciado and Estefani Herrera rounded out the team with Yesenia Martinez also competing.

On the boys side, Nien Tran lead the group with a PR of 17:58. Brandon Cruz, Rodolf Ocampo, Josh Merin and Luis Escamilla were the other Comet boys competing.

The boys squad at Mt. Sac

For most of the team, there are now only days left in the season with BVAL finals at Crystal Springs on Monday November 4th. The team will then contest the annual Watermelon Run on November 6th as a final season wrap-up for most of the team.

 

James Lick Varsity girls 4-1 after 3rd league meet: Big Improvements all around.

The Comets had their 3rd league meet of the season on Thursday October 17th 2019. After the first two league meets of the year were fairly poor performances by the team, the Comets really surged ahead at this meet, having by far the best all around league performance of the season so far despite still dealing with several injuries.

The team was facing off against the Sobrato Bulldogs and the Oak Grove Eagles, and the meet began with the frosh/soph boys grabbing their first wins of the season.

The team was lead by Justin Nguyen in 20:31, just missing his PR by 10 seconds. Omar Sanchez had a big breakthrough running 20:52, a PR by a minute and 30 seconds. Navbir Kahlon ran 21:14, a PR by a minute 30 as well. Carlos Nava and Josue Gome came in together at 21:30 and 21:44. Both were big PRS, especially for Carlos whose previous PR was 24:20. Jason Garcia rounded out the frosh/soph team in 23:20 a PR by almost 2 minutes.  The boys defeated both Oak Grove and SObrato to move to a 2-3 record on the season.

The biggest breakthrough on the day was the varsity girls team. The team now has 5 girls faster than our number 1 girl at league race 1. We are the only team in the division that can come close to saying that. Jessica Cervantes and Mya Hammond lead the team in 21:32 and 21:38, both PRS, Mya’s being a PR by over a minute. Daisy Flores, Emely Lopez and Lizbeth Espana packed together and all broke the 23 minute barrier for the first time. Daisy finished in 22:22 (PR by 1:26) Emely at 22:27 (PR by 0:43) and Lizbeth at 22:35 (PR by 1:55).  For reference no Comet ran under 23 minutes at our first league meet this year. In her first varsity race, Keyla Sifuentes ran a strong PR of 23:28, loping over 2 minutes off her previous best. Ashley Preciado rounded out the team in 24:32.

The team spread (difference between 1st and 5th girl) was also by far the lowest in the division at 1:03. The team’s top 6 runners were 5 juniors and 1 freshmen, indicating great hopes for next year. With the two victories over Sobrato and Oak Grove, the varsity girls are 4-1 on the season, clinching their 2nd consecutive winning season and only the 3rd winning season for the girls in the ‘B’ division in school history.

Jessica Cervantes during the 1st mile of the race

The varsity boys race was next, and the team was still dealing with significant injuries. Mark Orpia and Jerricho Habon, the team’s 1-2 from race 1 are still out with injury, a big part of why the team is winless this season. The team nonetheless had its best race of the year by far.

Nien Tran spearheaded the team in 16:50, a PR by 40 seconds to crack the high quality 17 minute barrier. Brandon Cruz just missed doing the same thing, running 17:06 for a 25 second PR. Both boys beat all the runners from Sobrato and Nien beat Oak grove’s top boy. It would not however prove enough to earn a win. Omar Fimbres managed a small PR of 18:01. He just missed beating two Sobrato boys at 17:57, this would help seal the Comets 27-28 loss to the Bulldogs. Next in was Melvin Estrada in a seasons best 18:33. Melvin just lost to Oak Grove runners who also ran 18:33. Had Melvin beaten them the team would have won that dual, instead the Comets lost 27-30 to the Eagles. Geo Campos was the 5th boy in 19:01, a seasons best. The team came very close to a pair of wins, but the narrow losses drop the team to 0-5 and make an 0-7 season likely. Even so, this race was a big improvement on previous meets this year.

The reserve boys race was next. With the boys team dealing with so many injuries, only 3 Comet boys ran. Josh Merin lead the team in a 20 second PR of 20:31. Abraham Benitez managed a huge PR of 20:50, taking over 3 minutes off his previous best. Luis Escamilla missed his PR by a bit, stopping the clock at 22:13.

The JV/reserve girls race was the final race of the day. Mariana Perez lead the JV girls ina varsit caliber time of 23:14, a 20 second PR. Ruth Rodriguez and Estefani Herrera were next in 23:42 and 23:54, both small PRs. Yesenia Martinez had by far her best race of the season, clocking in at 24:16. Kaylena Gil and Marisol Carlos came in close together at 26:07 and 26:33. For Kaylena this was a PR by over 1 minute and for Marisol it took nearly 4 minutes off of her previous best. Marisol has been radically improving, going from 33 minutes at race 1, to 30:04 at race 2, to now 26:33. Her sister, Deisy Carlos, also broke the 30 minute barrier for the first time, running through at 28:32, a PR by 2 full minutes to end the team’s day.

The JV girls moved to 5-0 on the season and will face the other undefeated JV team, Leigh HS, next week.

The team netted a total of 22 PRS on the day, the most in any race this season and a very high number considering only 30 athletes competed.

The team will compete in their final league meet of the year next Thursday October 24th against Leigh and Pioneer. The team will then send a small contingent down to southern California for the Mt. Sac Invitational that weekend.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

 

Comets Look Strong at Crystal Springs Center Meet

The Comets competed in the Aragon Center Meet on Wednesday October 9th 2019, with 11 other High Schools. The race was a preview of the league finals course for the team, the nearly 50 year old Crystal Springs cross country course. Since league finals is the most important race of the season for most of the team, getting an early race on the course is important.

There is also a direct relationship between Crystal Springs and our normal league course, Montgomery Hill. Montgomery is a more challenging course, but because it is significantly shorter, most people run 1 minute faster at Montgomery Hill than at Crystal Springs. This is helpful to keep in mind to track the progress of our runners who haven’t run at Montgomery in several weeks now, and to help myself and coach Raul Lopez determine who runs on what team at our next league meet.

The meet began with the frosh/soph boys. Justin Nguyen lead the team witha  time of 22:46, in line with his 21:25 clocking at Montgomery Hill. Navbir Kahlon and OMar Sanchez came in together at 23:06 and 23:07 which shows they are both ready to challenge the 22 minute barrier at Montgomery Hill themselves. Carlos Nava clocked in at 23:27, the best race of his career so far all things considered. Carlos actually ran nearly a minute faster at crystal springs than he has run at Montgomery, showing that he is ready for a big breakthrough at our next league meet. Josue Gomez was the only boy in the race who had run Crystal Springs before, and he ran a full 4 minute PR of 24:12. Jason Madrigal was the last frosh/soph Comet across in 26:43 for his first time on the course.

The next race saw all of the team’s girls competing in one race, a helpful race for helping us determine who should run on which teams next week. Mya Hammond lead the team with a time of 23:04, a PR by over 2 minutes, placing 14th overall. Jessica Cervantes was next, returning from 2 weeks spent in Mexico to run a time of 23:48, not a PR but 50 seconds faster than she ran at this same meet last year. Keyla Sifuentes continued her recent breakthrough to run 24:06 as the #3 girl on the team. Lizbeth Espana and Emely Lopez rounded out the top 5 with times of 24:15 and 24:22 to help the team place 3rd overall on the day. For Emely this was a PR by over 2 minutes. Daisy Flores ran 24:41 for her first time on the course. Mariana Perez managed a 45 second PR of 24:57, giving the team a full 7 girls under the 25 minute barrier.

Emely Lopez, Keyla Sifuentes and Lizbeth Espana pass the first mile mark in a pack with Daisy Flores close behind

Estefani Herrera beat her center meet time from last year with a time of 25:31. Melanny Sanchez and Yesenia Martinez finished close together in 26:43 and 26:44. Kaylena Gil ran 28:54 and Marisol Carlos 29:52 for their first times on the course. It was overall a strong performance for a girls team missing two of its top 10 runners in the forms of Ashley Preciado and Ruth Rodriguez. We’re hoping for some big PRs on Thursday.

The boys varsity/JV race was the final race of the day and took place after some delay. Nien Tran lead the group with a strong performance and 40 second PR, stopping the clock at 18:05. Brandon Cruz paced Omar Fimbres throughout the race and still beat his time from last year’s center meet, running 19:06. Omar ran a PR of 19:09 in large part thanks to Brandon. Melvin Estrada ran 19:31, a far stronger run than his 20 minute plus clocking at Montgomery Hill at last league race. Geo Campos was the 5th boy on the day in a time of 20:22, only 20 seconds off his performance from league finals last year.

Jonathan Bradely (20:58) and Rodolf Ocampo ( 21:02) came in close together on the back end. Neither boy managed to run this fast last year. Josh Merin managed a huge PR of 2:40, running 21:33, the 7:18 pace being the best of his career for a 3 mile (or near 3 mile) course in his career. Luis Escamilla (24:35) and Luis Gonzales (29:48) ended the Comets day.

The varsity/JV boys team before the race

Both boys teams are currently 0-3 and next meet (10/17)  figures to be the teams best chance at some wins so far as the team takes on Sobrato and Oak Grove. The team will be competing at league meets in back to back weeks and taking a break from invitationals to focus on Montgomery Hill.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves

 

Fun Day for the Comets at the 2019 Artichoke Invitational

On Saturday October 5th, the James Lick Cross country team ran at the Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay. It was the 33rd time that the team has competed in the always fun invitational over the 2.33 mile course. Since James Lick has run the course for so long, many of the greatest Comet runners in history have official times on the course, making the Half Moon Bay HS course one of the most difficult “all time-lists” to get onto for a James Lick runner.

The meet began with the freshmen boys race. Justin Nguyen once again lead the freshmen boys, running 16:53, keeping his string of low 7 pace clocking in tact. Omar Sanchez was next in 17:33, followed by Carlos Nava who narrowly missed the 18 minute barrier, running 18:01. Jason Garcia rounded out the group in 19:22.

Freshmen boys left to right: Omar Sanchez, Justin Nguyen, Jason Garcia, Carlos Nava 

The frosh/soph girls race was next. Daisy Flores spearheaded the group with a varsity caliber time of 18:27. She ended up being the 2nd fastest lady Comet on the day. Ruth Rodriguez ran 19:03. Kaylena Gil stopped the clock at 21:17. Deisy Carlos rounded out teh group in 23:24, achieving the best pace of her career so far.

The JV girls race had one of the biggest breakthroughs of the day. Keyla Sifuentes lead the group in 18:44, 8:02 pace, by far the best of her career to this point. Keyla did not join the team until September but she is looking like a varsity caliber runner more and more as the season progresses. Estefani Herrera narrowly missed her PR, running 19:54. Yesenia Martinez took 20 seconds off of her PR running 20:03. Melanny Sanchez ran 20:58. Marisol Carlos clocked in at 23:29 and Adriana Marcelino rounded out the team’s day in 27:03.

The JV boys had one of the best spreads of the day, with only a little over a minute sperating the 1st and 5th runners. Abraham Benitez, Joshua Merin and Navbir Kahlon ran 17:05, 17:10 and 17:30 respectively. Hugo Marquez came across in 17:50 and Josue Gomez was the 5th boy in a big PR of 18:28. Luis Escamilla took 15 seconds off of his PR as well running 18:37. Luis Gonzalez made his debut for the team as well running 23:00 to finish the day for the JV boys.

All that remained were the varsity races at this point. Mya Hammond continued her breakout season, running 17:46, getting herself the #14 spot on the school’s all time list with a PR by over a minute. Lizbeth Espana and Emely Lopez both broke 8 minute pace for the first time, running 18:27 and 18:33 respectively.  This was a massive PR for Emely after a previous best of 20:22, as she continues her own breakthrough season. Mariana Perez took 23 seconds off of her PR, running 19:17. Ashley preciado rounded out the varsity girls day in 19:59.

The varsity boys race was next and this is the group that as a team has really struggled all year. Brandon Cruz ran a strong 34 second PR of 14:06 to lead the group. Nien Tran was caught behind a falling runner and boxed in to start the race, and never got in rhythm, running 15:00 as the #2 boy. Omar Fimbres, Jonathan Bradley and Rodolf Ocampo rounded out the varsity group, though none of the boys ran a PR.

The team has yet another week without a league race and will take to Crystal Springs on Wednesday October 9th as a preview of the league finals and CCS course.

Thanks for reading!

-Benny Reeves