Although senior Aaron Hsia-Coron finished second overall, the
Anzar Hawks were unable to properly defend their Mission Trail
Athletic League Division V championship on Thursday, falling to
rival York 19-54 at Salinas’ Toro Park.
SALINAS
Although senior Aaron Hsia-Coron finished second overall, the Anzar Hawks were unable to properly defend their Mission Trail Athletic League Division V championship on Thursday, falling to rival York 19-54 at Salinas’ Toro Park.
The win by York, which was led by James Palaniuk’s first-place finish in 16:24, snapped Anzar’s stranglehold on the league championship meet. The Hawks had won the year-end finale three years in a row, including last season’s surprising upset of York, which had won each dual meet during the regular season, but lost the league championship to the Hawks.
Despite the second-place finish, though, the Anzar boys will still advance to the Central Coast Section Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 13, once again at Toro Park.
Each of the Hawks will get a second chance on the Salinas course, and another crack at York.
On Thursday, only Hsia-Coron’s second-place time of 16:59 was good enough to break up the York pack. The Anzar harrier was followed by four straight runners from the Monterey school.
Anzar’s Miquel Vega finished in seventh place with an 18:47.
“It was definitely not their best,” Anzar head coach Danny Lowell said. “We had a few issues.”
Greg Bissell delivered a top-10 performance, finishing 10th in 19:06, while Josiah Garza (16th, 20:46), Diego Avila (19th, 21:42) and Andrew Ornelas (21st, 23:18) rounded out the team.
Diego Leon was battling illness during the race, and finished 25th in 23:59.
Advancing to CCS provides a silver lining for the Hawks, but the news wasn’t as good for the Anzar girls. Although Valerie Quezada took second overall in 23:01, the Hawks finished in third place overall as a team, and missed the CCS qualifying cut by one point.
York earned the top spot with 43 points, while Pacific Collegiate edged Anzar for second place, 48-49.
Nevertheless, Quezada and teammate Melissa Weckerle, who finished in seventh place overall in 26:47, will advance to next weekend’s CCS meet. The two will be joined by Emily Wilkinson, who, although finished 11th overall in 27:17, will compete in CCS as an alternate.
Meanwhile, Anzar’s Lauren Bellone (14th, 28:30) and Krysyal Ruiz-Rocha (15th, 30:03) rounded out the team.
Race times for the Central Coast Section Championships have not been announced.
Mission Trail Athletic League Championships
Section B Results
VARSITY BOYS
Team
1, York, 19; 2, Anzar, 54; 3, Pacific Collegiate, 77; 4, Marina, 82.
Individual (Anzar Only)
1, James Palaniuk, York, 16:24; 2, Aaron Hsia-Coron, Anzar, 16:59; 7, Miguel Vega, Anzar, 18:47; 10, Greg Bissell, Anzar, 19:06; 16, Josiah Garza, 20:46; 19, Diego Avila, Anzar, 21:42; 21, Andrew Ornelas, Anzar, 23:18; 25, Diego Leon, Anzar, 23:59.
VARSITY GIRLS
Team
1, York, 43; 2, Pacific Collegiate, 48; 3, Anzar, 49; 4, Marina, 70.
Individual (Anzar Only)
1, Carly Armstrong, York, 22:09; 2, Valerie Quezada, Anzar, 23:01; 7, Melissa Weckerle, Anzar, 26:47; 11, Emily Wilkinson, Anzar, 27:17; 14, Lauren Bellone, Anzar, 28:30; 15, Krystal Ruiz-Rocha, Anzar, 30:03.
JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS
Team
1, York, 17; 2, Anzar, 46; 3, Marina, 78.
Individual (Anzar Only)
1, Ryan Batterman, York, 19:43; 4, Cristian Monroy, Anzar, 21:05; 8, Alex Samuels, Anzar, 22:44; 9, Reno May, Anzar, 22:52; 13, Noah Schaub, Anzar, 24:01; 14, Nico Mendoza, Anzar, 24:32; 16, Jeremy Cedeno, Anzar, 25:02; 22, Miguel Madrigal, Anzar, 30:42; 23, Andre Figueroa, Anzar, 30:52.
