A refreshing afternoon breeze welcomed the Gilroy and San Benito
cross country teams at Christmas Hill Park for their TCAL race
Monday afternoon. And with the drop in temperature came a steady
plummet of three-mile times for both squads as the Mustangs swept
their way to victory.
GILROY
A refreshing afternoon breeze welcomed the Gilroy and San Benito cross country teams at Christmas Hill Park for their TCAL race Monday afternoon. And with the drop in temperature came a steady plummet of three-mile times for both squads as the Mustangs swept their way to victory.
The Gilroy boys edged San Benito 24-31, while the Gilroy girls followed suit, defeating the Lady Balers 23-32.
After a weekend of blistering heat, the field took advantage of the cooler weather and blazed through the course with a handful of runners in each race setting personal records.
Mustang freshman Armando Cobarrubias finished in 16:14 to lead all competitors and help the GHS boys to their first victory over the Haybalers under coaches Art and Cathy Silva, who took over the program six years ago.
“I was extremely surprised,” Cobarrubias said after learning he achieved a personal best. “I didn’t actually think I could go that fast. I thought I would finish fourth. My times have all been 17 minutes and above.”
Jose Castillo was the Balers’ top finisher, crossing the line at 16:21 for second overall. But it wasn’t enough to prevent the upset.
“They ran a little sluggish today,” Baler boys coach Jess Morales said. “I’m not too worried about it. We will be fine. We just didn’t run our best race. Give credit to Gilroy, they ran a fast race.”
Both in a full sprint, Gilroy’s Timothy Williams and San Benito’s Omar Vasquez were shoulder-to-shoulder with just 200 meters left. Williams was able to edge Vasquez to the finish by one second at 16:37 for third.
“For the boys to come out and run that hard and that fast was incredible,” Art Silva said. “(San Benito) tries to burn you out at the beginning of the race. We were able to take them on the hills.”
Gilroy sophomore Athena Alarcon finished on top in the girls race with a 19:11, giving her a third first-place showing of the season. She was followed by San Benito’s Rachel Shimabukuro, who hit the finish line with a 19:33. Savannah Silacci and Maritza Ruelas earned valuable points for the Mustangs, finishing 19:55 and 19:56, respectively, passing the Balers’ Michelle Duarte during the last 800 meters of the race.
Duarte posted a 20:04.
“I thought we were going to win,” Shimabukuro said. “We have such strong top-2 runners, so I thought if we could at least place second or third, we’d win. But it fell a part there at the end.”
—
San Benito Boys
Jose Castillo, 16:21; Omar Vasquez, 16:38; Said Hernandez, 16:52; Sergio Alcala, 17:02; Rickey Esqueda 17:16.
Gilroy Boys
Armando Cobarrubias, 16:14; Timothy Williams, 16:37; Kyle Collett, 16:44; Juan Velasquez, 16:56; Raul Cobarrubias, 16:57.
San Benito Girls
Rachel Shimabukuro, 19:33; Michelle Duarte, 20:04; Dayna Casillas, 20:15; Jessica Cook, 21:30; Amanda Hill, 21:32.
Gilroy Girls
Athena Alarcon, 19:11; Savanna Silacci, 19:55; Maritza Ruelas, 19:56; Brandie Rodriguez, 20:24; Jessica Hopf, 20:47.
