By NATHAN MIXTER Staff Writer
Salinas – Coach Jess Morales wasn’t sure what he was more pleased with after Saturday’s Tri-County Athletic League finals at Toro Park in Salinas – the championship performance of the boys team, the strong performance of the girls team or the solid individual performances.
Senior Josh Vasquez came in first with a time of 16:11, three seconds ahead of Salinas’ Jeremy Waltz.
Vasquez won in the final half of the race, where he was able to pull away. He received hugs and congratulations by coaches and teammates after he crossed the finish line.
“We told him the day before that he was not expected to win it but to stay in a pack and if felt crazy to go for it,” Morales said. “(Johnny) Rivera was in the same position last year, and he won it.”
Junior Kyle Bambrick led for the first mile of the race before falling back into the pack and finishing 13th with a time of 17:16.
“Kyle learned a lot about himself,” Morales said. “We didn’t want to say anything to him (during the race) because we didn’t want to break his stride. You could tell where he got punched in the stomach going up the hills.”
Amanda Boyd finished in second place with a time of 18:52 behind Live Oak’s Cobbie Jones.
“She came out a little nervous,” Morales said. “But she is getting better and better and is becoming more aggressive.”
An unofficial time keeper said that Boyd picked up three seconds in the final 1,200 meters of the race.
“I was happy with my finish and that I PRed,” Boyd said. “She is a really good runner. I was just trying to stay close to her, but I was surprised how close I finished.”
Both Jones and Boyd ran personal record times and look forward to competing against each other in their senior years.
“It has been great running with her,” Jones said. “We’ll be pushing each other next year.”
Jamie O’brian, who was recovering from sickness, ran a time of 19:05 to finish fifth for San Benito
Morales said the teams plan to race at least three times at Toro Park before the CCS race to get ready.
“We are just going to try to stay healthy and stay focused,” Morales said. “There are no teams that we can take lightly.”
