Anzar High takes Division V title; Baler boys finish seventh in
Division I
In 2000, Anzar High School won its first Central Coast Section
title. That year, it came in the sport of volleyball.
On Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont, the Hawks were able
to add a cross country title to that list.
Anzar High takes Division V title; Baler boys finish seventh in Division I
In 2000, Anzar High School won its first Central Coast Section title. That year, it came in the sport of volleyball.
On Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont, the Hawks were able to add a cross country title to that list.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished,” Anzar Cross Country coach Doug MacKinnon said. “We didn’t have high expectations at the beginning of the year, but we kept getting better each week, and it ended the best way it could – by winning a CCS title.”
During the regular season the Hawks posted a perfect 8-0 record in league to capture the Mission Trail Athletic League title. After winning CCS the Hawks will now be competing in the state’s cross country meet in Fresno on Nov. 24.
“I knew heading into the season that we would be good, but not great,” MacKinnon said. “This was everything we could have hoped for.”
At the state meet, MacKinnon acknowledges that the expectations won’t be very high and said that he wants his team to mainly focus on “having fun and enjoying the experience.”
Anzar captured the CCS Division V championship by finishing with a team total of 72 points, 11 points lower than Redwood Christian School.
Leading the way for the Hawks on the 3.1-mile Crystal Springs course was Aron Hsia-Coron. Hsia-Coron’s time of 17:14 earned him a ninth-place finish overall. And when Anzar’s Miles MacKinnon crossed the finish line five seconds later to finish 10th overall the Hawks started to pick up crucial team points.
After MacKinnon came Colin Parsons in 11th with a time of 17:27. Parsons was then followed by his teammates Alex Sanchez and Isreal Parra, who both crossed the finish line at 18:29 to finish 27th and 28th, respectively. Christian Heath then crossed the finish line 31st at the 18:32 mark to round out the scoring for the Hawks.
San Benito High
Heading into the Section meet the Tri County Athletic League champion Haybalers of San Benito High were considered one of a handful of teams with the potential to capture the boys Division I title and qualify for the state meet in the process. Instead, the Baler boys team struggled somewhat before finishing respectably in seventh place overall with a team total of 217 points – 171 points behind the winning team from Carlmont High.
The winning time for the boys Division I race was set by Alisal’s Diego Estrada, who posted a time of 15:18 on the challenging Crystal Springs course. The first Baler to cross the finish line last Saturday was junior Lance Villasenor, who finished 31st with a time of 16:49. While the Baler team had a disappointing showing at CCS, one of the huge bright spots for the squad were the strong showings by the team’s freshman runners in the season-ending meet.
Eduardo Guzman crossed the finish line at CCS in 35th place overall but was just the second freshman runner of the afternoon to do so. He posted a time of 16:53. After Guzman came junior runner Adrian Rodriguez (47th, 17:12). After Rodriguez came two more Baler freshman runners. The first was Jose Castillo, who took 49th place with a time of 17:16. From there, freshman Luis Ruiz crossed the finish line in 73rd place, and senior Curtis Wright was the last runner for the Balers to earn points courtesy of his 77th place position.
Although the Baler girls squad didn’t win a league title, they did fare slightly better at the Section meet, finishing sixth overall as a team with 162 points.
Leading the way for the Baler girls squad was junior Courtney Allen, whose time of 19:02 was good enough for a 10th place finish in the highly competitive race. The winning girls time was posted by Carlmont’s Justine Fedronic, who set the pace with a time of 18:04. Carlmont captured the girls team event while TCAL rivals Salinas and Gilroy finished second and third, respectively.
