At the Early Bird Invitational on Sep. 6, three San Benito High
freshmen cross-country runners placed 1, 2, 3 in the Freshmen
Division. Haybaler Rigo Vasquez set the freshman course record with
a time of 17:24, eclipsing the old record by one second. Eddie
Trujillo finished at 17:31, with Alfredo Lopez third at 17:51.
A sophomore, Jeff Spencer, placed 14th in the Sophomore Division
at 17:40.
At the Early Bird Invitational on Sep. 6, three San Benito High freshmen cross-country runners placed 1, 2, 3 in the Freshmen Division. Haybaler Rigo Vasquez set the freshman course record with a time of 17:24, eclipsing the old record by one second. Eddie Trujillo finished at 17:31, with Alfredo Lopez third at 17:51.
A sophomore, Jeff Spencer, placed 14th in the Sophomore Division at 17:40.
While all four runners have improved since then, the groundwork was laid for the formation of a nucleus of what could be the greatest cross-country team in Haybaler history, albeit two to three years down the line. Vasquez, Trujillo, Lopez and Spencer are currently four-sevenths of the Baler varsity and will only get better. Needless to say, the future is golden for Baler cross-country.
“These four runners are way ahead of schedule,” said Baler head coach Jess Morales. “We’ve never had three freshmen runners on varsity before. If they want to be the best, they can. But they have to train hard.”
“These young runners gain experience with every race,” said Baler assistant coach Iran White. “They’re running new courses all the time and learning about them.”
Lopez has recently surged ahead as the best of the foursome, which is no surprise to Morales.
“I saw him walking down the street when he was in the seventh grade,” said Morales of Lopez. “I asked him to run here when he got to high school.”
Lopez has been running successfully for the past three years. When he was an eighth grader at Rancho San Justo, Lopez took first in the County Championships at Park Hill, a few seconds ahead of Vasquez, a RSJ teammate. The year before, Spencer placed second in the same event.
“These three freshmen are talented,” said Spencer. “They can do whatever they want to do.”
“We trained hard all summer,” said Vasquez. “We want to be the best.”
Baler senior Jonathan Rivera has helped mentor the youngsters.
“Rivera has helped us how to run in the hills,” said Vasquez. “We’ve really learned a lot from him.”
“I’m proud of what the young runners on the team have accomplished,” said Rivera. “They’re going to be great runners without a doubt. They’re just getting stronger.”
Trujillo is an under-15 ODP soccer goalie. His future is in soccer, but cross-country is a nice conditioner.
“I run cross-country to stay in shape for soccer,” said Trujillo, who attended San Juan Middle School.
“We have some guys out for soccer who have seen how good Eddie has done,” said Morales. “Now they want to come out for cross-country next year.”
Morales has heard the jealousy from other coaches this season.
“When other coaches look at the board at races and see the age of these kids, they get mad,” said Morales. “They’re getting beat by freshmen and a sophomore. That means they’ll have to compete against them the next two or three years.”
Morales also knows he has to be patient.
“This is a young, talented group,” said Morales. “The most important thing is that they all train hard. I’ve had good freshmen runners before, but they fizzle out. These kids have the potential to be top runners. It’s up to them.”
The Balers next home meet is vs. North Salinas next Monday at Park Hill.
