San Benito girls makes first appearance in state race, Vasquez
represents boys
Fresno – The best runners in the state, including several local names, vie for cross country supremacy today in Fresno when the first races at the CIF State Cross Country Championships begin at 8:30am at Woodward Park.
The San Benito High girls team is making its first ever appearance in the Division I race at 12:15pm.
“The last couple of years, we kept taking third,” coach Jess Morales said about the Central Coast Section race, where the team needs a top-two finish to advance to state. “It’s nice to finally see them kick down the door and go to state.”
Leading the way for the ‘Baler girls is sophomore Courtney Allen, who led all San Benito runners and was fifth at CCS with a time of 19:12. She says the team is ready for the big day it has prepared all year for.
“I think we’re prepared enough,” Allen said. “We’ve worked really hard.”
A pair of freshman, Annmari Rich and Kristina Vasquez, and juniors Lauren Villasenor and Alison Meyer rounded out the top-five finishers at CCS for San Benito, whose goal is to finish in the upper ranks of the Division I teams.
“We’d like to be ranked one of the top-10 teams,” Allen said.
Senior Rigo Vasquez will be the lone ‘Baler representative when the boys Division I race kicks off at 10:40am.
It’s Vasquez’s third time qualifying for the state meet and he’s looking to end his high school running career on a strong note.
“I’m going to give it all I have because it’s my last race,” Vasquez said. “I want to make it my best race of my life.”
Vasquez is also shooting to stay within the top-10 and has a strategy in place.
“My coaches told me to not be up with the leaders, but be up with the pack and try to hang on,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez was in Fresno last Saturday to watch some friends in the junior college state cross country meet, and used the opportunity to get an extra run in on the Woodward Park course.
While Vasquez is looking for a strong final run, the youth that the girls team has and the success it has found this year is putting some added pressure on them.
“It’s kind of frightening,” Kristina Vasquez said. “We’ve already done it (qualified for state) when we’re young so we’re going to be expected to do it every year.”
Morales agreed that the expectations are heightened, but looks forward to the challenge.
“It’s the sign of a good program to have both boys and girls teams going to state,” he said.
Gilroy’s Kathleen Miller, the fourth-place finisher in the Division I CCS meet, will be the lone Mustang representative in today’s races.
Sobrato’s girls team will also be making its first ever state appearance in the Division III race that concludes the day at 1:20pm. Sophomore Lance Wolfsmith will represent Sobrato in the boys Division III race at 11:45pm.
