San Benito girls place 19th, Vasquez takes 76th overall
Fresno – The day didn’t go quite as well as anyone associated with San Benito cross country could’ve hoped, but the ‘Balers still had a lot to be proud of at the CIF State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park.
Senior Rigo Vasquez struggled to break from the large packs of runners and took 76th in the boys Division I race with a time of 16 minutes, 23 seconds.
The girls team, racing in the state meet for the first time this season, struggled with the course’s extremely fast start and failed to have a runner break the 20-minute mark and finished 19th among Division I girls teams.
“I had a perfect start, but there were too many people running my pace,” Vasquez said. “I’m satisfied. I still got a good time for this course.”
Girls coach Josh Morales said the first mile prevented the ‘Balers from making a strong push.
“The first mile is really fast,” he said.
With each of their top-five finishers returning and only one senior on the squad, San Benito hopes to build off this meet as a learning experience.
“We’re just happy to be here,” Morales said. “Placing in the top-10 would’ve been nice, but it was a tough day. These are the fastest runners in the state.”
Sophomore Courtney Allen, who was fifth at the Central Coast Section meet, was the ‘Balers top finisher with a time of 20:04.
“That was tough, that was horrible,” Allen said.
After this initial experience, Allen said she hopes and believes the team will return.
“I think we can make it back here next year,” she said. “We’ll be a lot more motivated than (this) year because before we had never made it here.”
Freshman Annmari Rich came in just behind Allen at 92nd overall with a time of 20:12. Junior Lauren Villasenor (20:51, 119th); freshman Kristina Vasquez (21:08, 124th); and junior Sandy Meza (21:09, 127th) accounted in the scoring for San Benito.
Junior Alison Meyer (21:31, 138th) and senior Dana Balsey (21:43, 144th) also ran for the ‘Balers.
Other local finishers included Gilroy’s Kathleen Miller, who took 76th in the girls Division I race with a time of 19:40 in her first state meet experience.
“I was trying to start faster but I ended up getting caught in the pack,” Miller said. “It was a tough race but it was good for the first time.”
Sobrato’s Lance Wolfsmith had the best day among South Valley runners. He had a season-best time of 15:49 and took ninth in the Division III boy race.
“As a sophomore, for him to be in the top-10 is incredible,” coach and father Dave Wolfsmith said. “There’s so many good guys in the top-50.”
The Sobrato girls team competed in the state meet for the first time and took 21st. Junior Abhi Devaraj was the top finisher at 20:21.
