SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Barons score Mesa League victory but it's not easy

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 10, 2003 -- Bonita Vista’s Ryan Becijos and Abraham Alvarez broke into energetic sprints toward the finish line in last Friday’s Mesa League dual meet pitting the sixth-ranked Barons and ninth-ranked Sweetwater. There was good reason they did: Not far behind were a trio of Red Devils trying to enhance their scoring positions.

Becijos captured the 3.1-mile race in 16:49, with Alvarez finishing second in 16:55. The one-two finish proved critical as Sweetwater claimed the next three positions to remain in contention for a possible upset. However, the Barons wrapped up the victory by placing four of the next five runners in the race, with BV sixth man Ryan Groth displacing the Red Devils’ fifth man, Francisco Villasana, for good measure.

Still, the final score stood only 26-30 in the Barons’ favor. The defending Mesa League champions definitely had to sweat this one out — a fact borne out by the elation displayed by coaches congratulating the Baron runners afterward.

What’s that old saying? The winners knew they had been in a race.

“Getting first and second with Ryan Becijos and Abraham Alvarez was vital. That makes a big difference. What really saved our day was Ryan Groth. He was our sixth man. He was able to beat their fifth man. If we can get first and second and have our fifth and sixth guys take care of the fifth man for the other school, we’ll be there,” said Bonita Vista head coach Hector Hernandez, whose team still maintains hope of qualifying for this year’s state championship meet.

A trio of Red Devils had taken the lead by the half-mile mark but the SuHi pack was eventually cut up by the two BV front runners by the midpoint of the race. Javier Diaz (16:57), Edgar Llanez (17:01) and Azael Gomez (17:08) finished within six seconds of one another for Sweetwater but Bonita Vista’s Michael Morales (17:08), after nearly catching Gomez at the finish line, held a three-second margin over the Devils’ fourth man, Roberto Isais, with three more Barons — Julian Zamora (17:15), Michael Valdez (17:20) and Groth (17:27) — following Isais across the line.

The girls race was no less dramatic, with Bonita Vista scoring a seven-point win against Sweetwater. The teams each placed two runners among the top four individuals. In fact, the Red Devils had three of the top five runners in the race. But the Barons completed their team scoring before SuHi could place its fourth scorer.

Bonita Vista’s Tiffany Caddell and Sweetwater’s Karina Rios both were credited with the same time of 14:08 for the 2.23-mile course but Caddell was the first to cross the finish line. Jessi Tinsley, a consistent No. 2 runner all season, was next for the Barons in 14:53 ahead of SuHi’s Savannah Size (15:00) and Brenda Diaz (15:35). Bonita Vista clinched the win as Kristin Ross (15:36), Angel Torres (15:46) and Jessica Munoz (16:08) all finished in order to round out the top five team scorers.

BV senior Chris Wymer, rehabilitating himself from tendonitis, won the boys junior varsity meet.

Next up for the Barons is an Oct. 31 dual meet at Rohr Park against Chula Vista that could decide the Mesa League leader heading into the conference meet.

Rankings shuffle
Despite failing to lose a dual meet, the Bonita Vista boys squad has dropped from fourth to seventh in the section rankings in the past month (Sweetwater dropped from ninth to 10th this week). The top three place-finishers at the Division I finals advance to the state meet.
The big event at this year’s South Bay Invitational, held Sept. 26 at Rohr Park, was the showdown between the then third-ranked RBV Longhorns and fourth-ranked Barons. It was here that Bonita Vista discovered it may have to navigate a logjam of teams to reach the state finals. Running without No. 1 runner Becijos due to illness, the Barons placed runner-up to RBV by 19 points: 68 to 87.

Bonita Vista did produce a season-best pack time of 40 seconds and, with a healthy Becijos back in the lineup, Hernandez has to think his team will be in the running at the CIF finals.

Key stat: had Becijos managed to finish ahead of both RBV’s first and second scorers in the race — Alec Petros (third, 16:41) and David Phelps (fourth, 16:49) — the Barons would have won the division.

It’s that vote of no respect that has to provide that extra incentive.

“As for rankings, I think we are close to several schools. I think it will come down to which team is healthiest that day,” BV’s Hernandez said. “But that is still our goal. It's a realistic goal. We have a great shot at being top three at CIF.”