SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Metro boys JV finals: Fight the future

By Phillip Brents
Posted Nov. 20, 2003

They are clearly the runners of the future: Bonita Vista freshmen Austin Jett and Eric Avila.

The two frosh sensations helped the Barons easily win last Friday’s Mesa League boys junior varsity team championship with a meet low 16 points. Jett’s time of 17:37 for 3.1 miles would have earned him a top 15 finish and a medal in the Mesa League varsity race. Avila (18:18) simply showed his resiliency by placing third after being cleared to compete just days before the event. He had been sidelined several weeks with a foot injury.

Bonita Vista placed the top four runners in this year’s JV league finals and had six all-league runners among the race’s top 10 finishers.

San Ysidro sophomore Charles Lovelace captured South Bay League JV Runner of the Year honors with a time of 19:24 (23rd overall in the conference field). He was a freshman at Montgomery High last season but did not run cross country despite his apparent natural affinity for it.

He led a whirlwind finish for the second-year Cougars, whose five scorers all earned all-league honors. Following Lovelace’s lead in the South Bay League finals were teammates Chris Quintana (second, 19:28), Oscar Valdez (seventh, 20:04), Rafa Rodriguez (eighth, 20:07) and William James (ninth, 20:10).

San Ysidro scored a meet low 27 points to finish ahead of Hilltop (39) and regular season dual meet leader Otay Ranch (62). Because the final standings are based evenly on dual meet and conference finish, the Cougars’ 4-2 dual meet record brought them into a tie with Otay Ranch for the overall season championship. Hilltop finished in third place, one point behind the two co-leaders.

“I think they did a great job of coming together as a pack rather than as individuals. They went from running as single runners to working together as a team,” San Ysidro coach Rick Kane said.

Otay Ranch, which finished 6-0 in dual competition, placed one all-league runner: Amit Patel (fifth, 19:47). The Mustangs’ five scorers, in order of team finish, also included Matt Westcott, Ernesto Roman, Mark Marsden and Anthony Gagajena.

“We got some runners who are going to be pretty good in the future and they’re just now finding out how good,” Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming said.