2004 California State Finals

BV's Avila rules as Metro's king of the course

By Phillip Brents
Posted Dec. 1, 2004

Not even nature’s harsh hand at last Saturday’s state cross country championship meet in Fresno could stop the talent evident in the feet of Bonita Vista sophomore sensation Eric Avila.

This year’s reigning Metro Conference champion and San Diego Section Division I First Team placer, Avila navigated the soggy 3.1-mile Woodward Park course in a time of 15 minutes, 56 seconds to place 19th out of 197 finishers in the Division I boys race.

"I wanted to go out extremely fast with the leaders. They broke away about the two-mile mark. it was way cool because it was raining. It was pouring rain the whole race. We ran through the mud and the rain," said Avila, who placed fifth at the section finals Nov. 20 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field with a time of 16:02 for 3.04 miles.

Avila won a shoulder-to-shoulder duel with Sweetwater junior Azael Gomez by one second, timing 15:50 at the conference finals Nov. 12 at Rohr Park.

Gomez, who placed seventh at the section championships to also earn a state qualifying berth, finished 126nd in 17:08 in Fresno.

It was clearly a postseason performance for Avila to savor. He was the third-fastest section finisher in the boys Division I field at the state meet, trailing section champion A.J. Acosta (second, 15:11) and El Camino senior teammate Randy Pensinger (sixth, 15:36). Avila finished ahead of Torrey Pines sophomore Zach Paris (20th, 15:58) and Grossmont South League champion Josh Sandoval (32nd, 16:14). Poway junior Scott Telesky, another individual state qualifier, finished 44th in 16:24 while San Diego junior Ahmed Osman was 46th in 16:25.

Osman and Sandoval, also a junior, both finished ahead of Avila at the section meet.

Avila’s time placed him 43rd overall among the 930 male runners to compete in all five enrollment divisions on the day. His time was the 19th fastest among underclassmen and ranked seventh best among the 140 section qualifiers (fourth among section underclassmen).

Is greatness destined for this young man?

The numbers seem to indicate so.

Another underclassman who appears able and willing to challenge established runners in Castle Park freshman Julia Hernandez, who placed 91st among the 190 Division II girls runners at this year’s state finals.

Hernandez, who finished 11th at the section championships, turned in the 11th fastest time among section runners in Fresno by clocking 20:08 for 3.1 miles. She timed 17:25 over the 2.7-mile course at Morley Field a week earlier. The state finals time was a personal best for the 5K distance.

Marian Catholic junior Shanice Howard was the conference’s fourth state qualifier (Division IV girls field).

Top individual performances by San Diego Section runners at this year’s state finals included second-place finishes by Acosta, Rancho Bernardo senior Lindsay dela Montaigne (Division I girls) and La Jolla senior Murat Kayali (Division III boys) and a third-place finish by University City junior Riley Booker (Division III boys, seventh fastest time among all boys runners). Other heroic place-finishes, considering the elements, were turned in by Patrick Henry senior Kyle Bruser (sixth, Division III boys), San Pasqual senior Brooke Kerby (eighth, Division II girls), St. Augustine junior Marco Anzures (ninth, Division III boys) and Valley Center senior Tricia Allred (ninth, Division III girls).

Among the section’s team qualifiers, Rancho Bernardo and El Camino finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Division I girls field while El Camino and Torrey Pines finished seventh and 10th, respectively in the Division I boys field. La Jolla and Valley Center finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in the Division III boys field while Valley Center placed seventh in the Division III girls field.

Grossmont South League champion Monte Vista — celebrating the school’s first CIF championship since 1984 – placed 10th in the Division II boys field.