SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Vaquero Stampede/El Capitan Invitational

Barons, Spartans showcase domination on the course

By Phillip Brents

Posted Sept. 6, 2003

Pure domination. The Bonita Vista and Chula Vista high school boys cross country teams exhibited superior form at Saturday’s Vaquero Stampede at Lindo Lakes by each taking home nearly two dozen medals in the Division I field.

Bonita Vista earned 10 of the top 25 place-finishes in the junior/senior boys race while Chula Vista medaled 10 runners in the freshman/sophomore boys race.

The junior/senior race came down to the final 100 meters as Bonita Vista’s Abraham Alvarez and Chula Vista’s Ivan Villareal were challenging for the victory. Alvarez slowly moved away to take the win while teammate Ryan Becijos, who had been running in sixth place with 300 meters to go, put on his miler’s kick to overtake the lead runners to finish second ahead of Villareal.

Alvarez finished with a top time of 10:44 for 2.1 miles (the only race of the day that featured a longer distance) while Becijos stepped across the finish line in 10:46. Villareal’s third-place time was 10:47.

Baron head coach Hector Hernandez called the victory a “mental breakthrough” for Alvarez.

“Abraham proved that any of three to four guys on the team on any given day have the ability to be our No. 1 runner. I can see it in our workouts and even in our races now that while Becijos may have the best time in the mile, there are others who can compete against him. I can see it going back and forth throughout the season,” Hernandez said.

Other coaches would love to have such a luxury.

Bonita Vista placed three runners among the top six finishers and four runners among the top nine finishers. Julian Zamora was sixth in 11:10 while Michael Morales was ninth in 11:22.

The Barons’ fifth man, Bersain Gutierrez, timed 11:34 in 13th place, followed by teammates Michael Valdez (11:38) in 14th place and Ryan Groth (11:38) in 15th place to give Bonita Vista seven runners among the top 15 finishers.

The Barons were not finished, however, as James Serratos (18th, 11:45) and Jared Purkey (19, 11:45) both engineered top 20 finishes. James Borik (12:21) also earned a medal by finishing among the top 25 finishers.

Besides Villareal, Chula Vista also had two other medalists in the race: Danny Medrano (10th, 11:26) and Victor Mariscal (17th, 11:42).

Of the top 25 finishers in the Division I junior/senior boys race, 13 were from the Metro Conference.

“The South Bay did themselves proud today. We had a very strong showing between the two teams,” said Spartan assistant coach Jeanne Lasee-Johnson.

Chula Vista’s domination came in the freshman/sophomore race, as the Spartans pushed across six of the top 10 place-finishers and had eighth runners finish in the top 15.

Martin Jimenez was fourth in 8:36, followed by teammates Roberto Hernandez (8:45) in fifth place, Jovanny Yorba (9:00) in seventh place, Mikkel Conver (9:01) in eighth place, Roberto Jimenez (9:05) in ninth place, Gilbert Rivas (9:06) in 10th place, Jorge Gasca (9:14) in 13th place, Sergio Soto (9:18) in 15th place, Francisco Solano (9:19) in 17th place and Cesar Gaxiola (9:28) in 23rd place.

For good measure, the Spartans had six medalists in the girls freshman/sophomore race, led by Virginia Madero in sixth place with a time of 10:25 for 1.65 miles. Following her lead were teammates Brittnay Chatman (10th, 11:02), Claudia Sandoval (15th, 11:20), Allison Boyle (17th, 11:23), Andrea Lopez (18th, 11:26) and Ashley Olvera (22nd, 12:15).
Lasee-Johnson noted that of the 28 CV runners who participated in the invitational, 24 medaled. All but one boy medaled.

“It’s a team of the future, especially with the boys,” she said.

The Spartans also had five medalists in the junior/senior girls race: Irene Bueno (14th, 10:27), Maria Lopez (16th, 11:31), Martha Amador (21st, 11:34), Brenda Sandoval (24th, 11:43) and Michelle Osuna (25th, 11:43).

Bonita Vista runners earned four medals in the girls junior/senior race, led by Tiffany Caddell, who finished in seventh place with a time of 9:56 despite feeling ill. Caroline Van-Olsen followed in 19th place in 11:14 while Karie Elkins (20th) and Angel Torres (21st) both timed 11:32 for 1.65 miles.

The Barons also picked up one medal in the girls freshman/sophomore race as Jessi Tinlsey finished eighth in 10:53. Topazio Palomino finished two place s from earning a medal, placing 27th in 12:43.

Bonita Vista’s top two runners in the freshman/sophomore boys race — both freshmen — were Mathew Seat (26th, 9:47) and Devan Caddell (40th, 10:14).

In the Division II field, Castle Park’s Jorge Diaz won the boys junior/senior race while Castle Park’s Veronica Gonzalez finished fourth in the girls freshman/sophomore race.

Notepad

Both Bonita Vista and Chula Vista coaches rang out praise for the challenge presented by this year's University City boys squad. The Centurions finished 7-8-12-21-22-27-34 in the Division I junior/senior boys race.