Gilroy High School cross country continues to increase in
numbers
By Marc David Sports Editor
Gilroy – Four years ago, Gilroy High had seven runners out for cross country.
This year, coaches Art and Cathy Silva greeted 51 runners. What a difference a few years make.
“We’re going in the right direction,” Art Silva said. “As long as we can keep kids coming back, I think we can be competitive. Also, we have 15 freshmen out this year, which is great for us.”
That makes sophomore Kathleen Miller feel “old.” After all, she was the freshman last year. When she reported out for cross country in 2005, she was not in shape and her time (26 minutes) reflected that. By the end of the year, her time for the 3-mile had dropped to 19:22 and she finished 14th in the league, just missing out on the state meet.
She was able to pass along her knowledge to Paty Hernandez. The promising freshman kept pace with Miller during two-thirds of the 3-mile run Wednesday at the TCAL Jamboree at Toro Park in Salinas. Miller has learned how to run the Toro Park course that starts out flat and then becomes hilly. She finished fourth Wednesday in 20:45. She must also be a good teacher because Hernandez was fifth in 21:18. Senior Shannon McVannel of Salinas set the pace in 19:15, followed by Courtney Allen of San Benito (20:22) and Alex Bell of Salinas (20:42).
“I’m in shape earlier (this year) so I can do even better,” Miller said. “My main goal is to make it to state this year. Our team should be better since we have a ton of freshmen this year.”
Miller said she ran 20-25 miles weekly during the summer to build her base.
Gilroy also notched a fourth on the boys side from junior Derek Pesta. It was a good start for Pesta, whose sophomore season was cut short by a hip injury. He clocked a 17:09, which is already 20 seconds faster than his best time last year. Pesta, who was JV 2-mile champion and 1-mile runner-up on the track last spring, is shooting for a sub-16 minute this season.
Wednesday, he was 13 seconds behind overall winner Adrian Rodriguez of San Benito, who crossed the finish line in the same time (16:56) as teammate Rigo Vasquez. Diego Estrada of Alisal was third in 16:59.
“I love this course,” Pesta said. “It’s awesome. I was happy with how I ran today.”
Pesta put himself through a grueling summer, averaging between 50-60 miles per week running and doing upper body workouts three times weekly. He is hoping the extra work will pay off.
Silva looks for big things from Jaime Reyes, Agustin Serafio and Uriel Garcia in addition to Pesta. Reyes has lowered his time from the upper 18s last year to 17:41. Serafio has knocked three minutes off his time in the 3-mile, and Garcia has lowered his time by 1:30. Silva attributes the dramatic improvement of Serafio and Garcia to hard work in the offseason.
“They both worked hard in the summer,” Silva said. “That’s what it takes. You can’t think you can show up and just be able to run fast.”
On the girls side, it appears that the best runners will be the younger ones. Silva is high on Hernandez.
“She works hard and always has a big smile even after running,” Silva said. “She’s one of those kids you love having around.”
Brandie Rodriguez is another talented freshman on a team where six of the 17 runners are ninth graders.
“The whole team is young,” Silva said. “If we can keep them around, we’ll be in good shape.”
On Wednesday, 45 Mustangs’ runners made the trek to Toro Park. If there really is strength in numbers, this could be a banner year at GHS.
Boys Cross Country
Adrian Cazas, jr.; Manuel Cazas, soph.; Uriel Garcia, jr.; Steven Heisey, jr.; Derek Pesta, jr.; Jaime Reyes, soph.; Agustin Serafio, jr.; Dylan Whitmer, jr..
Girls Cross Country
Christine Bobula, soph.; Paty Hernandez, frosh,; Megan Litle, sr.; Kathleen Miller, soph.; Brandie Rodriguez, frosh.; Kristina Schmidt, jr.
Schedule
(all meets start 3:30pm except TCAL championship)
September
18, San Benito at Park Hill; 25, Everett Alvarez, North Salinas at Christmas Hill Park.
October
9, Alisal, Salinas at Natividad Creek; 16, Palma, Notre Dame at Christmas Hill Park; 28, TCAL Championships at Toro Park, 10am
