The third Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division cross country Center Meet at El Toro on Wednesday served as a useful gauge for Gilroy High coaches Cathy and Art Silva.
“Coach Art and I were excited about competing at Toro Park again,” Cathy Silva said. “We have not ran the course since the Chieftain Invite on Sept. 15. This was our chance to see how much we have improved in a month.”
The Silva’s liked what they saw.
Eleven of the 14 runners who took the course in September lowered their times, including senior Enrique Villanueva, who moved his time under 18 minutes.
Bryan Kachakji recorded a career -best PR of 18:56, while junior Jorge Murillo also set a career-best with a 19:44.
Kairo Barrosa lead the frosh/soph times with a 19:47, followed by freshman, Michael Kropff with a 20:13 Sophomore, William Cho, in just his second high school meet, flew in with a 21:02 after taking a fall on a downhill curve, a performance that earned him the team’s Athlete of the Week honors.
On the girls’ side, Noemi Rivera beat her September time by 47 seconds, clocking in at 23:27. Freshman, Karla Lozano, who has been dealing with hip soreness, managed to keep stride with Rivera and crossed at 23:40. Jackie Gomez Gonzalez (24:09) had the most improvement, slicing 4 minutes, 36 seconds off her previous time, which gave her the girls Athlete of the Week recognition.
