Cross country and boys’ water polo
The ending was only appropriate.
For much of Monday’s cross country race at Morgan Hill’s Anderson Park, Live Oak senior Billy Wong led rival Arnulfo Velasquez of Gilroy High by about 10 yards.
Then, when the two trekked downhill toward the end of the race, Velasquez passed up Wong. When it came down to the very last stretch, though, the pair were literally shoulder-to-shoulder.
And that’s how they ended.
“It was too close for the eye to see,” GHS head coach Cathy Silva said of the finish. “We couldn’t tell who won.”
Velasquez and Wong ended up tying for first with a blazing time of 16:05, which shattered the previous record on the three-mile course.
“It was fun to watch … they were flying,” Silva said. “It was such a huge effort for both of them.”
As a team, the Acorns won the meet – which also included a few competitors from Sobrato High – by taking third, fourth and fifth place.
Gilroy’s Frankie Valadez (17:42) finished sixth, while Darrin Amerson (18:03) and Allen Chan (18:05) trailed closely behind.
The Lady Mustangs, meanwhile, took first place by default because Live Oak and Sobrato failed to field the required five runners.
Acorns’ standout Cobbie Jones took home first, while Gilroy senior Stephanie Radtke finished third with a time of 21:31. Christina Hernandez (23:04) was the second runner in for the Mustangs.
Boys’ polo drops TCAL finale
After one of its senior players suffered an injury during pregame warmups, the Gilroy boys’ water polo got off to a shaky start Tuesday and were unable to recover in a 10-7 loss at Salinas.
Without senior Chris Hunt, the Mustangs were forced to bring in a pair of players who were inexperienced at Hunt’s positions of hole and hole defense.
“When you lose an important position like that, it’s tough to cover it up,” GHS coach Tom Clark said.
The Cowboys scored two goals almost immediately and jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Behind multiple goals by Lee Walton and Santiago Maciel, though, the Mustangs (16-6/2-4 TCAL) clawed back to make the game competitive.
“I thought it was all over there at the beginning,” Clark said. “But they hung in there even though they lost one of their most important players.”
