As the adage goes in cross country, a team is only as good as
its fifth runner. On Saturday at the Tri-County Athletic League
Championships at Toro Park in Salinas, Gilroy’s fifth runner
finished 12th overall, well before other teams had even their third
or fourth runner cross the finish line.
By Andrew Matheson
As the adage goes in cross country, a team is only as good as its fifth runner.
On Saturday at the Tri-County Athletic League Championships at Toro Park in Salinas, Gilroy’s fifth runner finished 12th overall, well before other teams had even their third or fourth runner cross the finish line.
As a result, the Gilroy girls cross country team recorded a varsity-low of 37, and were crowned TCAL champions for the first time in 22 years.
As a sign of Gilroy’s dominance, with five Mustangs nabbing top-12 spots, fourth-place Notre Dame’s first runner came in 14th place, two spots behind Gilroy’s fifth runner.
Kathleen Miller led the Gilroy girls with a second-place finish, clocking in at 19 minutes, 19 seconds.
“We did great. I’m really proud of the team,” Miller said. “I really wanted the team to do well and I wanted to PR (personal record).
“I still have some peaking left to do and the CCS is still coming up.”
With their first-place finish, the girls will be off to the 2007 Central Coast Section Cross Country Championships, held at Crystal Springs in Belmont on Nov. 10. Miller, Jessica Hopf (5th, 19:47), Paty Hernandez (8th, 19:56) and Brandie Rodriguez (10th, 20:38) were each named All-League performers for finishing in the top 10.
“For them to come and bring their game was fun to see,” coach Cathy Silva said. “It’s a team sport and they know it’s a team sport.”
Not to be outdone, joining the girls team will be the Gilroy boys as well, who finished fourth as a team with 78 points.
The Mustangs were led by Derek Pesta, whose 16:52 was good enough for sixth place overall and an All-League selection.
“I think I ran all right, but not the best I could have,” the Gilroy senior said. “Today just wasn’t my day.”
Both coaches and harriers spoke of Homecoming week and the distractions that come with it. Gilroy celebrated their Homecoming last Friday, and the TCAL Championships followed on Saturday.
“I just tried to give what I had, but I wasn’t excited about my time,” Pesta said. “I’m just going to try and put this race behind me and look forward to CCS.”
Coach Silva thought Pesta did well, especially since he was battling for much of the race with Alisal’s Diego Estrada, who finished first in 15:20 and is arguably one of the best runners in the section.
“When you’re running with someone like that, it takes a lot of energy,” she said. “I think most of (the boys) had personal bests today, and that’s what you want to do at the end of the season. They finished well.”
Only the top four teams in the league qualify for CCS.
On Saturday, after Miller’s second-place finish, teammates Jessica Hopf took fifth, Paty Hernandez nabbed eighth, Brandie Rodriguez finished in 10th and Anne Donahoe took 12th.
The Gilroy boys, who missed finishing in third place by two points, rounded out with Juan Velasquez in 11th, Timothy Williams finishing 15th, Augustine Serafio in 22nd and Matt Sosa in 24th.
The 2007 CCS Championships will be held Nov. 10 with the boys’ race starting at 1:15 p.m. and the girls beginning at 1:45 p.m.
Gilroy Results
Varsity Boys
1, Diego Estrada, Alisal, 15:20; 6, Derek Pesta, Gilroy, 16:52; 11, Juan Velasquez, Gil, 17:12; 15, Timothy Williams, Gil, 17:20; 22, Augustine Serafio, Gil, 17:38; 24, Matt Sosa, 17:57; 28, Daniel Apuzzo, Gil, 18:10.
Varsity Teams
1, San Benito, 41; 2, Salinas, 55; 3, Palma, 76; 4, Gilroy, 78.
Varsity Girls
1, Courtney Allen, SB, 19:01; 2, Kathleen Miller, Gil, 19:19; 5, Jessica Hopf, Gil, 19:47; 8, Paty Hernandez, Gil, 19:56; 10, Brandie Rodriguez, Gil, 20:38; 12, Anne Donahoe, Gil, 20:56; 23, Christine Bobula, Gil, 21:48; 29, Kristina Schmidt, Gil, 22:46.
Varsity Teams
1, Gilroy, 37; 2, Salinas, 47.
Junior Varsity Boys
1, David Perez, Salinas, 17:31; 7, Henry Phan, Gil, 18:26; 9, Uriel Garcia, Gil, 18:42; 13, Raul Quintanar, Gil, 19:04; 14, William Condon, Gil, 19:05; 23, Nick Rodriguez, Gil, 19:48; 32, Fernando Arellano, Gil, 20:34; 37, Omar Garcia, Gil, 21:09; 48, Peter Chung, Gil, 27:11.
Junior Varsity Teams
1, Salinas, 24; 2, San Benito, 52; 3, Gilroy, 63.
Junior Varsity Girls
1, Jacquelyn Lee, Salinas, 21:34; 6, Maricela Olmos, Gil, 22:17; 8, Kim Apuzzo, Gil, 22:31; 10, Kristy Pineda-Chave, Gil, 22:59; 13, Rebecca Valencia, Gil, 23:30; 21, Erin Chan, Gil, 24:40; 47, Leeanna Lamers, Gil, 31:16.
Junior Varsity Teams
1, Salinas, 33; 2, San Benito, 46; 3, Gilroy, 58.
Frosh/Soph Boys
1, Max Bell, Salinas, 17:46; 4, Gabino Ramirez, Gil, 18:42; 6, Brandon Sumida, Gil, 18:53; 9, Junior Ramirez, 19:23; 15, Joseph Leong, Gil, 19:46; 18, Patrick Collins, Gil, 20:02; 22, Mitchell Wright, Gil, 20:12; 30, Jason Hungerford, Gil, 21:14; 32, David Siha, Gil, 21:22; 33, Ronald Short, Gil, 21:40; 34, Erik Brolin, Gil, 21:46; 35, Gabriel Hernandez, Gil, 21:48.
Frosh/Soph Teams
1, Salinas, 35; 2, Gilroy, 52.
