Velasquez takes 22nd of 85 at section finals
BELMONT – Sophomore Arnulfo Velasquez – the Gilroy High boys cross country team’s lone representative in Saturday’s CCS Championship at Crystal Springs in Belmont – finished 22nd out of the 85 runners with a time of 16:44.
“I was very happy with the race. The goal was to finish in the top half of the race and Arnulfo surpassed that by edging close to the top quarter,” head coach Wayne Scott said. “He ran a great race and it was a great experience for him as a sophomore. He now knows the dedication that it will to get to the state meet in the future.”
The top two teams from the Division I CCS meet and the top five individuals not going as a member of a team advance to the state finals provided that the individual runners also place in the top 12 in Saturday’s meet. San Benitio and Salinas went first and second in the team race and will be going to the state meet.
“The slowest time to make it to state this year was 16:10. The 34 seconds difference is large, but Arnulfo can run times in that range next year if he completes a summer training program,” Scott said. “We have a couple of other guys that can compete at that level if they are willing to put the time into it. I am very excited about where this program is going over the next couple of years.”
