The cross county league season started off on an
encouraging note when the Mustangs placed their top 6 runners in
the top 9 spots in the first Sante Fe League meet on Wednesday.
Senior Freddy Robles paced the Mustangs with a time of 17:18.
Running a gutsy race, Freddy outlasted sophomore Mario Lopez from Daniel Murphy
by 10 seconds. Each runner shared the lead at various
points of the course, but Freddy ran the smarter, more
economical race on the flat, fast 3.1 mile road run.
Freddy looks forward to October 11, when he can clinch the Sante
Fe League Individual title with a victory on the hilly Elysian
Park course.
Steadfast in their endeavor to outlast the rest
of the competition as well, the next 5 Mustangs placed
4th, 5th, 6'th, 7th, and 9th respectively . Senior
Christian "Lisa" Ruiz led the march, finishing in a time of
18:20 on the 5k course. Running as a pack, the synergy
carried the Mustangs to an overwhelming victory. Junior
Carlos Alvarez debut dumbfounded coaches with his 5th place
finish. Although training sparingly this season as a
result of his commitment to club soccer, Carlos has cemented his
place in the chase pack. Juniors Ivan Rafael, Eric
Castanon, and sophomore Daniel Verdin were in close pursuit.
In the junior varsity race, the Mustangs romped
to a sweep, finishing 1,2,3, 4, 5. Junior Paul Cornejo won
the race, and in the process might have vaulted himself over 7th
man on varsity, junior and close pal, Adan Garcia. Coaches
had to separate a friendly confrontation on the bus between
these two old comrades. There might even be more at stake
on November 1st, where the 2 buddies might be clashing for
League Individual Title! Both sophomores Daniel Garcia,
and Abraham Santa Cruz will have something to say about that
though.
The second Sante Fe League meet will be held at
Elysian Park on Wednesday, October 11. Senior Edwin Garcia
likely will make his debut. Edwin has personal bests of
11:00 for the 3200 meters, and 17:11 on the Bell-Jeff course.
His return is awaited.
