CROSS COUNTRY: Brawley’s Olvera Valley’s best runner at CIF State Meet, Imperial Girls’ happy to make school history
FRESNO – On a cold and cloudy Central California Saturday morning at Woodward Park in Fresno, the Imperial High School Girls’ Cross Country team made history as the first Imperial team to compete in a CIF State Cross County Championship Meet.
Along with the Imperial Girls’ Team, Brawley High Wildcat Archie Olvera, Southwest High Eagle Julia Monreal, and Holtville High Viking Lilian Strahm competed as individuals at the CIF State Meet. All the runners were facing the Woodward Park course for the first time and while there are no set dimensions per se, the CIF State championships were run on the maximum in high school distance of 5,00 meters or 3.1 miles.
Racing in Division IV being based on student population, the Imperial Girls’ Team finished 22nd out of 64 schools in the D-IV race, which was the first of the day.
“It was not what we are used to, but the girls ran hard and gave a hundred percent,” said Imperial Cross Country Coach Athena Nuno. “The effort was there and we plan to come back as a team. Having been here will be an advantage.”
Finishing first for the Tigers was senior Angelique Graham (21:50.05), followed by freshman Jimena Valdovinos (22:23.5), who led Imperial at the CIF-SDS D-IV Championship Meet finishing ninth overall.
Imperial sophomore Nayeli Cardona (22:28.8) finished third for the Tigers, followed by freshmen Mirella Barron (22:54.1), senior Xiomara Cardona (24:04.9), and juniors Arely Ortega (24:38.4) and Angelica Barbosa (25:03.2), respectively.
“We were all hoping for a little more and we were talking to the girls after the race about how historic this is for our school,” Nuno said. “And how we are proud of them and they should to be proud to have made it here ... just the effort to get here is so difficult.”
Running for the first time as an individual at the CIF State Meet’s Division-V, Holtville junior Lilian Strahm finished in 53rd place out of almost 200 runners, clocking a time of 20:11.6.
“It was great just to be here ... that was the goal all year and we accomplished that,” Strahm said, who ran in the morning’s second race. “It was cold but I was used to practicing at 5:30 a.m., so I am used to the cold and I adjusted pretty quickly.”
Strahm felt that the race presented a number of challenges.
“To me the biggest difference was the rolling hills,” Strahm said. “I had not run on a hilly course and we walked the course yesterday, but today I had to adjust and it’s difficult in the middle of the race.”
Strahm – who missed qualifying for the 2021 championships by one place – qualified this year by finishing with a personal record (19:06.7) on the 2.9-mile Morley Field course at CIF-SDS D-V Championship race in San Diego.
“Overall I think I maintained contact with the main group of runners and that is where I wanted to be,” Strahm said, already looking to return as a senior.
“I am not necessarily disappointed with my race,” she said, “and next year I want to come back. I know I’ll get closer to the time I want.”
For Brawley senior Archie Olvera and Southwest senior Julia Monreal, Saturday represented the finishing of their high school racing careers at the pinnacle of prep running meets.
Olvera capped his prep career with the highest finish of any Valley runner when he captured 40th place out of 213 runners overall, and 16th for those running as individuals at the CIF State Meet’s Division III race, covering the 3.1 mile course in a time of 16:18.2.
“Ironically, when I got to the starting line they were all tall ... and they were the best in California,” the 5-foot-3 runner said.
Olvera noted that he started in the middle of the pack before moving up to ‘run with the big dogs.’
“I competed with them,” Olvera said. “Once we hit the second-mile people started separating and I made my way passed them one-by-one and just kept moving up.”
Olvera qualified for the CIF State Meet’s D-III race with a personal best time of 16:13.4 over 2.9 miles at last week’s CIFSDS Championships. He also seems to exhibit the requisite attitude of a successful distance runner.
“I was excited to be here because it was a new opportunity,” Olvera said, “and I set a goal and reached it with a personal best in a 5K race.”
Olvera said he plans on continue to run in college next year.
“That’s what I love this sport,” the Wildcat senior said, “because you can keep improving and that sets bigger goals and then bigger goals .... It’s a lot of hard work, both physically and mentally, but it’s worth it.”
Monreal – who finished third at the IVL Championship Meet and qualified with a personal best (19; 57.4) at the Division-II
CIF SDS Championship Meet – finished the CIFState D-II race in the latter part of the 200 runners with a time of 21:52.5 on Saturday.