IN SPORTS: RUNNERS QUALIFY FOR SECTION MEET
A number of Lodi-area athletes took another step closer to the CIF State Cross Country Meet with Saturday’s performance at the SacJoaquin Section subsection meet.
Taking on the large hills at Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Frogtown, three local varsity squads qualified for the section championship meet by placing in the top 10 as a team — the Lodi High girls in Division I, the Tokay High boys in Division II and the Liberty Ranch boys in Division IV.
In the Division I girls race, Lodi scored 209 points to place sixth, led by Pamela Decko, who placed 27th overall with a 20-minutes, 54.3second time on the 5-kilometer course. The top 10 teams in each division moved on to the section meet, along with the top 10 individuals not on those teams.
The Flames competed in the race without top runner Ruth Hernandez, who was taking the SAT.
“The girls went out, and they were a little worried they wouldn’t be able to come through because Ruth wasn’t there,” Lodi coach Greg Wright said. “There’s a lot of really good teams in the section this year. It’s pretty intimidating. St. Francis could possibly win state this year. They’re pretty tall gazelles.”
Other point scorers for Lodi were Paris Heiser (38th at 21:33.3), Audrey Garcia (40th at 21:38.2), Yasmin Melendrez (49th at 21:54.2) and Frida Rodriguez (57th at 22:20.1). Raven Edwards (60th at 22:29.7) and Katrina Chang (103rd at 24:57.2) also competed. Hernandez will rejoin the team next weekend for the section race.
“They’re on the outside looking in as far as state, but they’re going to give it their best shot,” Wright said. “They’ll have to beat Gregori and Pitman. And they have at times this year. I have a lot of faith in the girls.”
In the Division II boys race, Tokay placed 10th to snag the final spot with 256 points, led by Abel Delacruz in 17th place at 16:36.7.
Josue Herrera was 22nd at 16:57.6, Homero Delacruz was 44th at 17:23.4, Alek Francovich was 88th at 18:22.0, Manuel Munoz was 89th at 18:22.4 and Zacariah Kellogg was 91st at 18:29.9.
In the Division IV boys race, Xavier Morales placed 13th overall at 16:55.6 to lead Liberty Ranch to a ninthplace finish with 238 points. Teammates Adrian Lima (35th at 17:44.2), Braden Birkes (38th at 17:47.4), Cole Parker (71st at 18:39.1) and Cyrus Walker (94th at 18:57.4)
were the Hawks’ other point scorers.
Galt placed 24th in the D4 race with 693 points, with Ethan Reece placing 41st overall at 17:52.4 to qualify as an individual. His teammates were Ryan Hill (152nd at 20:50.0), Christian Strayhand (196th at 24:51.2), Jose RamosGonzalez (197th at 24:53.6) and Richard Wagers (206th at 27:46.0).
Another individual to qualify to the section meet was Lodi’s
Lucas Fonda, who placed 27th overall in the Division I boys race at 17:08.6. Lodi placed 12th as a team with 342 points, with runners Jesus Santillan (59th at 17:55.8), Nicolas Rasoilo (75th at 18:23.6), Daniel Santillan (89th at 18:42.2) and Casimiro Rodriguez (92nd at 18:43.9).
And in the Division II girls race, Tokay’s Kari Anema placed 23rd overall at 20:12.7 to qualify. Tokay placed 16th as a team with 435 points, with runners Katiana Reedy (64th at 21:51.0), Ashley McCracken (123rd at 26:04.3), Mirella Orozco (136th at
28:23.0) and Michelle Garcia (138 that 29:13.2).
At the lower levels, which send six teams and 10 individuals to the section tournament, two local teams and a number of runners qualified to move on.
The Lodi frosh-soph girls team placed fourth with 110 points, led by Diana Vargas in 6th with a 14:12 on the 2-mile course. She’s joined by teammates Noelle Mason-Hohenthaner, Sophia Nieves, Julianna Bauserman, Ella Waters, Olivia Pollinsky and Hannah Bennett.
The Liberty Ranch boys
team also moved on with 75 points for a third-place finish, led by Raghav Vadusevan at 12:42.3. He’ll move on along with teammates Sean Nietschke, Spencer Birkes, Timothy Corcoran, Elijah Gonzalez and Cole Ceremony.
Individuals moving on at the lower levels include Lodi’s Nicholas Bersi (19th in D1 sophomore boys at 12:01.2), Tokay’s Vincent Magnani (33rd in D2 sophomore boys at 12:26.7), Tokay’s Angela Machado (22nd in D2 froshsoph girls at 14:35.0) and Lodi’s Ian Scottorosano (32nd in D1 freshman boys at 12:26.7).