LOCAL RUNNERS FALL SHORT OF STATE
Despite strong races, Lodi and Galt squads miss out on state championships
FOLSOM — Lodi High coach Greg Wright was pleased with the outcome of his runners at the Sac-Joaquin Section Cross-Country Championships.
Tokay coach Karey Harty felt the same way.
But one can’t blame them for thinking about upcoming seasons.
On Saturday, the two local squads, plus the Liberty Ranch boys team and two Galt runners, competed at the 2.1 miles Willow Hills course next to Folsom High. The Lodi girls, competing in Division I, took eighth place with 190 points. Davis Senior High won the team crown with 40 points, followed by Oak Ridge at 67 for second and Cosumnes Oaks of Elk Grove third at 84 points.
In Division II, the Tokay boys took seventh place with 148 points. Whitney of Rocklin was first at 53 points while its cross-town rival in Rocklin was second at 58 and Bella Vista of Fair Oaks third at 90.
Liberty Ranch of Galt also had a top 10 finish in Division IV. The Hawks finished at 10th place with 221 points. Placer of Auburn was first at 33 points, followed by Christian Brothers of Sacramento second at 69 points.
The top finishes as teams, along with individuals, were not enough to qualify any Lodi area runners into the CIF State Cross-Country Championships, which will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno this Saturday. The top two boys’ teams in Divisions I and V and the top three in Divisions II-IV, plus the top three in girls in Divisions I through III and top two in D-IV/V advance.
Pamela Decko, a sophomore, was the top runner for the Lodi girls, taking 31st place with a time of 21 minutes, 28.2 seconds. She was one of three Lodi girls who placed in the top 50; junior Audrey Garcia was 41st at 22:15.7 and senior Ruth Hernandez 46th at 22:37.8.
“They were a little disappointed,”
Wright said. “They wanted to finish higher. We didn’t get to run that much last week. But I was pleased with their performances.”
Raven Edwards was 51st for the Flames, clocked at 23:05.7. Frida Rodriguez and Paris Heiser, both sophomores, were 56th and 57th respectively.
One Lodi boy and one Tokay girl also competed, in the same divisions as their teams. Lucas Fonda was the lone Lodi boy competing, taking 38th at 18:01. Tokay’s Kari Anema, a sophomore, was 46th at 21:35.0.
Wright said that the hills at the Willow Hills’ course was challenging for Fonda. But that just made the junior hungrier to return to the meet next fall.
“He’s excited to get up to
the hills more, and spend more time in the weight room,” Wright said.
Harty added, “There are days when you run well and days you don’t.”
Abel Dela Cruz took 22nd place for the Tokay boys, finishing at 17:16.7. Two more Tiger runners placed in the top 30; Zacariah Kellogg was 24th at 17:19.9 and Homero Dela Cruz 26th at 17:22. Josue Herrera, who has been the Tigers’ top runner throughout the season, was 32nd at 17:26.1.
Before the section championships, Tokay took 10th place at the sub-sections earlier this month. Advancing three places at the sectional meet made Harty very happy.
“They left hungry they want more next year,” Harty said.
Three more Tigers placed with Alek Francovich at 59th, Manuel Munoz 76th and Jayden Franklin 78th.
The Flames and Tigers’ squads mostly have juniors and sophomores who ran Saturday. Their strong finishes gives Wright and Harty reasons to believe that they can advance their respective teams, if not individuals, into the 2019 CIF State CrossCountry Championships and 2020.
“The future looks really good for the girls,” Wright said. “We’re only losing Ruth and Brooke (Aberle, who left the team to practice with the Lodi girls basketball team) to graduation. The kids want to step up and work harder and travel to run some more hills more. I think we can get a lot better.”
Harty added, “We are very optimistic about the future.”
Xavier Morales was the lone Liberty Ranch boys runner who placed in the top 20, taking 16th place at 17:28.9. Next Hawk to soar high in the top 50 was Adam Lima at
18:52.7. Both are seniors. Rounding out placing for Liberty Ranch were Cole Parker at 56th, Connor Leipelt at 73rd and Braden Birkes 75th.
Galt’s Madison Petersen shined for the Warriors in the D-IV girls’ race. The junior was 24th at 22:36.9.
In the D-IV boys’ race, Galt’s Ethan Reece, a junior who was also the kicker/punter for the Galt football team this season, was 42nd at 18:36.3.
The section championships were originally scheduled to take place at the same course on Nov. 4. But bad air quality from the smoke of the Camp Fire in Butte County that has blanked Northern California the last two weeks forced section officials to reschedule the race.