MHS boys, girls win Div. II titles
Monache boys and girls teams both win Valley titles
Monache High School’s boys and girls cross country teams defended their No. 1 ranking and swept the CIF Central Section Division II Championships Thursday, taking home Valley plaques, medals and hats for their impressive finish at the meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The Marauders girls team placed first with a score of 60, followed by Redwood (66) and Madera (75) in the 5K race. The Marauders boys won their first-ever Central Section Championship with a decisive 47-78 win over second place Reedley. All seven of Monache’s boys and girls cross country athletes qualified for the CIF State Cross Country meet on Saturday, Nov. 27 at Woodward Park.
Imelda Suarez (19 minutes and 10 seconds) and Marilou Ruiz (19:24) led the girls Div. II field by at least 10 seconds the entire race. They maintained control of the pace with a vicious first mile that dropped the field and gave them absolute control on the rest of the course.
In the end, Suarez and Ruiz finished the race as the Central Section individual champion and runner-up. Suarez is the East Yosemite League champion and the only runner left from Monache’s 2014 Valley Championship girls team.
To be an individual champion and a team champion at Valley is remarkable, MHS head coach Seth Ishida said. Beating her previous best by 20 seconds, Suarez showed some of the stuff that got her recruited by Cal State Stanislaus.
Ruiz was having some tightness in her calf and wanted to make sure she could finish strong and focused on not making any mistakes.
“We really needed those low scores with the final outcome being so close,” Ishida said. “In my opinion, Aislin Taylor had the breakout performance that we have been expecting. For a freshman to run 19:50 and stand as an all-valley Div. II runner, sixth overall, is amazing. I told her she needed to move up to Alyssa Quinones and she did. She saved the day for us.”
Quinones (20:07) ran a strong, smart race with her remarkable speed at the end earning her ninth place and a Valley medal. She ran down four or five runners at the end of the race and really made a difference.
Chanel Bradley was Monache’s fifth runner and was fighting an illness.
“She always has a good kick and she held on dur- ing the rough hills in the race and gave us everything. She cares so much about our team and put a great deal of pressure on herself. You have to respect the way she responded,” said Ishida.
Charlotte Kouyoumtjian, ran an excellent race, especially considering she joined the team later in the season.
“She was probably surprised by the fact that I was asking her to win this for us when it looked like Chanel might implode,” Ishida said. “She moved up to within three places of Chanel and was a perfect teammate in the supporting role. Chanel and Aislin have been an amazing pair and to add Charlotte shows that we are going in the right direction as a team.”
The boys race was a total team effort with Ivan Mendez (2nd, 15:54) and Jaden Uphoff (4th, 16:10) trying to unseat the defending Div. II champion and future UC Berkeley athlete Moises Medrano.
Medrano let the race get out with a slow tactical first mile that built up to a surge at the 8 minute mark. Medrano and the aggressive tempo change of the Mt. Whitney number one runner created a gap that was insurmountable in the second mile hills and last mile.
“We thought that we could get the time back with the easy first mile, but it turned into a fight for second place with Ivan overtaking the breakaway Whitney runner and Jaden Uphoff closing in fourth,” said Ishida. “They were upset with their times, but they knew that the team championship came first. They wanted history. Jaden had been on the runner-up team of two years ago that missed the championship by two points. He knew we needed that fourth place and made sure he was in solid position.”
Joel Garcia (8th, 16:27) has had a breakout season for MHS. His time was really more like a number one runner, Ishida said. He is a star on a team of stars. He was within contact of Uphoff the whole race and had the best race of the day for the boys.
Aaron Aparecio (16:40) and Isaiah Sotelo (16:52) put in a blue-collar, brute force of will performance that earned Aparecio 13th and Sotello 20th.
“We had a very good score and great support with Giovanni Sanchez and Joachim Del Rosario really providing confidence that everyone could put in their heart and soul and not worry about an implosion from the 4 and 5 positions,” Ishida said. “I wanted them to give it their all and they did not disappoint.” Porterville
In the Div. IV boys race, Porterville senior Joe Tamez (17:30.6) finished in 15th place for the team’s highest finish of the day. Senior Julieta Ceballos (23:53.7) led the Panthers and placed 81st in the girls Div. II race.
“Overall, I was very happy with our team just about everybody PR’D on their scores and at the end of the day…all you can do is do your best and improve from previous times so I’m pretty happy with the kids’ effort today,” PHS head coach Juan Jimenez said. Div. IV: Lindsay
Like she did all during East Sequoia League competition, LHS junior Mckaylie Caesar placed first at Valley with a time of 19:07.3 – over 30 seconds faster than second-place finisher Haley Ulloa (19:41.6) out of Highland. With her top finish Caesar advances to the state meet.
“We are really proud of our teams this season,” LHS head coach Orlando Benitez. “Through their dedication throughout this entire season we were able to secure a trip to state on the girls side.”
The fourth- ranked Cardinals girls teamed finished third behind Corcoran (48) and Hanford West (87) with the help of strong finishes from sophomore Nancy Vasquez (21:40.4, 20th) and freshman Briana Amador (21:53.9, 25th) who knocked over two minutes off her usual time.
“Our boys team faltered a bit and could only manage a 10th-place finish despite being ranked fifth,” Benitez said. However junior Victor Cisneros (16:57.4) qualified for state as an individual with a fourth-place finish. Benitez added that the team is very proud of his hard work throughout the season.
“We look forward to representing our community at state,” Benitez said. Div. V: Granite Hills, Summit Charter and Strathmore
Granite Hills boys teams entered the Valley meet ranked No. 9 but “peaked” and placed fifth with a score of 190 for the team’s strongest performance of the season according to GHHS head coach Chris Ross. The Grizzlies girls team finished ninth with a score of (184).
Headed to state from Granite Hills is senior Jonah Flores (17:41.8) who finished fifth and junior Elizabeth Hernandez (22:01.5) who took fourth.
Summit Charter junior Daniel Jimenez (17:20.1) qualified for state with a second-place finish in the boys race. Sophomore Terri Jimenez (22:27.0) was the top finisher for the Bears girls team. Summit’s girls team was ranked No. 4 but finished eighth with a score of 169.