Monache XC wins Tulare invitational
Ruiz, Mendez were individual champions
Monache High School’s Marilou Ruiz and Ivan Mendez continued to lead their teams to victory Friday at a cross country invitational hosted by Tulare Western High School at Live Oak Park in Tulare.
The Marauder girls came into the race ranked seventh in the CIF Central Section Division II and pulled out an upset of the fifth ranked Redwood Rangers 2935. Ninth ranked Tulare Western came in third with 99 points, Golden West followed with 106 points and Mission Oak with 115 points.
Ruiz won the race with a 5-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 24 seconds. Aislin Taylor ran a personal record of 19:35, Chanel Bradley ran a 21:04, followed by Mikayli Moore and Aryanna Guzman at 22:12 and 22:13, respectively.
“It was a hard-fought race with Redwood taking the early advantage,” MHS head coach Seth Ishida said. “They had a clear lead with one mile left, and Aislin Taylor ran a lifetime best to beat the Redwood number one runner to keep us close. It came down to Mikayli and Aryanna moving up from 15th to 10th and 11th. I told them they had to pass four runners and put some points on the number five Redwood runner and they did exactly that.”
Ishida added, “Mikayli is the class presi-
and valedictorian, [she] knows how to execute the race. Aryanna showed real guts to stick with her teammate for a 3-minute personal record. Chanel Bradley ran an excellent race from start to finish to get fifth. I really feel that she is a first team all-valley DII runner. ‘Honey Badger’ toughness might be the best way to describe her style of running. I was very proud of our ladies today with this difficult weather.”
For the boys, Ivan Mendez ran a 15:24 to win the race and placed all five scorers from Monache in the top six places for medals. The Monache boys beat the sixth ranked Redwood Rangers, a Div. I team by a score of 18 to 54. Redwood was missing some of their stars but it was still a fine win, according to Ishida.
Tulare Western (ranked seventh in Div. III) scored 105 points, Tulare Union scored 129 points, Mission Oak scored 143 points, Golden West scored 148 points and Lemoore rounded out the field with 168 points.
Ishida said Mendez ran a solid race with just the guide bike to lead him. The number one Redwood runner was not in the race and Ivan ran very well for being alone. Isaiah Sotelo (16:48) had an outstanding race and came on strong with a half mile left to retake second place from the Tulare Union number one runner that had beaten him last week.
“It was a big character win that took a great deal of concentration and strategy,” Ishida said. “He is a freshman 800-meter school record holder and everyone expects him to wait for the last 200 meters to kick. He turned it on with 400 meters to go and never looked back.”
Sophomore Isaiah Mendez ran a 17:33 for fourth with Bryan Perez at 17:34 for fifth, Giovanni Sanchez sixth with a run of 17:52 and Joachim Del Rosario was seventh with a 17:55.
Ishida said that it was important for the Marauders to reestablish some contact with the top runners from other schools.
“I want our No. 2, 3, 4, 5 guys to feel like they can compete with the best from any school,” Ishida said. “The No. 3, 4, 5 scorers ran very well as a team. They helped each other through the rough patches and gave each other the strength to keep ahead of the surging Redwood runners. Redwood is a wellcoached and talented team that we have a great deal of respect for. I think our preparation for the heat and humidity was a major factor that showed a great deal of individual discipline and intelligence. It was wonderful to watch them earn a big victory.”
GIRLS TENNIS
Panthers go 3-0 Porterville High School’s girls tennis went 3-0 in Division 6 play over the weekend at a tournament in Fresno to win their divison.
The Panthers defeated Golden West 4-2 in the final after beating Madera South 5-1.
In singles, No. 1 Vanessa Madrigal won 6-3, 6-2 and No. 2 Erica Palad won 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 Lizbeth Martinez lost her match in a 10-5 tiebreaker. In doubles, No. 1 Chloe Weaver and Jewelia Maniss won 6-4, 6-2 and No. 2 Zeila Rivera and Hannah Walker won 6-3, 6-2. No. 3 Dez Gomez and Kamiah Rania lost 6-4, 6-3.
FOOTBALL
Porterville 24
Hanford 20 Porterville High School football pulled off another victory over a CIF Central Section Division II school when the Div. IV Panthers (30) defeated the Bullpups (2-2) 24-20 on a 1-yard touchdown run by PHS Aaron Cruz in the final 18 seconds of the game in Hanford.
For the Panthers, sophomore Hector Nava went 9-of-24 for 200 yards and one touchdown. Nava also had two interceptions and rushed for 72 yards on 11 carries.
Cruz, a senior wide reciever, also finished with 21 yards and one touchdown on two receptions. The junior running back finished with a team-high 83 yards on 18 carries as well as a team-high 166 yards on five receptions. Junior running back Jayson Thao also had seven yards on three carries and one touchdown.
Junior kicker Nick Ward was 3-for-3 on PATS and also had a 29yard field goal. Roosevelt 28 Granite Hills 0 The CIF Central Section Division VI Granite Hills High School football lost 28-0 to Div. IV Roosevelt (4-0) last Friday evening at Jacob Rankin Stadium.
The Grizzlies (0-4) remain winless through four games, and begin East Sequoia League play at Corcoran (3-1) on Friday, Sept. 14. Fowler 38 Lindsay 7 Lindsay High School football lost 38-7 to Fowler (2-2) in a CIF Central Section Division V game on the road Friday.
The Cardinals are now 2-1 on the season, and begin East Sequoia League play at Woodlake (3-1) on Friday, Sept. 14.