VACAVILLE TEAMS STAR IN MEL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Boys, girls teams grabs league crowns, have top individuals
The Vacaville High School boys cross country team grabbed a Monticello Empire League title recently after the Bulldogs notched the top five spots at Lagoon Valley Park.
Vaca was first (15), followed by Rodriguez (52), Will C. Wood (72) and Armijo (104).
The Bulldogs continue to be a strong contender for a Sac-Joaquin Section crown. The boys are ranked No. 4 in the state for Division II. The sub-section meet is Saturday in Angels Camp and the section finals are Nov. 13 in Folsom.
Kellen Ruiz was the MEL boys champ with a time of 15 minutes, 44.23 seconds.
His teammates grabbed the 2-5 spots — Donovan Cheruiyot was second (15:44.96) followed by Paul Hobbs (16:03.92), Colton Walker (16:31.57) and Asher Love (16:35.28).
Will C. Wood’s Jackson Hicks was sixth (16:52.79) while Rodriguez’s William Liu (16:55.46) and Diego Cortez (16:57.47) were seventh and eighth, respectively. Evan Mitchell of the Bulldogs was ninth (17:21.60) and Armijo’s Marcus Connan was 10th (17:29.81).
The Vaca girls also won the MEL title, edging Rodriguez 3438. Wood was third (56).
Vacaville’s Hailey Wurzbach was first overall with a time of 18:51.68.
Wood’s Tea Troche-Jones was second (19:32.72), Alexa Amador Trejo of Rodriguez was third (19:37.52) and Rodriguez’s Katherine Ofilan was fourth (19:52.13). Reagan Filer of Vacaville was fifth (20:10.88).
Gabrielle Swartz of Rodriguez was sixth (20:11.57), Ruby Burton of Vacaville was seventh (20:19.82), Kaydence Garrison of Wood was eighth (20:22.51), Grace Blystra of Rodriguez was ninth (20:37.12) and Armijo’s Marian Sudapo was 10th (21:13.34).
The Vaca frosh-soph boys took first, led individually by James Rowland (12:09.45), Josiah Rowland (12:13.87) and Garret Seifert (12:16.23).
Rodriguez grabbed the froshsoph girls title. Individually, Tania Benitez was first (14:10.74) followed by Armijo’s Lillian Luu (14:31.23) and Vaca’s Caitlyn Gonzalez (14:49.22).