Runners kick off season with Lodi Invitational
Hundreds of runners descended on Lodi Lake on Friday for the first competition of the high school season, and host Lodi put together a respectable performance in both the varsity races.
In the varsity girls race, the Flames placed third with 101 points, behind Cosumnes Oaks at 71 and Chico at 89. Ruth Hernandez was Lodi’s top placer, in fifth at 20:01 for the 5-kilometer race around the lake and through the woods.
Pamela Decko was 16th at 21:09, Yasmin Melendrez was 20th at 21:53, Audrey Garcia was 29th at 22:11 and Paris Heiser was 31st at 22:19 in the 168-girl race.
“The varsity girls look really good,” Lodi coach Greg Wright said. “We were excited to see what the other teams had, and as I mentioned in the preview, it’s a real gritty group of girls. They remind me of the girls from the early 2000s — they work hard, they get along well, they support each other.”
Tokay finished 15th with 359 points, led by Katiana Reedy at 22:10 for 27th. Ashley McCracken finished 73rd at 26:40, Dalila Ortega was 85th at 30:20, Kiena Salazar Ortegawas 96th at 30:21 and Mirella Orozco was 98th at 30:27.
In the varsity boys race, Lodi placed fifth behind a ninth-place run by Lucas Fonda at 17:03, followed by Luke Peterson in 29th at 17:55, Jesus Santillan in 34th at 17:59, Nicholas Bersi in 38th at 18:04 and Casimiro Rodriguez in 73rd at 19:01.
“The boys, they were a mystery a little bit, and a couple of them, the harvest is coming up, so we were without a couple of our top runners, but the varsity boys looked really good,” Wright said. “I feel good with where we’re at. I’m not totally confident yet, but I feel much better than I did yesterday.”
Josue Herrera led Tokay
with an 11th-place performance at 17:06, followed by Homero DeLaCruz in 40th at 18:05, Alek Frankovich in 50th at 18:21, Mark Troutner in 100th at 19:55 and Jayden Franklin in 108th at 20:22. Tokay placed 18th with 311 points.
Tokay’s girls won the 2mile sophomore race, led by Kali Anema at 12:57. The Tokay boys were second in the sophomore boys race, led by Zacariah Kellog in first overall at 11:06.