Ridgeview, Highland sweep to boys, girls league championships

Highland and Ridgeview continued their local dominance in cross country, sweeping to their respective boys and girls league titles on Thursday at Hart Park.

Junior Jacob Yagers finished first with a 15:20.15 on the 3-mile course in the Southeast Yosemite League championship race to lead the Scots boys team to the title. Highland placed five runners in the top seven.

Foothill sophomore Fex Johnson (15:37.38) was second, followed by sophomore Nathanael Rodriguez of East (15:38.98), and Highland juniors Matthew Berry (15:47.74) and Jacob McNitt (15:53.16).

The Scots girls team captured their league title after taking the top four spots. Freshman Lianna Guerra (19:04.31) led the way, followed by juniors Neyda Martinez (19:46.65), Haley Ulloa (19:57.71) and Ysabel Gamon (20:00.45). North senior Rain Gomez (20:19.98) was fifth.

In the South Yosemite League, the Wolf Pack boys squad swept the top seven positions. Seniors Alex Cuevas (15:34.86), Ased Adus (15:42.55) and Payton Fox (15:48.18) led the way, followed by junior Gerardo Moreno (15:49.87), sophomore Jorge Galindo (15:51.89), senior William Gonzalez (16:05.64) and freshman Ozni Boyar (16:19.15).

The Ridgeview girls edged Independence by three points to win the SYL title, despite the fact the Falcons placed four runners in the top 6.

Wolf Pack sophomore Mona Rocha (20:02.25) finished second, followed by teammate Isabel Medina (20:41.85).

Independence freshman Elena Baltazar (19:03.59) won the race, with sophomore teammate Victoria Suarez (20:45.40) coming in fourth and Falcons senior Alicia Muralles (20:50.93) finishing fifth.

In the Southwest Yosemite League boys race, Liberty senior Ethan Jones had the fastest time of the day (14:55.32), but the Patriots finished second to Stockdale.

The Mustangs finished second and third in the race, with seniors Adham Maher (15:10.17) and Juanathan Reyes (15:38.33) coming in behind Jones. Sophomore Sergio Lizarraga from Bakersfield High (15:51.77) was fourth, followed by Patriots senior Jaden Hart (15:55.34).

Senior Ellen Palmgren (19:07.50) from Liberty won the SWYL girls race to lead the Patriots to the league crown. Centennial finished second on the strength of a solid showing by second-place sophomore Maddie Baytosh (19:24.83) and junior Hannah McClain (19:38.37), who placed third. Frontier sophomore Madison Gomez (19:46.89) and Golden Hawks freshman Kylee Quinton (19:52.12) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Junior Hilda Gonzalez from McFarland (18:07.45) posted the best time among girls, leading the Cougars to the South Sequoia League championship. McFarland took the top three positions and placed six runners in the top six, including sophomore Jocelyn Vasquez (18:57.40), junior Kayli Gonzales (19:21.44), senior Brianna Valles (19:37.17) and junior Maria Chavez (19:44.60). Wasco sophomore Ixchel Sanchez (19:29.41) was sandwiched in the middle in fourth place.

In SSL boys action, Kennedy juniors Alfredo Rios Guerrero (16:28.66) and Patrick Espinoza (16:30.66) went 1-2 to lead the Thunderbirds to the league title. Arvin junior Abraham Castro (16:41.60) was third, followed by Chavez’s Eliezer Sanchez (16:52.22) and Israel Sanchez (16:56.95).