Girls finish fourth, boys take sixth in BVAL to advance to
section meet
San Jose – Although the Sobrato cross country teams are in the lowest division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, both the boys and girls squads beat out higher ranked programs to advance to the Central Coast Section championships.
Conditions at Crystal Springs on Monday were less than ideal, with the wind hampering some runners’ efforts. But both squads finished in the top-10 team rankings to qualify for the section championships Nov. 11.
Behind a third-place finish from Kendra Higgins and top-25 performances from Abhi Devaraj and Amanda Conlan, the girls took fourth as a team.
Higgins was the lone girl to break the 20-minute mark with a time of 19:14. Devaraj came in 17th overall with a time of 20:22. She was followed by Amanda Conlan, who came in 24th, 21 seconds later.
Varsity coach Dave Wolfsmith said Amber Masoni, normally the Bulldogs’ No. 2 runner, was under the weather, but proved to be a crucial piece to the team’s success.
Masoni was Sobrato’s fifth runner, 51st overall, with a time of 22:08.
“She ran for the team sick,” Wolfsmith said. “She put in as much of an effort as she has all year. We needed her effort to do as well as we did.”
Rounding out the girls was Melina Silva, who finished fourth on the team and 29th overall, Ashley Grose, who finished sixth on the team and 54th overall, and Kayla Nishimatsu, seventh for Sobrato and 61st overall.
The boys were led by Lance Wolfsmith, who turned in a 15:59 run, good for third place overall.
Sobrtato’s boys finished sixth in the team standings.
The overall time for the boys, at 87:27, was better than the three teams immediately above them in the standings by at least five seconds.
Dave Wolfsmith said based on the performance Monday, the boys should fare well at the CCS meet at Toro Park.
“I’m proud of the kids and the way they ran,” Wolfsmith said. “The teams they beat are definitely really good teams.”
Wolfsmith said he was especially impressed with freshman Alan Rios, who finished 24th overall with a time of 17:18.
“He really showed maturity, especially at Crystal Springs, which has a fast start,” Wolfsmith said. “The course starts on a down hill. I am very proud of him.”
Christian Swanson was the third for the Bulldogs and 29th overall with a time of 17:25, after what Wolfsmith described as an off day for the senior runner. Finishing fourth for Sobrato and 49th overall was Alex Tolin, who recorded an 18:03 time.
Despite getting into a car accident before the race, where he banged up his foot, Murillo Almieda turned in a time of 18:42 to come in 79th overall.
Casey Schenkelberg capped off the day for the Bulldogs with an 85th place time of 18:47.
Cheeto Barrera is a sports writer for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 203 or cb******@*************es.com.
