HALF MOON BAY
– Cobbie Jones finished in first place in the field of 150
runners during Saturday’s Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon
Bay.
HALF MOON BAY – Cobbie Jones finished in first place in the field of 150 runners during Saturday’s Artichoke Invitational in Half Moon Bay.
Jones’ time of 13:54 was the best of the day and 10th best in the 33 years this race has been held. Not bad for a sophomore who has two more years to establish herself as the best ever on the course.
“Cobbie is a great asset to the team not only for her God-given athletic abilities, but also for her maturity and team leadership,” said assistant coach Renay Magioncalda.
Last year, Jones came in second behind Mitty’s McKayla Plank, who won the tournament the last two years.
Jones, who competed at the State track meet last year in the 800 meters as a freshman, enjoys the shorter distance races. However she doesn’t shy away from any races and looks forward to competing in the three-mile track this coming Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont.
High school cross country courses are normally three miles in length. The Half Moon Bay course is comprised of essentially two loops with the first loop being fairly flat and the second involving a steep climb up a 300 meter hill.
Yesenia Miranda, another sophomore, was the Acorns second finisher with a time 15:57. Miranda ran a great race, placing 40th overall.
The next finishers for Live Oak were sophomore Heather Hays in 19:17, freshman Amanda Heist in 19:44, junior Regina Bawdon in 19:46 and a slightly injured sophomore Alyssa Nelson in 20:24.
“We had great team grouping with many of the ladies,” Magioncalda said, “We’re essentially a young team age-wise and in experience. I’m pleased to see that they are coming closer as a racing team and as individuals on the team.”
The boy’s race also produced many encouraging results for the Acorn team. A flu-ridden Billy Wong led the team to a 12th place finish out of 33 teams.
Wong timed in 12:31, placing 19th overall. Jesus Atanacio finished next for Live Oak at 13:16, followed closely by Nick Mott at 13:20.
An improving Jonathan Kamei also broke the 14-minute barrier with a time of 13:57.
Brent Hatakeyama just missed breaking 14 minutes with a time of 14:02. Kenny Benner and Ismael Marisclan were the final placers for Live Oak in times of 14:20 and 14:57 respectively.
“I’m fairly pleased with their performances and particularly with their grouping,” said ead coach Dean Raymond. “This is the first time this year that the top five runners have been within a minute and a half of each other. Billy wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but Brent and Jonathan are making a statement by their continued improvement and competitiveness. Nick, being a soccer player, is still only scratching the surface of his potential.”
The Acorns compete this Saturday, Oct. 11 at Crystal Springs and come home to host their first home meet of the season at the “upper” Anderson course, located at the end of Holiday Estates on Monday, Oct. 13 against the top-rated Salinas Cowboys.
The Morgan Hill community is invited to view these dedicated athletes with races starting at 3:30 p.m.
