Bulldogs’ Lance Wolfsmith also qualifies as individual
Salinas – It was a phrase that the girls on the Sobrato cross country team was not expecting to hear – they are going to state.
The Bulldogs finished third among 12 teams at the Central Coast Section Championships on Saturday to advance to the CIF State Meet on Nov. 25 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The top two finishers were North Monterey County and Saratoga.
Three teams from Division III advanced to the state meet and Sobrato made the cut by a single point.
With a team score of 125, Sobrato edged out Sacred Heart, which had an overall team score of 126.
The Bulldogs also finished ahead of Willow Glen, which took first place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division championships.
Coach Dave Wolfmsith said the announcer was even in shock when he called out that Sobrato was in third place and qualified for state.
“He said ‘This is almost unheard of. … After only three years in existence, qualifying for state in Division III, Sobrato High School,'” Wolfsmith said.
Sophomore Amber Masoni turned out to have the deciding finish when she beat two of Sacred Heart’s runners: Nerissa Martinez by four seconds and Meghan Holland by eight seconds.
The 51st place finish was what it took to put Sobrato over the top. Wolfsmith said the win came as a complete shock not only to the team, but to other schools that were favored to win.
“Even parents were crying,” Wolfsmith said. “Girls (from Willow Glen) came up crying and giving congratulations.”
Kendra Higgins finished third in a field of 103 runners.
Wolfmsith also gave credit to Abhi Devaraj, who finished with a personal record of 20 minutes.
“Abhi was the superstar of the meet,” Wolfsmith said.
Three other runners also finished with personal bests.
Higgins ran an 18:43, Amanda Conlan finshed with a 20:56 and Melina Silva finished with a 20:56.
“It took a really great effort from all the girls,” said Wolfsmith, who had been worried that jumping up to Division III was going to ruin the team’s chance to make it to the state meet. “This was a great day for Sobrato.”
Sophomore Lance Wolfsmith was the lone Sobrato boy to advance to the state. He finished fifth in a field of 119 runners.
Also running in the CCS championships were three runners from Live Oak.
The top Acorn girl was Olivia Duran, who finished in 28th place with a time of 20:33. Freshman Renee Dominguez came in 100th with a time of 25:04.
The lone Acorn for the boys was Eric Matsumoto, who finished 66th overall with a time of 18:03.
