Sacramento Valley League harriers convened at the Arbuckle Golf Club on Oct. 17 for their fourth meet, while Mid-Valley League competitors met in Durham on Oct. 16 in their sixth conference gathering.
There was a considerable upset in the SVL varsity girls 5,000 meters, as Colusa freshman Rajdeep Shoker (24:19) crossed the line first, handing Winters’s Yarethzy Sanchez her first loss in an SVL race this season.
RedHawk teammates Bella Badaluco (27:06) and Shaheen Orr (28:07) took the third and fifth spots, respectively, while Giselle Valdes (30:13) was seventh and Josslyn Garcia (30:19) was ninth.
Pierce had its strongest showing to date with Yasmin Szmurlo (28:46) leading the way with a sixth place finish, Isabel Alvarado (30:15) was eighth, and Celeste Grajeda (31:45) in tenth.
In the varsity boys race, Colusa placed three runners in the top ten, starting with Jose Ceron (19:46) in second place, Benji Granados (19:59) in third, and Cesar Cruz (20:11) in fourth.
Freshman Jamison Porter (21:17) was the Bears’ top finisher, setting a personal record at 5,000 meters, taking fifth place.
Colusa’s Jared Sanger (21:25) grabbed the eighth spot in front of Pierce’s Brant Boughton (22:18) and Adrian Avila (22:25) in ninth and tenth, respectively.
As has been the pattern this season, the RedHawk JV boys overwhelmed the competition, ending with the five best times at the 2.1-mile distance.
William England (13:30) won the race and was followed in succeeding order by Klayten Wright (13:43), Karim Cruz (13:45), Luis Flores (14:03), and Trenton Griffith (14:07).
The Bears’ Karina Grajedra (16:51) and Carla Moreno (18:42) completed the JV girl’s race in first and second place. respectively, while Colusa’s Makinzie Frank (20:21) was fourth and just ahead of teammate Olivia Stever (20:39) in fifth.
In MVL action, Williams’s Isabella Santillian continued to position herself as one of the top runners in the Northern Section’s Division V, after she set a personal record of 20:44 in her win on the three-mile course in Durham.
Also taking first place for the Yellowjackets was John Duran, who finished the JV boy’s two-mile race in a time of 15:38.
All teams were back in action on Oct. 26 with the SVL in Colusa, while the MVL returns to Durham. ■