A light drizzle greeted the four local cross country teams as they, along with harriers from six other schools, competed in a Mid-Valley League meet at the Arbuckle Golf Course on Oct. 20.
It was the first time all year that runners from Colusa, Maxwell, Pierce, and Williams ran a league race within the county, and it served them well, as they captured first place in three of the four events.
Colusa turned in a dominant performance in the 5,000 meter varsity boys’ race, taking four of the top five spots, starting with Kevin Sarabia, who crossed the line first in a time of 19:07.
Following Sarabia was a trio of RedHawk freshmen including Cesar Cruz (19:42) in second, Jesse Medina (20:25) in fourth, and Benji Granados (20:25) in fifth, just a few tenths of a second behind.
In the varsity girls’ race Colusa again prevailed in the team competition, although Pierce’s Diana Huerta (26:41) was the top local finisher in eighth place, while Colusa’s Lupita Perez (26:45) and Elle Faris (26:45) were ninth and tenth, respectively.
Maxwell freshman Walter Avery (12:51) bested the JV boys’ field on the 2.1 mile course, ahead of Williams’s Ernesto Lemus (13:14) in second place, and Panther teammate Massey Baker (13:45) in fourth.
Among the JV girls, Williams’s Isabella Santillian (15:22) cruised to a win, finishing in front of Pierce’s Karina Grajedra (16:56) in second, Isabel Alvarado (17:01) in third, and Carla Moreno (19:21) in fourth.
This week MVL runners met on Wednesday afternoon at the Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area for a preview race, ahead of the league championships, which will be held at the same location on Nov. 3. ■