The
Valley Center varsity boys cross-country team took part in the
Valley League Cross-Country Championship Race on Saturday at
Kit Carson Park and came away with its eighth league championship
in school history.
Senior Ismael Rodriguez took first in the 3.1-mile race with
a time of 16:25 and is the 2009 Valley League Champion.
His plan was to run behind the shoulder of Jacob Wood from Mt.
Carmel High School for most of the race. As the two approached
the turn into the final hill, Ismael picked up the pace.
“I decided to treat it as if it was a two-minute tempo
run,” Rodriguez said after the race. “I pushed hard
and moved. I looked back and saw that I had pulled ahead. Jacob
didn’t follow me.”
Rodriguez pulled away from Wood and was able to hold his lead
until the finish. Ramona’s tenth-grade runner Dylan Blankenbaker
passed Wood to take second place.
Valley Center runners Stephen Lopez and Nicasio Westlund also
had a good day of racing. Lopez finished seventh with a time
of 16:56. Nicasio Westlund had a ninth place finish with a time
of 16:59. Rodriguez, Lopez and Westlund received First Team
All League honors.
The varsity team finished their league season with a record
of nine wins and three losses.
Strong finishes by freshman Daniel Henderson, and senior Kord
Roberts helped to establish the teams’ second place spot
for the season. Also running for the Jaguars in the League Finals
meet were seniors Daniel Ruiz, Saul Oros, and Kyle Vexler, and
junior Nick Vanderpoel, as well as sophomore Jon Larson. The
top seven Jaguar athletes will continue to race next week at
the CIF San Diego Section Championships to be held at Morley
Field at Balboa Park.
The Lady Jaguar runners came ready to run hard. Hannah Sanders
and Kaylee Hudson placed in the top ten and were named to the
Girls First Team All League. Sanders placed fifth with a time
of 18:01 and Hudson followed closely with a sixth place finish
of 18:06. The two Jaguar girls raced together throughout the
race and were able to continue to pass other runners to move
into the front pack of the race. Both girls have consistently
run strong this season.
Aholibama Velazquez ran well and placed 16th. This gave her
a slot in the Valley League Second Team All League. Also competing
for the Lady Jags last weekend were Sam Coch, Dani Lettice,
Maddy Myers, Kayla Robey, and Andie Diaz. The top Lady Jags
will also see Division III competition on Saturday in Morley
Field in San Diego.
The goal both of for the varsity teams is to do well at the
San Diego CIF Section Meet in the Division Three race and to
continue on the road to the State Meet in Fresno over Thanksgiving
weekend.
