Bonita Vista High School became the latest Metro Conference school to add an on-campus cross country course.
The move obviously reduces travel for the host team as well as spurs interest from the student body to hopefully gravitate to the sport.
“It’s pretty cool for a couple reasons,” BVHS coach Dan Kettlehake said. “Some of the kids were tired of running at Rohr Park, which has been our home course. It’s a difficult course. This new course is a fast course.”
The latter serve as a new recruiting tool.
The Barons hosted the Olympian Eagles in what is believed to be the first home meet at Bonita Vista High School in about 25 years. The course measurements included 3.1 miles for boys (both varsity and junior varsity) and 2.5 miles for girls.
Boys circled the campus course three times while the girls did so twice. Start and finish were on the stadium track.
The course is relatively flat with one minor incline.
Times are expected to be fast. But hot weather played havoc with performances for the Oct. 5 dual meet.
“I think the weather was a factor, but it is what it is,” Kettlehake offered in somewhat disappointing tones after the Eagles swept the first three races: 26-32 in boys varsity, 26-29 in girls varsity and 15-43 in boys JV.
Being a new venue, winners of each race set course records. BV senior Ian Ridge timed17:26.27 to win the boys varsity race while Olympian sophomore Isabel Lara timed 15:59.95 to win the girls race. Junior Joshua Welsch won the boys JV race in 18:55.73.
Lady Eagle sophomore Syvette Perez won the girls JV race in 21:43.71, though the hosts emerged with a 26-29 win.
The Oct. 5 dual meet kicked off Metro-Mesa League racing for the season.
Olympian coach Brandon Velasquez was obviously pleased with his team’s effort.
“It was nice to see they were working hard together over the fall break,” he said. “They’re starting to settle collectively into a group.”
The warm weather — temperatures in the South Bay hovered between 87 and 92 degrees — forced some realignment in teams’ finishing order.
Olympian senior Angel Cordero, the defending boys conference champion, finished the first campus loop in first place but faded quickly thereafter, running third after the second loop and fifth overall at the finish line.
Ridge took the lead at the 2.25-mile mark. Olympian senior Joaquin Gutierrez placed second in 17:27.39 in a relatively close finish while Bonita Vista junior Sebastian Aranda was third in 17:45.43. Olympian sophomore Memphis Gensler placed fourth in 17:55.41 ahead of Cordero (18:02.47).
Overall, Olympian recorded five of the seven top finishers in the 14-deep race. Eagles scoring leaders also included senior Anthony Estrella (sixth, 18:17.56) and junior Sho Kaneko (seventh, 18:21.47).
Bonita Vista’s scorers also included senior Jose Godinez (eighth, 18:22.26) and juniors Joshua Hoffman (ninth, 18:59.43) and Adan Hurtado (11th, 19:21.06).
“I felt great,” Ridge said. “I felt that I could push to the end. I finished strong even with the weather. I didn’t think I could get the course record. I surprised myself.”
The girls varsity race featured 10 entrants — five for each team. Olympian recorded two of the top three finishers and four of the top seven to edge the hosts for the victory.
Bonita Vista sophomore Leilani Wilson finished a somewhat distant second in 17:45.25. Another gap opened in front of Olympian junior Alyssa Alaman, who finished third in 18:08.70.
Rounding out the Lady Eagles’ five scorers were freshman Greyson Rich (sixth, 19:05.08), senior Daniela Bravo (seventh, 20:05.12) and junior Mariana Escalante (ninth, 21:24.12).
Bonita Vista’s scorers also included sophomore Renee Khuong (fourth, 18:34.40), freshman Sophia Ambriz (18:44.35), junior Natalie Hernandez (eighth, 21:01.14) and senior Sophia Chullino (21:40.16).
The boys JV race featured 55 entrants — 30 by the Eagles. Olympian’s five scorers also included junior Jordan Mationg (second, 19:18.59), junior Alexander Lopez-Rios (third, 19:31.45), sophomore Tristan Hastings (fourth, 19:59.94) and senior Owen Camargo (fifth, 20:04.98).
Junior Aaron Tighe (20:06.89) was Bonita Vista’s top finisher in sixth place.
Bonita Vista recorded three of the top five finishers in the girls JV race: sophomore Esmerelda Rodriguez (second, 22:00.43), junior Ahryanna Leon (fourth, 22:35.68) and sophomore Aaliyah DeWalt (fifth, 22:37.49).
The Lady Eagles finished 1-3-6-9-10 in scoring in the 13-deep race. Freshman Anette Ingram (22:22.02) placed third while senior Stephanie Perez (23:14.05) was sixth. Freshmen Mitzi Cota (23:34.21) and Daniella Garnica (25:37.78) were ninth and 10th, respectively.
Other scores:
Boys varsity: Eastlake 22, Otay Ranch 33; Mater Dei Catholic 22, Hilltop 35; Mar Vista 22, Castle Park 33
Girls varsity: Eastlake 20, Otay Ranch 37; Hilltop 17, Mater Dei Catholic 38
