The 2017 high school cross country season stepped off locally for many South County teams with last Friday’s 23rd annual Mustang Invitational at Rohr Park.
Overall, 30 prep programs competed in nine total races that brought more than 1,100 runners to the Chula Vista race site.
Among local squads, the Bonita Vista High School program has set big goals for the unfolding season.
BVHS coach Matt Seat, a Baron alumnus, is in his fifth season leading his alma mater. It could be a season to remember.
“We have a lot of returners and also a lot of new runners,” Seat announced in offering an overview of the program. “We have the experience up front and the depth to fill us out as a very strong team.
“On the boys side, we’re looking to be CIF champs. We were runners-up last year and basically return everybody, so we’re looking to do some real big things.
“On the girls side, we have a very tight pack. We have some runners who have moved up into the pack. Last year we had a pretty tight pack as well. They all work very well together. We’re looking to have some really small pack times this year.”
Bonita Vista’s boys squad finished second at last year’s San Diego Section Division I finals, trailing team champion Otay Ranch by 21points. The Barons qualified to compete at the state meet, finishing 20th among 23 scoring teams in Fresno (Otay Ranch was 10th).
The Barons posted a fourth-place team finish in the varsity Blue Division race at last Friday’s invitational with 109 points. Scripps Ranch won the division title with 51 points, followed by San Marcos with 66 points and Steele Canyon with 79 points. Otay Ranch was eighth with 219 points.
There’s obviously room to move up as the season progresses.
Senior Isaiah Labra was Bonita Vista’s top finisher with a time of 16:41.52 on the 5K course to place fifth in the 96-deep field.
Senior Ethan Lamprecht was the next Baron across the finish line in 16th place with a time of 17:07.94, followed by junior Mario Barone (28th, 17:32.68), senior Armando Campos (32nd, 17:39.90) and junior Christian Mason (34th, 17:41.50) to round out the team’s five scorers in the race.
Two of the Mesa League’s top runners — Otay Ranch junior Justin Mulvany and Eastlake senior Jeffrey Page — did not compete due to early season injuries.
However, several other local runners did turn in top flight performances.
Olympian senior Nicholas Albro finished second in the boys varsity Blue Division race in 16:34.00 while Eastlake senior Yutah Shiba-Joyce posted a 10th place individual finish in 16:59.00.
San Ysidro sophomore Joshua Talamantes finished 13th in 17:02.82, followed by Olympian freshman Justin Hoban (17th, 17:08.96), Otay Ranch senior Giovanni Stone (19th. 17:09.97), High Tech High Chula Vista sophomore Drake Prince (25th, 17:27.46), Olympian junior Eric Simmons (26th, 17:29.10), Olympian senior Enrique Lopez (30th, 17:34.84).
Eastlake sophomore Gregory Martinez (17:38.43) finished 31st to place in the top third of the field.
Scripps Ranch senior Bobby Brana won the race in 16:08.90.
Southwest senior Jacob Fierro finished runner-up in the boys varsity Silver Division race with a time of 16:26.55. He finished 15 seconds behind race winner Anthony Benitez, a senior from Serra, who timed 16:11.53.
Castle Park senior Andre Berry finished 11th in 17:32.87, followed by Southwest junior Esteban Magana (16th, 17:45.23), Southwest senior Luis Lopez (23rd, 18:18.67), Sweetwater junior Lorenzo Martinez (27th, 18:25.45) and Mar Vista sophomore Sebastian Pimentel (37th, 18:42.21) in the 98-deep race.
Southwest finished fifth in the team standings with 130 points while Sweetwater (279 points) was ninth, Mar Vista (280 points) was 10th, Montgomery (294 points) was 11th, Castle Park (344 points) was 12th and Mater Dei Catholic (347 points) was 13th.
Valhalla won the division title with 46 points, followed by Hoover (55 points), Crawford (75 points) and Serra (119 points).
A step ahead
Eastlake sophomore Patricia Miessner and Olympian junior Mariana Beltran-Picos each made individual statements with their feet.
Miessner, a three-sport athlete (cross country, girls wrestling and track and field), won the girls varsity Blue Division race with a quick time of 12:36.86 on the 2.2-mile course.
Beltran-Picos finished third in the race in 13:31.18.
Miessner, who won her division in the season opening Vaquero Stampede, said she felt “really good” about winning last Friday’s race.
“After Vaquero I realized I needed to start off a little faster, so I went fast off the bat for the first time ever and I think it really paid off for me,” she said. “I did a minute PR from last year. Starting fast is what I’m going to do from now on.”
She finished second at last year’s Mesa League finals and fourth at the ensuing Division I finals en route to qualifying as an individual for the state meet (where she finished 49th out of 199 runners).
She has set her season goals fairly high.
“I want to go to state and I am hoping to get top 25 this year, and hoping to break 17 minutes — maybe — in the 5K,” she said.
Beltran-Picos ranked among the section’s elite runners in 2016 after winning last year’s league title and posting a fifth-place finish at the Division I finals (she was an individual state qualifier as well, placing 38th).
Motivation remains high this season. “I didn’t start (the season) the way I wanted to but I know over the year there’s a lot of room for improvement,” she said. “I think I can get my goal of being the league champ again.”
Otay Ranch was the top finishing Mesa League team in the race, placing fifth with 117 points (losing a tiebreaker for fourth place with Point Loma). Eastlake finished sixth with 137 points while Olympian was seventh with 144 points.
Bonita Vista was ninth with 207 points; San Ysidro was 12th with 357 points.
Eastlake sophomore Pia Davila finished 11th in 13:5798, followed by Otay Ranch sophomore Micshilee Resendiz (17th, 14:25.55).
Twelve Metro runners finished in the top third of the 94-deep field.
Otay Ranch junior Yilana Casim finished 18th in 14:26.49, followed by Otay Ranch sophomore Sara Williams (24th, 14:35.53), Olympian sophomore Rosanna Javier (25th, 14:36.46), Olympian sophomore Aylette Cisneros (26th, 14:38.43), Otay Ranch senior Emelie Jones (27th, 14:38.95), Bonita Vista senior Sarah Suarez (29th, 14:42.08), Bonita Vista senior Milla Padilla (30th, 14:42.75) and Otay Ranch junior Adriana Horne (31st, 14:49.16).
Mater Dei Catholic sophomore Christine Carey finished ninth in the girls varsity Silver Division race in 15:05.57 while freshman teammate Anna Koch placed 11th in 15:13.34 to help boost the Lady Crusaders to a fourth-place team finish.
Sweetwater sophomore Gabriela Rodriguez finished 16th in the 74-deep race in 15:28.07, followed by MDC freshman Gillian Justice (18th, 15:37.73), Mar Vist senior Donika Johnson (19th, 15:39.94) and Southwest senior Michelle Mendias (20th, 15:46.94), all of whom finished in the top third of the field.
Olympian, Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the boys junior varsity Blue Division race. The three teams were separated in the team standings by just four points.
Bonita Vista sophomore Abraham Zepeda was the top Mesa League finisher in 12:40.38 to place eighth in the 228-deep 2.2-mile race.
Eastlake finished third in the girls JV Blue Division race, followed by Chula Vista (sixth), Bonita Vista (seventh), Olympian (eighth) and Otay Ranch (ninth).
Olympian sophomore Alyssa Dasis was the top Metro finisher in the 240-deep 1,65-mile race in 10:48.86 to place fourth among individuals.
Sweetwater finished third in the boys JV Silver Division race while Southwest was fourth in the girls JV Silver Division race.
Sweetwater freshman Luis Moreno finished fourth in 11:44.42 in the 152-deep 2.2-mile boys JV race.
Teams will now prepare for Saturday’s Mt. Carmel/ASICS Invitational at Balboa Park’s Morley Field (8:55 a.m. start).
