Some might have rated last Friday’s 15-44 win by Olympian over visiting Otay Ranch in boys cross country as one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. But given the early season success shown by the Eagles, Olympian coach Jesse Matias was convinced his team was finally ready to compete head-to-head with the Mesa League’s “big boys.”
And compete they did. In the process, the Eagles made quite a statement.
Matias, an Otay Ranch alumnus, called the win over the standard-setting Mustangs “obviously a big step forward for our program.”
“We were very pleased with the results we had on the boys side,” Matias explained. “The girls squad battled extremely hard and made it a much closer meet than many expected (in a 23-33 Otay Ranch win). Our students came out ready to compete this past week and, as a coach, that is all you can ask for. They deserve all the credit in the world.
“Otay Ranch has a great tradition of success in cross country, so we have always held nothing but respect for their program. Friday was a great way for us to start off our dual meet season but we still have a long way to go. There are four other talented teams that we will have to face before the culmination that is league finals.
“The work continues, starting this week with a much improved group in Mater Dei Catholic. While Friday was a time to celebrate our early success this season, the celebrations had to be brief as we move on and prepare for our next meet.”
Olympian recorded the first five runners to cross the finish line, led by senior Sydney Leverett.
Leverett timed 17:13 on the 5K course during exceptionally warm weather conditions. Following his lead were senior Fil Punzalan (second, 17:23), sophomore Diego Arriola (third, 17:38), junior Nathan Sanchez (fourth, 17:52) and sophomore Jorge Tejeda (fifth, 17:59).
Otay Ranch pushed across the next two runners but the Eagles came back with the No. 8 runner in the dual meet, Oscar Montero-Vega, in 18:09.
Olympian also won the boys junior varsity dual, 24-31, paced by medalist Josiah Tamayo, a junior, who timed 17:57.
Otay Ranch senior Darla Osuna earned medalist honors in the girls varsity dual with a time of 14:55 on the 2.4-mile course.
The Mustangs finished 1-2-4-7-9 in scoring order while the Eagles finished 3-5-6-8-11.
Top scorers for host Olympian included senior Isabella Fernandez (third, 15:54), sophomore Zuri Smith (fifth, 17:01) and freshman Alexandra Martinez (sixth, 17:01).
More Mesa League
MDC junior Joseph Chiappe (17:12.57) earned medalist honors in last Friday’s boys varsity dual against Bonita Vista while BVHS junior Marleen Aranda (15:59.16) was the top finisher in the girls varsity dual.
South Bay League
Chula Vista swept its highly-anticipated dual encounter against defending league champion Sweetwater in action last Friday at Rohr Park. Chula Vista won the boys varsity meet, 26-29, and captured the girls varsity dual by a 27-29 score.
Chula Vista placed three of the top four runners in the boys varsity dual, led by Cristian Baez (second, 17:47), Alejandro Tellez (third, 18:20) and Luis Sosa (fourth, 18:25). The Spartans went 2-3-4-8-9 in team scoring while the Red Devils went 1-5-6-7-10.
Mar Vista swept its boys varsity meet by identical 15-50 scores against San Ysidro and Castle Park last Friday while defeating San Ysidro (18-43) and Castle Park (15-50) in girls varsity competition. San Ysidro defeated Castle Park 15-50. CP’s Liliana Hakim earned medalist honors (19:14).
