The Sweetwater Red Devils put on quite a show as a send-off for their senior runners at last Friday’s South Bay League finals at Rohr Park.
The Devils cemented claim to league championships in both the boys and girls divisions by out-distancing the field of challengers.
Sweetwater earned a measure of respect by placing runner-up to Mesa League champion Otay Ranch in the combined Metro Conference boys field.
SuHi senior Jose Galvan injected a measure of pride into the National City team by earning top honors in the conference field with a time of 15:34.65 on the shortened 3.02-mile course.
Galvan won a three-man duel with Olympian freshman Carter Stuhlmacher and Hilltop sophomore Jimmy Byland to place his stamp on the meet. Stuhlmacher, a budding triathlete, finished as the Mesa League’s top individual in 15:52.10; Byland finished as the Mesa League’s runner-up individual in 16:01.13.
The league title was a first for Galvan, who finished runner-up to Southwest’s Esteban Magaña at last year’s finals.
“It feels good,” said Galvan, who finished ahead of his nearest league rival by a whopping 30-second margin. “I made it my goal since I finished my junior year. It’s great to win the South Bay League, win Metro.
“I just wanted to go out fast and not slow down, think positive thoughts. If you start having negative thoughts, you slow down.”
Sweetwater placed four runners among the top 10 league finishers, five among the top 12.
Senior Alberto Barraza finished fourth among league runners in 16:20.76 while classmate Angel Rodriguez finished seventh in 16:34.28. Senior Hector Alva placed 10th in 17:04.21 while classmate Isai De Leon was 12th in 17:30.80.
San Ysidro junior Missael Felix finished second among South Bay League individuals in 16:04.84, followed by senior teammate Joshua Talamantes in third place in 16:12.56.
San Ysidro, Castle Park, Mar Vista, Southwest, Chula Vista and Montgomery finished in order behind team champion Sweetwater at the league finals.
On the girls side, the Lady Red Devils out-pointed Chula Vista by seven points to join the SuHi boys team as repeat league champions.
Sweetwater’s girls team matched the boys squad with four top 10 finishers in league.
Junior Audrey Vargas was the top Lady Devil across the finish line in 17:10.92, following the lead of two-time league champion Estela Bustillos of Castle Park (first in 15:47.89) and Chula Vista junior Clarissa Hoffas (second in 16:08.33).
Senior Brizeth Barajas finished as Sweetwater’s second scorer in fifth place in 17:15.60 while senior Gabriela Rodriguez finished sixth in 17:23.46 and junior Lizette Cervantes was seventh in 17:25.76.
Runner-up Chula Vista placed three runners among the top 10 finishers and five in the top 13.
“I was concerned a lot with the Chula girls,” explained SuHi’s Jaime Romero, who earned recognition as the South Bay League’s girls coach of the year. “They have many outstanding girls. I knew that if we didn’t run well that they could surprise us. But we pounded out the win. I’m very proud of the girls.
“Boys and girls, league champions, definitely a good season.”
Bustillos, a senior, won her second consecutive South Bay League girls title by finishing with a time of 15:47.89 on the 2.42-mile course — 21 seconds ahead of CV’s Hoffas.
Hoffas, in turn, finished more than a minute ahead of SuHi’s Vargas.
Bustillos was pleased she dipped under the 16-minute mark. “All the hard work I’ve put into training by my coaches has paid off,” she said. “I use it to motivate me. It feels good to win. It makes me happy to help my team and make them proud.”
Running brave
Stuhlmacher recorded a great deal of personal pride by earning Mesa League Runner of the Year honors as a freshman. He finished nine seconds ahead of Hilltop’s Byland.
“It feels good,” said Stuhlmacher, who finished undefeated in league dual meets. “I put in a lot of hard work to get this. I thought I had a decent chance. You don’t know what some the other runners will do, whether they’re going to have a good day or a bad day.
“I got off to a good start. I knew there were some good teams. I didn’t want to take the lead right away. I wanted to stay with the leaders. I knew the Hilltop runner would be my main competition. I knew when he moved up, I had to do the same.”
Braced by Stuhlmacher’s lead, Olympian finished third overall in the day’s field with 103 points — 14 points behind Hilltop, the runner-up team, with 89 points.
Hilltop also earned its share of respect by engineering a meteoric runner-up finish to Otay Ranch at the league finals.
All seven runners recorded personal bests on the course, according to Lancer coach Chris Gentry, who earned honors as the Mesa League boys coach of the year.
Hilltop had three runners in the top 10. Senior Antonio Quintano was fourth in 16:22.34 while sophomore Miguel Tisnado was eighth in 16:33.56.
“I wasn’t concerned about team standings, I just wanted them to do their best,” Gentry said. “Today they did their best. I’m proud of these kids.”
Otay Ranch placed four runners among the top 10 league finishers, five among the top 11, to win the boys title.
Eastlake, buoyed by six runners among the top 10 finishers, won by a wide margin over runner-up Otay Ranch in the Mesa League girls field.
Otay Ranch senior McKenzie Kelly won the Mesa League girls individual title by making a surge in the final 800 meters of the race to create space between two Eastlake runners.
ALL-LEAGUE
BOYS VARSITY TEAMS
South Bay League All-League
First Team
1. Jose Galvan (Sweetwater) 15:34.65
2. Missael Felix (San Ysidro) 16:04.84
3. Joshua Talamantes (San Ysidro) 16:12.56
4. Alberto Barraza (Sweetwater) 16:20.76
5. William Wines (Southwest) 16:27.24
6. Anthony Halbert (Castle Park) 16:33.90
7. Angel Rodriguez (Sweetwater) 16:34.28
8. Sebastian Pimentel (Mar Vista) 16:34.64
9. Dylan Miramontes (Castle Park) 16:43.90
10. Hector Alva (Sweetwater) 17:04.21
Second Team
11.Daniel Rodriguez (San Ysidro) 17:29.71
12. Isai De Leon (Sweetwater) 17:30.80
13. Farhan Aden (Mar Vista) 17:34.21
14. Jonathan Garcia (Mar Vista) 17:37.55
15. Lorenzo Fitzgerald (Southwest) 17:38.03
16. Christopher Rojas (San Ysidro) 17:38.47
17. Elias Campos (Mar Vista) 17:40.53
18. Cezar Carvajal (Chula Vista) 17:45.52
19. Adian Andrade (Castle Park) 17:49.86
20. Andrew Garcia (Sweetwater) 17:51.84
Mesa League All-League
First Team
1. Carter Stuhlmacher (Olympian) 15:52.10
2. Jimmy Byland (Hilltop) 16:01.13
3. Colby Pariese (Otay Ranch) 16:15.76
4. Antonio Quintana (Hilltop) 16:22.34
5. Grant Bice (Otay Ranch) 16:24.24
6. Noah Nafarrete (Bonita Vista) 16:30.77
7. Aydan Wohlford (Otay Ranch) 16:32.57
8. Miguel Tisnado (Hilltop) 16:33.56
9. Dominic Garcia (Otay Ranch) 16:39.02
10. Gregory Martinez (Eastlake) 16:44.28
Second Team
11. Andre Sison (Otay Ranch) 16:53.64
12. Enrique Aranda (Bonita Vista) 16:57.24
13. Edgar Salazar (Eastlake) 16:59.41
14. Andres Aquilar (Olympian) 16:59.82
15. Jacob Juden (Olympian) 17:00.15
16. Ernesto Villanueva (Olympian) 17:01.15
17. Ruben Baza Carrillo (Otay Ranch) 17:05.44
18. Michael Patron (Eastlake) 17:11.11
19. Nathaniel Loving (Olympian) 17:16.20
20. Johan Gijon (Otay Ranch) 17:18.48
ALL-LEAGUE
GIRLS VARSITY TEAMS
MESA LEAGUE ALL-LEAGUE
First Team
1. McKenzie Kelly (Otay Ranch) 15:01.59
2. Amanda Challburg (Eastlake) 15:03.02
3. Savannah Kipp (Eastlake) 15:05.09
4. Rosanna Javier (Olympian) 15:26.67
5. Sequoia Kriss (Bonita Vista) 15:32.08
6. Patricia Miessner (Eastlake) 15:36.54
7. Lauren Salt (Bonita Vista) 15:40.56
8. Vanessa Wimbish (Eastlake) 15:49.57
9. Natalie Borba (Eastlake) 16:15.13
10. Melissa Mekitarian (Eastlake) 16:16.32
Second Team
11. Erica Arredondo (Otay Ranch) 16:1946
12. Cameron Cruz (Eastlake) 16:29.43
13. Autumn Filson (Otay Ranch) 16:33.47
14. Maya Galvan (Olympian) 16:36.39
15. Virginia Javier (Olympian) 16:42.68
16. Lauren Medina (Otay Ranch) 16:43.10
17. Victoria Armes (Olympian) 16:45.50
18. Salma Franke (Otay Ranch) 16:48.08
19. Hailey Watson (Olympian) 16:48.43
20. Savanna Sierra (Bonita Vista) 16:56.06
SOUTH BAY LEAGUE ALL-LEAGUE
First Team
1. Estela Bustillos (Castle Park) 15:47.89
2. Clarissa Hoffas (Chula Vista) 16:08.33
3. Audrey Vargas (Sweetwater) 17:10.92
4. Andrea Sarabia (Castle Park) 17:14.03
5. Brizeth Barajas (Sweetwater) 17:15.60
6. Gabriela Rodriguez (Sweetwater) 17:23.46
7. Lizette Cervantes (Sweetwater) 17:25.76
8. Britnel Parra (Chula Vista) 17:28.32
9. Galilea Palencia (Southwest) 17:30.33
10. Elvia lara (Chula Vista) 17:36.85
Second Team
11. Kelly Garcia (Chula Vista) 17:39.75
12. Monica Lona (Sweetwater) 17:43.53
13. Renee Calderon (Chula Vista) 17:59.40
14. Natalie Garcia (Southwest) 18:01.98
15. Litzy Avila (Sweetwater) 18:06.97
16. Beatiz Espeleta (Sweetwater) 18:14.57
17. Dania Alvarez (San Ysidro) 18:20.61
18. Alysia Lopez (Chula Vista) 18:22.91
19. Metztii Carbajal (Southwest) 18:25.40
20. Valeria Fierro (Southwest) 18:38.78
Boys Junior Varsity individual Champions
Mesa League: Chris Shafer (Otay Ranch) 17:10.52
South Bay League: Michael Mayfield (Sweetwater) 17:51.92
Girls Junior Varsity Individual Champions
Mesa League: Selena Wimbish (Eastlake) 16:51.77
South Bay League: Andrea Vasquez (Southwest) 18:44.77
