San Benito junior Rachel Shimabukuro is in a love-hate relationship with cross country running.
After taking both her freshman and sophomore years off because she simply stopped enjoying the sport, Shimabukuro returned this year.
She missed it, she said, and she wanted to compete again.
And after clocking a 19:59 at Saturday's Central Coast Section Cross Country Championships at Salinas' Toro Park, Shimabukuro is probably loving the sport right now.
Along with teammate Courtney Allen, who recorded a 19:21 on Saturday, Shimabukuro will be one of two representatives heading south to Fresno in two weeks for the state finals at Woodward Park.
"I think I ran pretty good, but I think I could have done a little bit better," said Shimabukuro, who finished eighth but missed her previous best time by five seconds. "It was pretty hot today, and I was actually five seconds off my PR, so I was kind of mad. It was hotter than it usually is, but I'm used to running in the hot weather."
Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees Saturday, and Allen, who finished fourth place overall, thought running in the heat was going to be her strength.
"But it was really hot. I had super-bad cottonmouth," said Allen, who will make a return trip to state. Last year, Allen was 93rd overall at the state meet among 198 Division I harriers. She recorded a 19:34.
Needless to say, Allen is pleased she'll be joined this year by her teammate.
"Last year, it was kind of scary," Allen said. "I was in a box all by myself with strangers. It was scary."
The senior harrier was also pleased with her team's performance at CCS. Expected to finish fifth, the Lady 'Balers placed third on Saturday with 75 points, 25 points shy of second-place Gilroy.
Carlmont took the top spot with 44 points.
"We knew it was going to be a battle between us and Gilroy," girls coach Josh Morales said. "And it was. We lost by [25] points, which is not much at a big invitational. It's gonna be another battle next year."
Michelle Duarte recorded an 18th-place time of 21:22, Dayna Casillas was 24th in 21:43, Grace Tobias was 30th in 21:58, Vanessa Farias was 52nd in 22:55, and Linnea Shorey finished in 63rd place in 23:22.
Meanwhile, the 'Baler boys were unable to keep pace with CCS powerhouses Carlmont, Bellarmine and Salinas, which went 1-2-3 on Saturday. San Benito finished sixth with 171 points.
The 'Balers were led by sophomore runner Jose Castillo, whose 17:02 placed him 15th overall.
"We have a good future coming next year," boys coach Jess Morales said. "I ran four sophomores, two seniors and one freshman. It was a good start and they got a taste of this big race. They did better than I expected."
Seniors Frankie Rivera (17:16) and Adrian Rodriguez (17:51) finished 19th and 42nd, respectively.
Rivera said he was under the weather on Friday and was sick during the race.
"I wish I would have ended on a better note," Rivera said. "But hey, I gave it my all and I don't regret really anything that happened."
Sophomore Eddie Guzman was 36th (17:44), while Omar Vasquez and Jorge Aguilar each clocked matching times of 18:34 and finished in 69th and 70th place, respectively.
Junior Jeremy Chase was 103rd in 19:31.
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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Video: Highlights from Tuesday's basketball game
