Both the boys Anzar and San Benito boys cross country teams will be heading to the state meet in two weeks after finishing strong in the Central Coast Section Finals Saturday at Crystal Springs.
The Balers came in first in the Division 1 race, while the Hawks took third in Division 5. The two squads will be competing in the CIF State Championship on Nov. 29 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
San Benito was led by an overall determined team effort to win its first ever CCS title.
"I haven't slept in two weeks because I have been concerned with how they would do," said coach Jess Morales. "Now I can sleep again. And my wife can also. All week people were telling me that we would finish third behind Salinas and Watsonville. But I didn't want to tell the team about it."
"We're not really going to do anything different," said Morales about the team's plans for state preparation. "We are just going to run the way we did to get ready for CCS and see what happens. It will actually be easier for the kids. They don't have to worry about the uniform colors around them because they all look the same."
The Balers also finished second overall among all the Divisions behind North County in Division three.
North County is coached by Gus Ibarra, who coached for the Balers for three years. While he was the coach, the team finished second in CCS twice and finished as high as tenth in the state finals.
"It was a great 1-2 punch," said Ibarra, whose team trains with the Balers in the racing club. "All the hard work payed off during the summer. San Benito probably pulled off the biggest upset in the section."
In addition to the first-place plaque the Balers received, Morales received a coaching excellence award. Morales gave praise to Athletic Director Randy Logue, who coached the team last year, and to his wife, who put up with him during the many sleepless nights and team parties.
"It doesn't have anything to do with me," Morales said. "They believe in themselves. Everyone has worked together. The seventh runner for us was just as important as the first."
Jonathan Rivera came in fourth place in the race with a time of 15:58, just behind a couple runners from Menlo Atherton.
"I didn't think I would finish that high," Rivera said. "I did what I had to do. I was able to pick it up on the hills. We should do well in state."
Josh Vasquez, a junior, finished eighth with a time of 16:11.
"It was a good experience," Vasquez said. "I am looking forward to going to state."
Freshman Alfredo Lopez recorded a 11th-place finish with a time of 16:22.
"It was tough running against guys more experienced than you," said Lopez, who was in tears after hearing the Balers won. "Coach Morales talked me into joining the running club. It really helped, and he taught me a lot."
Kyle Fowles came in 13th with a time of 16:27 despite battling asthma.
"It bothered me a little in practice, and coach worried I wouldn't be able to run," Fowles said. "But it didn't bother me. I thought we finished third. There were a couple Salinas guys we passed. Our coach told us to keep going."
San Benito was able to overtake Salinas in the last part of the race to win, finishing ahead of the Cowboys by just four points.
Rigo Vasquez (26th at 16:50), Jeff Spencer (34th at 17:04) and Eduardo Trujillo (45th at 17:21) also had strong races.
The San Benito girls team came in third in the race.
"The girls stepped it up dramatically to stay with the top runners," Morales said. "The girls are close. They were disappointed they weren't going to state."
Kelly O'Brien qualified individually to compete in the state meet for the Balers. O'Brien competed in cross country this year to get ready for the 400-meter races in track. She hopes to race in the 800 as well now.
"I couldn't have done so well if the coach hadn't told me to start out fast," O'Brien said.
O'Brien said she was a little sad and disappointed to be the only Baler girl running in state.
The other finishers for the girls were Tara Hill (19th at 20:25) Jamila Saqqa (23rd at 20:33), Lee Ann Morales (24th at 20:35), Britni Skardovtos (33rd at 20:58), Kelly O'Brien (41st at 21:17) and Briana Colorado (46th at 21:28).
Anzar recorded 77 points behind Valley Christian of Dublin (36) and Redwood Christian (40). Leading the Hawks was sophomore Cisco Heath. Heath finished sixth overall with a time of 17:31.
Brad Wedekind came in 15th with a time of 18:14. Sam Stewart came in 16th just a second behind him.
Danny Lowell finished 21st with a time of 18:37, and Caleb Ellison finished 24th at 18:56. Kevin Parsons finished 35th with a time of 19:48, and Alberto Mirales came in 37th with 19:59.
"They are coming along great as a team," said coach Cuco Chavez. "They haven't peaked at all yet. They still can get faster. We can accomplish a lot in the last two weeks."
Note: No girls chose to run the race for the Hawks although several qualified.
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