There were no state titles or all-state finishes at this year’s California state cross country championship meet in Fresno last Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. But the South County’s complement of runners did leave their mark.
One area team qualified this year — the Bonita Vista Barons — plus four individuals.
The Barons, who finished third at this year’s San Diego Section finals, placed 13th at the state finals, led by senior Shinaola Agbede’s 32nd place finish in the field of 191 runners.
Agbede timed 16:03 for the 5K distance.
Bonita Vista placed four of its five scorers in the top half of the field and three runners in the top third of the field — the latter statistic usually reserved for top performances.
Junior Casear Castillo finished 44th overall in 16:14, followed by senior Jason Hardin in 59th place in 16:21. Junior Jose Suarez finished 88th in 16:47 while sophomore Jacob Sherman placed 111th in 17:01. The team’s non-scoring runners included sophomore Christian Kelley (132nd, 17:23) and junior Kevin Yen (143rd, 17:38).
Temperatures were in the mid-50s, cloudy and cool at Woodward Park.
Ramona, this year’s San Diego Section champion, finished seventh among Division II boys teams at the state meet, followed by Cathedral Catholic in ninth place.
Among the South County’s individual qualifiers, Castle Park sophomore Miguel Lopez finished 71st in the field of 205 finishers in the Division III boys race. His time of 16:22 was a personal record for the 5K distance, noted CP coach Juan Lozano.
Bonita Vista senior Sofia Garcia finished 90th in the field of 192 runners in the Division II girls race. She timed 19:38, also for 5K.
In the Division V boys race, Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy junior Christian Quidang placed 102nd out of 184 finishers with a time of 18:14.
In the Division III girls race, Castle Park sophomore Keeshawna Jackson finished 165th in a field of 204 finishers with a 21:22 time.
At the preceding section finals, Quidang was third, Garcia was seventh, Lopez was eighth and Jackson was 14th in their respective divisional races to qualify for the state finals.
Among San Diego Section teams, La Costa Canyon finished second in the Division I girls race — eight points behind champion Great Oak — while Cathedral Catholic placed fourth in the Division III girls team standings.
Cathedral Catholic finished fifth in the Division III boys team standings while Rancho Buena Vista and Torrey Pines were fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Division I girls team standings.
Patrick Henry senior Ryan Urie was second in the Division I boys race while Bishop’s junior Will Wilde Botta was fourth in the Division IV boys race.
La Jolla junior Alex Eve was seventh in the Division III boys race while Ramona junior Dylan Blankenbaker was eighth in the Division II boys race. Rancho Buena Vista senior Chris Brewer was eighth and Torrey Pines senior Matt Carpowich was ninth in the Division I boys race.
LCC senior Alli Billmeyer was third in the Division I girls race while Rancho Bernardo senior Molly Grabill was sixth in the same field. Point Loma senior Meghan Breadmore was ninth in the Division II girls field.
California State Cross Country Finals
San Diego Section Boys Teams
Division I
8. Rancho Bernardo 244, 9. Torrey Pines 249, 11. La Costa Canyon 260
Division II
7. Ramona 223, 9. Mt. Carmel 234, 13. Bonita Vista 334
Division III
5. Cathedral Catholic 196, 13. Valley Center 296, 18. El Capitan 478
Division IV
15. La Jolla Country Day 312, 17. Del Norte 365
Division V
15. Julian 384, 22. Pacific Ridge 576
San Diego Section Girls Teams
Division I
2. La Costa Canyon 110, 5. Rancho Buena Vista 180, 6. Torrey Pines 200
Division II
7. Westview 230, 10. Valhalla 315, 15. Mt. Carmel 394
Division III
4. Cathedral Catholic 169, 11. Clairemont 275, 16. University City 364
Division IV
8. Del Norte 253, 11. Bishop’s 270, 17. Coronado 418
Division V
15. Pacific Ridge 369
