SALINAS VALLEY — Gonzales and Greenfield high schools completed the cross country season with meets last week on the Monterey Peninsula and in Hollister.
On March 26, the Spartans ran in a tri-meet against Seaside and Marina, while the Bruins had a meet in Monterey against Pacific Grove and Trinity Christian.
For Gonzales, the meet at Seaside was the only cross country meet of the year for the visiting Spartans.
Placing for the Gonzales boys were: Arturo Castro (fourth, 19:00); Matthew Santos (10th, 20:49); Jose Cervantes (13th, 22:54); Ignacio Valdez (14th, 23:24); Alexander Melgoza (20th, 28:00); and Marcelo Landeros (21st, 29:01). For the Spartan girls, Ashley Ochoa placed fourth in a time of 23:46 and Gyselle McFarland placed eighth in a time of 27:16.
“It felt good to be rocking the orange and black today,” said Gonzales head coach Margie Daniels. “We had our first and only meet of the season, but we made the most of it. The kids did a great job and had fun, but most importantly, everyone was so good about safety protocols. Even if it was only one meet, everything I did to make it happen was worth it. The most normal thing I’ve done in a year and it was awesome!”
At Monterey, the Greenfield boys were led by a second-place finish by Daniel Pantoja (17:09), and had four other runners place in the top 10. Those runners were: Brian Martinez (fifth, 20:33); Juan Picazo (sixth, 20:43); Jonathon Picazo (ninth, 21:41); and Ambrosio Ramirez (10th, 21:47).
Other Greenfield runners included: Douglas Maldonado (11th, 21:58); Mauricio Hernandez (17th, 24:52); Rodrigo Vazquez (18th, 25:30); Samuel Martinez (19th, 26:14); Juan Carlos Martinez (21st, 28:10); and Hugo Rosales (22nd, 31:38).
Jimena Hernandez led the Lady Bruins, placing third in 25:23; Maria Garcia was sixth in 26:27; and Yazmin Martinez took eighth in a time of 30:48.
