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CCAL #1 dominated by local cross country teams
Turlock and Pitman runners break records
Turlock boys cross country
Turlock’s Larson Wejmar and Zayn Hamilton came in first and second, respectively, at the first league cross country meet of the season (Photo courtesy of StanCo Distance).

The first CCAL cross country meet of the year — held last Wednesday at the Tuolumne River Regional Park in Modesto — was all Turlock and Pitman, with the programs finishing 1-2 on the team leaderboards in each of the two 5K varsity races.

The Bulldogs won the boys race with a low-score of 21, besting the Pride’s 66. Turlock’s girls won with a 26 over Pitman’s 44.

Pacing the field in the boys race was senior Larson Wejmar, with his first-place time of 16:53.76. He beat out junior teammate Zayn Hamilton by a mere 0.15 seconds. Another Bulldog, senior Gabriel Avalos, rounded out the top three with a time of 17:01.00.

The trio of Bulldogs was followed by a pair of Modesto High runners, with Pitman senior Colvin Hamel taking sixth place with a time of 17:21.44.

Despite falling short of the top team placement in the girls race, the Pride were represented with the top individual time, set by senior Avery Carlson, who finished in 19:25.73. 

Carlson was coming off a record-breaking performance at last week’s Kim Duyst Invitational hosted by Stanislaus State, setting the school’s all-time 5,000-meter mark with a time of 18:06.6. She was followed in last Wednesday’s CCAL meet by a contingent of Bulldogs and Pride runners.

Turlock’s Ellison Williams, just a sophomore, came in second with a time of 20:43.74, while freshman teammate Gisela Hernandez claimed a top-three finish with a time of 20:44.07. Pitman senior Nayeli Mattison finished fourth with a time of 21:05.89, while Turlock junior Mylie Olson rounded  out the top five with a time of 21:23.18.

Williams and Wejmar each continued their dominance over this past weekend at the 44th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, breaking school records in their respective three-mile races.

Williams had a first-place finish in the varsity “B” division with a time of 16:51.00, marking not just a program record, but the second-fastest time across all female runners over the course of the meet.

Weimar, meanwhile, finished in ninth place in the boys’ varsity “B” division with a time of 15:07.9.

The Pride and Bulldogs will both be back in action at the second CCAL meet of the season, set for Wednesday, Oct. 8 from the Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.