The Trans-Valley League kicked off the local cross country season earlier this month with its first meet of the season. From the Ceres River Bluff Regional Park on Sept. 3, a large contingent of runners from Hilmar and Hughson high schools earned top 10 finishes to have strong starts to the season.

In the girls 5,000-meter varsity race, the Huskies won the team competition with a low score of 27 over runner-up Hilmar’s 33, while it was the Yellowjackets’ Sidney Logsdon who finished with the best individual time.

Logsdon paced the field of 37 with a time of 20:09.89. It was a dominant win for the senior, as it was 36.53 seconds quicker than runner-up Sophie Benham of Hughson.

The Huskies had a team-high 10 runners place in the top 10.

Right behind Benham, in third place, was fellow senior teammate Noeli Gomez-Orozco with a time of 20:58.97. Maggie Becchetti, a sophomore for Hughson, placed sixth with a time of 21:58.97, directly followed by Hilmar sophomore Carson Dickey at 22:28.01. 

Bridget Logsdon of Hilmar placed ninth with a time of 22:58.50, and Hughson junior Grace Benitez rounded out the top ten with a mark of 23:11.68.

In the boys’ 5K varsity race, the Huskies were also winners with a low team score of 16 after a quartet of runners finished in the top five. They were followed by Ripon (55) and Hilmar (85) out of the seven schools.

The top time of 16:40.78 in the 50-man race belonged to Sonora sophomore Landon Wilson, while the Huskies followed with senior Alessandro Pimentel (17:30.22), junior Mason Hoyle (17:52.05), sophomore Juan Palos (17:57.80) and junior Carlos Maximilano-Nava (18:18.88).

Junior teammate Shane Lockwood placed eighth at 18:37.00 while freshman Logan Tremble was Hilmar’s top finisher with a time of 18:54.40 to round out the top ten.

KIM DUYST INVITATIONAL

Area schools joined college programs on Saturday for the annual Kim Duyst Twilight, hosted by Stanislaus State, at River Oaks Golf Course in Ceres. This year's meet featured 25 collegiate teams and 67 high school teams.

At the prep level, Pitman High ’s Avery Carlson participated in the girls’ varsity invitational race, placing seventh in the field of 56 with a time of 18:06.6. The senior was the only Pride runner to run in the invitational, while the Hughson program had seven runners, with the top time of 18:49.2 again going to Benham in 17th place.

Hughson junior Mason Hoyle was the top local finisher in the boys’ varsity invitational, earning 42nd place of 108 with a time of 16:36.1.

In the boys’ large school varsity 5K race, Pitman’s Colvin Hamel tabbed a time of 16:59.6 to earn 13th place in the field of 175 student-athletes.

Denair High was represented in the small school event, with senior Salvador Virgen crossing the finish line at 18:09.0 to grab 37th place out of 192 runners.

Collegiately, the No. 17 nationally ranked Stanislaus State women's squad captured the team title with a total time of 1:47:25 and an average of 21:29 per runner. The Warriors edged out Chico State, the preseason No. 1 pick in the CCAA coaches' poll, by five points, proving their depth as all five scorers finished in the top 30. Stan State outran four NCAA Division I schools: Sacramento State, UC Davis, Nevada, and California (Cal).

Led by junior Annie Wild, who placed third overall in 21:02.7, the Stan State women earned a dominant victory with all five scorers placing in the top 30. The Warriors finished with a strong pack and totaled 75 points to secure the team title.  Rounding out the pack were Jacqueline Sanchez-Silva who placed 10th (21:22.1), followed closely by Bela Moreno in 11th (21:25.9), while freshmen Izzy Soto (27th, 21:47.0) and Stevie Holguin (29th, 21:48.2) rounded out the scoring five.

On the men's side, Jackson Oliveira led the Warriors with a 10th-place finish in the 8K race, clocking 23:54.7. Fellow sophomore Mason Oliveira crossed 16th in 24:21.7, giving Stanislaus two top-20 finishers. Freshman Jonathan Hupman placed 49th (25:13.8), with first-years Quentin Clarke (82nd, 25:45.2) and Patricio Kearney (94th, 25:56.2) completing the top five. 

The Warriors scored 184 points and were the second-highest Division II team in the field, finishing behind only Chico State (third overall). Stan State topped Sacramento State, Nevada, and the University of San Francisco.

UP NEXT

Pitman, as well as the Turlock High program, will be in action Wednesday for the first Central California Athletic League meet of the year from the Tuolumne River Regional Park in Modesto. 

Hilmar and Hughson will see each other again next week, on Sept. 24, for the TVL Midseason Meet.

Denair will also have a Southern Athletic League Meet on the 24th.

Both Warrior squads will return to action in two weeks at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 27 at the Ag Ops Cross Country Course.