RIVERBANK -- On a gray afternoon, six girls cut a line through a swampy field at Riverbank High, ponytails bouncing in sync with their stride.
"This group of girls, they've experienced a lot of things, gone to a lot of places," Bruins girls cross country coach Monte Wood says from the blacktop, directing them around puddles. "They don't like to let each other down."
They round the final bend, falling into place, shoulder to shoulder, a sensational sophomore insulated by a pack of seniors.
Meet the blistering Lady Bruins, the reigning Trans-Valley League and Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 champions and the odds-on favorite to double again.
There's a special kind of strength among this set of doe-eyed runners — and it has nothing to do with legs that have carried them to Hawaii and back.
In a sport measured by individual time, the Bruins have become the Stanislaus District's top cross country team by creating a camaraderie as strong as brick and mortar.
"Everyone is really close," said senior Adriana Rosales.
That bond was tested earlier this year, when one runner's world slowed to a crawl.
On the night of Jan. 5, senior Erica Orellana was settling in for a sleepover at a friend's house when her father called, urging her to come home. She obliged, not knowing that a car accident 2,500 miles away had forever changed her family tree.
Her older sister Shawna Zamora, 27, and 9-year-old niece Lillyana Zamora were killed instantly when Shawna's SUV flipped over on a North Carolina interstate, ejecting the two. Neither one was wearing a seat belt.
"She's my only sister," Orellana said.
"I've been strong," she later added, pausing to let emotion subside. "I don't know how I do it half the time."
Shawna was set to return home after a stint in the Army, bringing back to the City of Action a full family. Along with Lillyana, Shawna had two other daughters, both of whom survived the crash with minor injuries.
Adding to the emotional toll: Riverbank's trip to the Iolani Invitational on Kualoa Ranch in Oahu in September coincided with Shawna's 28th birthday and the enlistment of Orellana's boyfriend, Marine Candido Cruz.
"She was finally coming home," Orellana said of Shawna. "(The accident) changed everything. ... She was going to see me race, see me go to prom. Now she can't. She was my best friend."
In stepped six others — seniors Jackie Herrera, Gina Retana, Julie Hernandez, Rosales and the young prodigy, Mikayla Florez — each willing to go the distance for a friend with a crater-sized hole in her heart.
Winning has helped.
The Bruins are chasing their own sliver of history, on pace to match the feats of CIF state champion Maritza Garcia and the Riverbank teams from 2002-2005. During that torrid four-year stretch, the Bruins won four section championships and finished in the top five at the state meet three times.
This group won't match the sheer volume of titles, but it has reserved shelf space in the school's trophy case.
"I think these girls' times at the end of the year will be comparable," Wood said, "if not better."
Riverbank owns five of the top nine 5K times in the Trans-Valley League — Florez (20 minutes, 33 seconds) and Rosales (20:38) rank Nos. 2 and 3 behind Hughson's Becky Hobby (19:40) — and has beaten its chief threat for the D-4 crown (Bret Harte, once ranked No. 10 in the state) in Lodi earlier this year.
Two major meets loom before their anticipated November duels: the Santa Clarita Valley Invitational on Saturday and the Trans-Valley Championship on Oct. 27.
"There is some pressure," Rosales admits, "but we work hard for it."
Orellana may be the linchpin in all of this. As the Bruins' No. 4 runner, her race objectives are to 1) finish fast and 2) displace as many runners as possible.
"We talk all the time about the time gap between the No. 1 and the No. 5 runner, because it's the difference in success at these big meets," Wood said.
Still, when you've lost as much as Orellana has, the focus and drive to compete takes a back seat to the grieving process.
Once, on a rural practice run, Orellana suddenly stopped, tears replacing the sweat on her cheeks. While her teammates trudged on, Orellana walked through an orchard with assistant coach Ezekiel Ruiz.
"It's been tough for her, but she's been resilient on those days when it's been emotional," Wood said.
Her girls help get her through — with shopping trips, swim parties, dinner dates and show times. Whatever it takes.
As Wood points out, they don't like to let each other down.
"It makes all my races that much more meaningful," Orellana says. "It makes everything more meaningful."
James Burns is Regional Sports Content Editor of The Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@modbee.com.
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