Riverbank runners headed to Hawaii for prestigious Iolani Invitational

What could make Riverbank coach Monte Wood schlepp his team all the way to Hawaii for a cross country meet?

Well, sure, there’s the whole tropical paradise thing. But, truth be told, Wood would probably take his team to the Badlands of South Dakota if there was a meet there.

For Wood, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. And that’s why he’s taking his Bruins to run in Saturday’s Iolani Cross Country Invitational meet in Honolulu.

“The biggest thing is the team bonding,” said Wood, who has guided the Bruins’ girls team to three Sac-Joaquin Section team titles and the boys to one. “A lot of people think cross country is an individual sport, but it’s really a team sport. I really believe that in 2013, when we won the boys and girls titles, it had a lot do with the amount of time we spent together leading into that season.

“The kids know that if one of them is having a bad day, somebody else has to pick it up and have a good day, and that they have to pick up the pace and pull them along. It’s also a mindset: ‘I don’t want to let my teammates down.’ ”

That mindset comes not only from teammates running side-by-side on daily training runs, it also comes from time spent sitting side-by-side on long bus trips.

Sometimes even plane trips.

This is the third time Wood has taken his team to Hawaii, going every other year since 2011.

“It takes a huge fundraising effort,” said Wood, who is taking 15 – nine girls and six boys – of his 23 runners to Hawaii. “But the trip isn’t a given. The kids have to come out and work every day and be committed to our program. It’s kind of a reward trip.”

But the competition still matters.

“I tell them that the No. 1 thing is that they race well,” Wood said. “They wear Riverbank on their jerseys and they represent their community.”

In 2013, Riverbank’s boys finished fourth, just seven points out of second place, and the girls finished fifth. Mikayla Flores (18 minutes, 11.90 seconds) was second overall in the girls race, while Luis Figueroa (15:47.17) was fifth in the boys race. In 2011, the girls were third overall, with three runners placing among the top 13 finishers.

Kim Ruvalcaba and Stephanie Bernal have the best opportunity to medal for the Bruins’ girls, while Ruben Paredez and Diego Ruiz are the best bets for Riverbank’s boys.

“It’s really competitive,” Wood said. “I’d love to bring home a plaque and have at least one boy and one girl medal.”

Scheduled to compete this year will be Dana Hills (Dana Point), perennially one of the strongest teams in California and the 2014 CIF Division I boys runner-up; Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates), the reigning CIF D-III girls champions; and Serra (San Juan Capistrano), the third-place finisher in last year’s D-IV girls state meet.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Riverbank runners headed to Hawaii for prestigious Iolani Invitational."