Cross country: Who's going to the CIF State meet and how they punched their ticket.
Twenty-five runners from the Stanislaus District have qualified for Saturday's CIF State Cross Country Championships in Fresno, including the fastest team in Gregori High's short history.
The Jaguars' boys team became the first in school history to qualify for the state meet. Gregori punched its ticket with podium finish at the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I race at Willow Hill Reservoir Community Park in Folsom on Nov. 10.
Here's a closer look at each state qualifier and how they advanced:
Boys
Division 1: Gregori senior Santiago Ruiz anchored a banner day for Gregori. Ruiz was second on the podium with a 16 minutes and 9 seconds, about 10 seconds behind section champion Matt Strangio of Jesuit. Ruiz was joined by his Jaguar teammates in the spotlight, as Gregori clinched a team berth with its third-place finish. Mason Reeves (16:11) was fourth, while Matthew Marsh (16:47, 12th), Jackson Duchala (17:02, 24th) and Hunter Reeves (17:08, 28th) also posted top-30 finishes. Rounding out Gregori's team are Sebasatian Cronkite (17:36, 41st) and Jaxson Reeves (17:59, 48th).
Division 2: Downey senior Moises Benavides crossed in 16:33, finishing in third and qualifying for State. He ran step for step with runnerup Alex Benson of Vacaville. Both chased section champion Damian King of Vacaville, who impressed with his 16:10.
Division 3: Three Stanislaus District runners qualified for state, led by Sierra junior Jesse Hurtado, who was fourth with a 16:41. Merced sophomore Richard Cole McKain (16:43) was sixth, while East Union senior Noe Reyes (16:56) was ninth.
Division 4: Amador's Tyler Anderson punched his ticket with a sixth-place finish. The senior clocked a 16:34.
Division 5: Central Catholic's Anthony Vasquez finished third with a time of 17:28, but the senior finished well off the pace set by Capital Christian's Micah Filer. The section champion crossed the finish line in 16:23, nearly a minute faster than the runner-up, Jaydon Spires of Tioga (17:22)
Girls
Division 3: Merced's Quinn Hagerman (19:12) and Sierra's Megan Oblin (19:15) finished behind section champion Sydnee Kizziar,a senior from Vista del Lago (19:02). Hagerman and Oblin are only juniors, which should make for an exciting finish in this division next fall. Oblin is making her third appearance at State.
Division 4: Bret Harte senior Kaela Dishion captured a section championship, pulling away from Mother Lode League rival Cassi Land. Dishion finished in 18:57 and was the only runner in the field to crack the 19-minute mark. Land was a distant second with a time of 19:17.
Division 5: Ripon Christian freshman Elle Van Wyngarde finished eighth, qualifying for State with a tie of 21:42. Argonaut's Madison Muschetto was ninth, nearly 8 seconds back of Van Wyngarde; she's also headed to State.
CIF STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, Nov. 25
Woodward Park, Fresno.
A look at the Stanislaus District runner who qualified and the race schedule:
BOYS
Division I
Gregori (7): Sebastian Cronkite, senior; Jackson Duchala, sophomore; Matthew Marsh, senior; Hunter Reeves, senior; Jaxson Reeves, junior; Mason Reeves, senior; Santiago Ruiz, senior.
Modesto (1): Fernando Guerrero, junior.
Division II
Downey (1): Moises Benavides, senior.
Division 3
East Union (1): Noe Reyes, senior.
Merced (1): Richard Cole McKain, sophomore.
Sierra (1): Jesse Hurtado, junior.
Division IV
Amador (1): Tyler Anderson, senior.
Division 5
Central Catholic (1): Anthony Vazquez, senior.
Argonaut (1): Christian Dabler, junior.
GIRLS
Division 3
Merced (2): Ciara Colon, senior; Quinn Hagerman, junior.
Sierra (1): Megan Oblin, junior.
Division 4
Bret Harte (1): Kaela Dishion, senior.
Calaveras (1): Katarina Borchin, freshman.
Hughson (2): Emily Fife, junior; Elizette Ysias, sophomore.
Sonora (1): Cassi Land, senior.
Division 5
Argonaut (1): Madison Muschetto, junior.
Ripon Christian (1): Elle Van Wyngarde, freshman.
RACE SCHEDULE
Division V Girls Race 8:30 a.m.
Division I Girls Race 9:05 a.m.
Division V Boys Race 9:35 a.m.
Division I Boys Race 10:05 a.m.
Division II Girls Race 10:35 a.m.
Division III Boys Race 11:05 a.m.
Division IV Girls Race 11:35 a.m.
Division II Boys Race 12:05 p.m.
Division III Girls Race 12:35 p.m.
Division IV Boys Race 1:05 p.m.
This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Cross country: Who's going to the CIF State meet and how they punched their ticket.."