Highly ranked Buchanan High girls still face uphill challenges; Oakdale boys make statement

Could the highly rated Buchanan High girls cross country runners not be worthy of its state and national rankings, or is the team that began the season as the state’s best – and nation’s No. 2 – jinxed?

At Saturday’s 44th running of the prestigious ASICS Clovis Invitational on a familiar Woodward Park course, Buchanan jumped out to first following the first mile only to see junior Elle Lomelí succumb to breathing problems and bow out while running among the top 20 in the Bill Buettner Invitational flight.

“I thought Elle was running a very, very good race, was right on track and it just kind of went awry,” said Buchanan head coach Brian Weaver.

With that, the Bears placed third with 218 points behind J Serra Catholic (72 points) and Ventura High (113). That follows a third-place finish in last month’s Woodbridge Classic.

Weaver isn’t ready to throw in the towel.

“Third in this race is still pretty dang good,” said Weaver, whose team is the defending state Division I champion.

He should know. Last year’s team had its share of trials and tribulations dating back to last season.

–At last year’s state meet, Lomelí fell about 400 yards from the finish and struggled to the end.

–Teammate Grace Hutchison had the lead in the final yards only to fade to second. A few weeks earlier, she collapsed at the finish of the Central Section championship while leading and had to settle for second.

–At last year’s ASICS meet, Buchanan began with only five runners and saw Hutchison drop out due to injury in the second mile. That eliminated Buchanan from a potential team title.

“I think today was a good point for them to understand about getting out hard, (find) areas that we did right and areas that we can improve upon,” said Weaver, who saw some good things Saturday.

“Our No. 6 girl beat the other school’s No. 6 girl, so that just showed it was a team effort,” said Weaver. “We’ll bounce back and by the time we get to the postseason, I think we should be a little bit better.”

Buchanan sophomore Kynzlee Buckley led Buchanan with a 17th-place effort (18:03.1), followed by freshman Molly Sundgren (27th, 18:18), juniors Sierra Cornett (35th, 18:29.7) and Avry Hutchison (42nd, 18:37.6), and sophomore Tayler Torosian (43rd, 18:38.1).

Clovis West sophomore Cameron Macías was the top Central Section runner with a 15th-place time of 17:59.7.

“I was just trying to break 18:30,” said Macías, who was making her season debut on the Woodward Park course. “I had expectations, but I wanted to be reasonable at the same time.”

Her goal for the season is to break 17:38.

Ventura High junior Sadie Engelhardt broke the course record by 14 seconds in posting a 16:39.3 time.

Modesto’s Central Catholic, led by Ella McGillis (3rd, 18:402) and Mira Danish (10th, 19:03.5) won the girls small school title.

In the large school division, Madera South junior Valorie Jiménez was eighth in 19:18 to help the Stallions to fourth. Clovis West senior Molly Bizik was 10th in 19:19.4.

Buchanan junior Elizabeth Dimitrashchuk won the JV race in 19:58.9.

Oakdale boys make their point

A year after failing to get an invitation to the Rob Brenner Championship flight, the defending Division III state champions captured third behind the eighth-place finish by senior Omar Alsaidi (15:10.5).

Oakdale finished third with 152 points, behind Dana Hills (124 points) and Great Oak (129 points).

Ventura High senior Anthony Fast Horse posted the fourth-fastest meet time with a 14:32.5 clocking to win the boys race. The top five finishers also broke 15 minutes.

Oakdale was also helped by senior Mason Oliviera (30th, 16:36.5), junior Ismael Domínguez (62nd, 16:01.5), and junior Jacob Cavanaugh (63rd, 16:09.3).

Clovis North senior Teg Pandher was the top Central Section finisher with a 15:24.7 time for 17th place. Buchanan High junior Luke Sanders was 18th in 15:25.6.

Matilda Torres High sophomore Benjamín Fernández was 31st in 15:37.3.

In the boys medium school division, Parlier High senior Evan Torres placed ninth in 15:40.1.

“My main goal was to break 16 minutes and finish in the top 10,” said Torres. “I put my heart into this race and I tried my best. That’s all I can do; that’s all that matters to me.”

In the boys extra large division, Bakersfield High junior placed third in 15:56.4, while Sanger High senior Daniel Galvez was sixth in 16:01.1. Clovis North sophomore Conor Lott was ninth in 16:03.2.