Fresno Pacific freshman makes impact on cross country team

During the women’s portion of the Seawolf Cross Country Invitational at Woodward Park on Saturday, a spectator noticed that Fresno Pacific freshman Julissa Ávila held a lead more than halfway through the 5-kilometer race at Woodward Park.

“Didn’t someone tell her she’s a freshman, and she’s not supposed to win this race?” asked someone in the crowd.

Well, the freshman did not win after side pains slowed her down near the end, allowing junior teammate Yorkabel Gebrehiwot to pull out the win in 18 minutes, 51.97 seconds.

Ávila finished second in 18:55.54.

The runner-up finish in her first collegiate race served notice that the 17-year-old runner will be a force to be reckoned with.

She posted a sub-1:30 time to win the women’s division of the hilly and hot Hell of a Half Marathon last month in Exeter.

“I really like long distances,” said Ávila, who didn’t take up running until three years ago after her older sister convinced her to give up softball and concentrate on running.

The half-marathon race was Ávila’s first at that distance.

“I had no idea what I was doing. It was a hard one because it goes through Rocky Hill and all that, and the heat,” said Ávila.

For now, she is focusing on the shorter collegiate distance.

Her goal Saturday was to break her high school record on Woodward Park course. She timed 19:19.8 last season to claim the CIF Central Section Division IV title. Her high school-best 5K of 18:46.9 was on a flatter course.

“I just wanted to go off the pace of my high school,” she said. “I did train really hard in the summer, so I wanted to get the time around there or a little faster.”

Ávila had the lead by the second mile and appeared ready to pick up the win.

“I got really bad side pains around the last mile, and I couldn’t speed up,” said Ávila. “I saw my teammate (Yorkabel) and I told myself to stay with her. At the end, she kicked off.”

Ávila said Gebrehiwot “really helped me.”

Gebrehiwot, who ran at Hoover High, is impressed by Ávila.

“She’s definitely a beast. I look up to her,” said Gebrehiwot, whose time was a PR on the course. “She’s definitely a hard worker.

“I’m really excited to work with her for the season, and just help each other out.”

Gebrehiwot was happy with the team’s outcome.

Fresno Pacific won the women’s division with 28 points, thanks to top finishes by sophomores Maribel Aguilar (7th, 19:38.26), Alexa Queenan (8th, 19:38.71), and Aryanna Guzmán (10th, 19:41.37).

“This was like a good opener and I’m just excited to see what we can do as a team,” said Gebrehiwot. “We’re going to build each other up and we’re going to do big things.”

Fresno Pacific head coach Ray Winter praised the addition of four freshmen, including Ávila, as a reason to be optimistic on the women’s team.

“Ariana Womack and Julissa Ávila are two freshmen in particular who I believe will come in this year and make an immediate impact in our top seven,” said Winter in a press release.

“Their growth curve is showing that they are ready to really launch into uncharted success at the longer distances, and this fall will be a proving ground for the work they’ve put in this summer.”

Fresno State, which was led by sophomore Corie Smith (5th, 19:12.79), was second with 59 points. UC Merced was fourth with 94 points.

Fresno Pacific men second

Sunbirds senior Xavier Smith (1st, 20:15.45) and junior Bryan Banuelos (2nd, 20:26.1) dominated the men’s field.

However, San Diego Mesa College placed five runners among the top 10 to take the team title with 27 points.

Fresno Pacific was second with 36 points. Fresno State was third with 98 points.

Fresno Pacific also had top finishes from junior Jacob Reséndez (8th, 21:10.58) and freshman David DeLoera (12th, 21:27.65).

Highland High senior dominates girls’ race

Junior Mía Torrecillas, the defending CIF Central Section Division III champion, was missing from the Highland High (Bakersfield) girls’ team on Saturday, but senior teammate Lianna Guerra made sure the Scots took first.

Guerra thoroughly dominated the 5K race with a time of 18:24.08 that was more than a minute ahead of runner up Maci Day of Pitman High (19:35.83).

“My goal was really just to beat my time from last year’s state cross country, which was 18:31,” said Guerra. “I’m really proud of what I did today.”

Despite breaking her course record, Guerra identified areas to work on. “I still need to work on my breathing, and definitely some speedwork,” she said.

Running alone with no one to push her was difficult.

“My mind was on not running for place but for time, so it was definitely harder without someone pushing me,” said Guerra. “I did have to be tougher mentally.”

Pitman won the girls team title with 42 points, ahead of Rancho San Juan (Salinas) at 50 points.

Rocklin High senior Devin Pereira won the boys race in 16:07.01 to lead the Thunder to the team title.

Rocklin had five runners in the top 10 for 18 points. Mountain House High was second with 77 points.