The Foothill cross country teams competed under the harsh heat in the last league race of the season today at Lake Casitas.
Junior Moses Bojorquez took first place in the varsity boys’ three-mile race with a time of 16 minutes, 2.3 seconds, finishing over 10 seconds faster than the second place runner. Foothill won the race overall, averaging 16 minutes, 53 seconds per runner, and with a total combined time of one hour, 24 minutes, and 23 seconds.
Sophomores Gabby Sones and Brieanna Tafoya came in third and fourth place out of the 65 runners competing in the girls’ varsity race. The Foothill team took second place out of the 11 schools with an average time of 21 minutes and 24 seconds, and a total time of one hour, 47 minutes, and three seconds.
Sophomore Jonah Bufford and freshman Chris Kutcha took first and second place, respectively, out of 120 competitors in the junior varsity boys’ race. Bufford had a time of 17 minutes, 43 seconds, while Kutcha clocked in at 17 minutes, 56 seconds. Foothill again took first place overall out of seven teams, with each runner averaging 18 minutes, 21 seconds to complete the course. The boys’ combined times came to one hour, 31 minutes, and 47 seconds.
Freshman Jaqueline Fregoso placed first out of the 66 runners in the girls’ junior varsity race with freshmen Olivia Burton and Estelle Santini coming in at a close third and fifth place. Fregoso’s time was 22 minutes and eight seconds, Burton clocked in at 22 minutes and 21 seconds, and Santini finished with 23 minutes and three seconds respectively.
The team placed first out of the seven competitors with an average of 23 minutes and five seconds per runner, and a total time of one hour, 55 minutes, and 29 seconds.
Coach Ken Reeves believes the cross country team’s first season was “tremendous.” Five runners made First Team All-League, a recognition of the best runners in the Tri-Valley League. Three additional runners made the Second Team All-League.
According to Reeves, the junior varsity boys won their league title, while all other Foothill cross country teams finished in second place in their divisions. The boys’ teams are ranked among the top 10 in the state, and the girls’ teams are ranked among the top 10 in the CIF Southern Section.
With such early successes under their belts, Reeves looks forward to competing at the next level.
“[The] team has got fitter and has competed much better,” said Reeves. “[I’m] looking forward to the CIF SS season in the immediate future.”
