Central Valley High School’s cross country program is looking forward to facing different competition this fall.
The Hawks moved from the Central California Conference to the Western Athletic Conference as part of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s realignment plan.
Central Valley will re-establish its rivalry against crosstown-rival Ceres High.
The Hawks raced against the Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference prior to spending the past four years in the CCC.
“We have a great relationship with Ceres High,” Central Valley head coach Michael Mrgudic said. “We both want to be the best team in town. We’re motivated.”
The 2024 Hawks have a roster size of 22, including 16 boys and just six girls.
Central Valley returns a host of runners from last season’s boys team, including Marco Coria (Sr.), Alexis Landa (Sr.), Joshua Michelena (Sr.), Jackson Stokes (Sr.), Miguel Garrido (Jr.), Israel Guajardo (Jr.), Frankie Klino (Jr.), Mauro Mendoza Rosales (Jr.) and Julian Tapia (So.).
Landa and Klino rank third and fifth, respectively, on the Hawks’ all-time 3-mile varsity boys list.
Landa was the Hawks’ top finisher at the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Championships.
He took 21st overall in a field of 56 with a time of 17 minutes, 12 seconds.
Klino (17:30), Michelena (20:08), Stokes (20:09) and Coria (22:18) placed 27th, 46th, 47th and 54th, respectively.
Central Valley’s top new male runners are: Enoc Reyes (So.), Felix Ramirez (Fr.) and Isaiah Ramos (Fr.).
Reyes took 16th (13:29) at the 2023 WAC Frosh-Soph Boys third cluster meet.
Central Valley will not field a varsity girls team this season due to a thin roster.
“I’m going to keep them down at junior varsity,” Mrgudic said. “They’ll benefit the most racing JV and being competitive at that level before moving up to varsity.”
“Our girls team is small compared to last year,” he added. “That’s because of girls flag football, water polo and other sports. There are so many girls sports going on right now. We should consider moving something to the spring. I know coaches have recommended it.”
The Hawks return just two runners from a year ago, including Alyssa Ontiveroz (Jr.) and Courtney Crane (So.).
Milianna Rios (Jr.), Manroop Kaur (So.), Karen Magallon (Fr.) and Aubrey Tyler-Pannell (Fr.) are newcomers.
Ontiveroz brought home a fifth-place medal from the CCC’s frosh-soph girls third cluster meet a year ago. She set a personal record on the 2-mile course. Ontiveroz finished the race in 16 minutes, 3 seconds.
“I want our girls to get experience at the JV level and build that team culture,” Mrgudic said. “I’d like to see us be competitive and bring our times down.”
Central Valley will compete in the revamped WAC this year, along with Ceres, Beyer, Grace Davis, Johansen, Pacheco, Lathrop and Livingston.
Livingston relocated from the Trans Valley League.
Past WAC members Los Banos and Mountain House joined the CCC and Valley Oak League.
“It’s good for us,” Mrgudic said while talking about Central Valley’s move to the WAC. “We have a better chance of being more competitive and winning in the WAC. It’s more meaningful if we have success because we’re competing against Ceres High and more schools closer to us.”
The Hawks’ league schedule will consist of three cluster meets this season, including the conference finals.
Mrgudic has high hopes for the boys squad.
“If everything goes right, this could be the best team in school history,” he said. “Four of the best eight (individual) times in CV history were from last year. The goal is to continue that momentum.”
Central Valley’s girls will gain valuable experience in the JV division.
“Because we don’t have a varsity team for girls, we won’t post official scores,” Mrgudic said. “My goal is to build a foundation to compete at the varsity level in the future. We have girls that want to be here. I’m hoping that spreads. I’m very optimistic because our school is so large. We have enough kids on campus (to field a full team).”
