Members of Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s cross country programs competed against each other while racing at the Western Athletic Conference’s second cluster meet on Oct. 2 at O’Neill Forebay.
Bulldog and Hawk runners have traveled together three times during road trips this season.
“The mood on the bus is friendly but they’re not intermingling,” Central Valley leader Michael Mrgudic. “It’s race day. Everyone’s quiet. They’re conserving their energy.”
Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s boys finished seventh and last, respectively, in the team standings.
The Bulldogs and Hawks totaled 168 and 200 points.
Beyer (38), Grace Davis (54), Pacheco (56), Livingston (89), Lathrop (130) and Johansen (163) placed first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Ceres High accomplished one of its two goals for the cluster meet.
“That was the expectation,” said Ceres High head coach Owen Brown, whose team improved its head-to-head record versus Central Valley to 2-0 this fall. “We actually wanted to place ahead of Johansen. We were behind by five points.”
Sergio Torres led Ceres High. He took 18th with a time of 18 minutes, 31 seconds on the 3-mile course.
Martin Bolanos Aleman (19:00), Andres Marcial (20:27), Ivan Rodriguez (20:54), Christian Valadez (21:52), Alex Rodriguez (26:25), and Shaan Gil (28:36) placed 26th, 37th, 43rd, 54th, 65th and 67th, respectively.
Frankie Klino led Central Valley. He took 30th with a time of 19:08.
Alexis Landa (19:58), Javier Contreras (21:23), Felix Mendez (21:45), Enoc Reyes (22:19), Jackson Stokes (23:04), Mauro Mendoza Rosales (25:21) and Marco Coria (28:37) placed 33rd, 47th, 51st, 53rd, 57th, 61st, 64th and 68th, respectively.
Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s girls programs didn’t post team scores due to a lack of numbers.
The Bulldogs had two runners miss the cluster meet for unspecified reasons.
“Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it,” Brown said.
Jaden Stahl led Ceres High.
She took 13th with a time of 23:46 on the 3-mile course.
“It was a nice performance by Jaden,” Brown said. “The other girls look up to her. They’d like to be as fast but they’re just not there yet.”
Bulldog teammates Katie Amezcua (27:37), Giselle Contreras (29:07) and Brooke Kiser (29:37) placed 28th, 31st and 32nd, respectively.
“I was proud of their effort,” Brown said.
Alyssa Ontiveroz led the Hawks. She took 33rd with a time of 29:48.
Hawk teammate Milianna Rios (36:14) placed 37th.
“This was our first time competing at that course,” Mrgudic said. “Our girls did a great job.”
Ceres High and Central Valley runners bonded following the WAC’s second cluster meet.
“After the races, we ran our cooldown together,” Mrgudic said. “The kids had a good time. We would have had more fun if we won.”
“It’s a good camaraderie between them,” Brown added.
WATER POLO
Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s water polo teams had mixed results against Western Athletic Conference opponents in recent weeks.
Ceres High’s boys team improved to 3-8 overall and 3-7 in the WAC standings after winning one of two matches.
The Bulldogs lost all 12 of their conference games last season.
“It’s cool to see how we’ve evolved,” head coach Sebastian Huerta Alvarado said. “We’re more competitive this year. Everybody is working hard. The kids really want to win.”
The Bulldogs bested the Spartans of Lathrop 17-13 on Oct. 9 in Manteca.
Ceres High’s Abel Samaniego tallied a team-high six goals.
Zalan Arvai added four goals.
Julian Hernandez and Jaxon Merrill both contributed two goals.
Jonas Hayes and Jesus Sanchez both had one goal.
The Bulldogs led 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Ceres High’s boys team lost 19-11 to Johansen at home on Oct. 7.
The Bulldogs lost the first meeting, 15-6, to the Vikings.
Samaniego poured in a team-high seven goals.
Arvai totaled four goals.
Ceres High’s girls team dropped to 2-7 overall and 2-6 in the WAC following its 17-6 loss to visiting Johansen on Oct. 7.
“We don’t have a shot at playoffs,” head coach Stephen Dias said. “The best we can do is win four total games.”
Bulldog Jessie Blevins tallied a team-high three goals versus the Vikings.
Eva Onsurez added two goals.
Layla Abraham scored once.
Ceres High battled Johansen in the opening half.
The Bulldogs trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Central Valley’s girls team dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-7 in the WAC standings after losing 9-6 to Beyer on Oct. 9 and 20-8 to Pacheco on Oct. 7 in Los Banos.
Lilyanna Madrigal scored a team-high five goals versus Beyer.
Audrey Rhinehart had one goal.
Madrigal netted a team-high seven goals against Pacheco.
Zhaira Brar added one goal.
Central Valley’s boys team fell to 1-9 on the year and 1-8 in league after losing 10-1 to Beyer and 16-7 to Pacheco.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Ceres High’s girls volleyball team compiled a 1-1 record against WAC competition last week.
Central Valley dropped a pair of league matches.
“Overall, I feel like the team is progressing,” Bulldogs’ head coach Kelly Heese said.
Fifth-place Ceres High fell to 6-8 on the season and 5-5 in the WAC standings after losing 3-0 to first-place Lathrop on Oct. 9 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
The Spartans snapped the Bulldogs’ three-match winning streak.
Ceres High topped seventh-place Johansen 3-0 on Oct. 7 in Modesto.
Sixth-place Central Valley fell to 5-10 overall and 2-7 in the WAC after losing 3-0 to second-place Beyer on Oct. 9 in Modesto.
The Patriots handed the Hawks their fifth straight loss.
Central Valley lost 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-23) to fourth-place Pacheco on Oct. 7 in Ceres.
TRAVEL SOFTBALL
The Ceres Sizzle 14-and-under travel softball team placed second overall while competing in the Silver Bracket of the Think Pink Tournament, Oct. 5-6, in Turlock.
“They did great,” head coach Jeff Graham said. “They had to fight for everything they got.”
Second-seed Ceres compiled a 3-3 record at the National Softball Association (NSA) event.
The Sizzle won two of their three games in bracket play.
“Their hard work is finally paying off,” Graham said.
Ceres lost 8-5 to the Modesto Vibe in the finals on Oct. 6.
“It was a dogfight,” Graham said. “It was back and forth. If we had one more inning, it probably would have been a different game.”
The Sizzle collected five hits in defeat.
Selene Valencia batted 2-for-2 from the plate with one triple, one RBI and two runs.
Genevieve Armenta batted 1-for-2 with two RBIs and one stolen base.
Shelby Alves batted 2-for-3.
Ceres advanced to the championship game after rallying for a 7-5 win over Bases Loaded Academy in the semifinals on Oct. 6.
“The girls fought, fought and fought,” Graham said. “It was amazing to watch.”
Down 5-1, the Sizzle scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to secure the victory.
Ceres completed the comeback when Journey Estrella scored on Payton Graham’s two-out, walk-off single.
The Sizzle topped the Lady Legends 10-6 in the quarterfinals on Sept. 6.
Ceres earned the tournament’s second seed after posting a 1-2 record in pool play.
