Boys and girls cross-country teams competed in their respective league-final meets Thursday. The Park at River Walk hosted three leagues on a 5,000-meter course distance.
South Sequoia League
The McFarland boys and girls teams swept the SSL titles.
The Cougars’ top female runner was the overall winner, freshman Jennifer Diaz, who covered the course in 19 minutes, 15.62 seconds.
She was the first of five runners to cross the finish line and McFarland’s top five were in by the eighth-place slot.
The McFarland girls had a 20-point team score. R.F. Kennedy was second with 54 team points.
In the boys race, McFarland’s team had 27 points to win the league title comfortably.
Wasco was second with 60 points. Diego Ochoa of McFarland was the top individual, going 16:26.48. McFarland’s top five finished among the top 10.
South Yosemite River League
The Liberty boys won the league title with 29 points at The Park at River Walk course. Centennial was second with 59 points.
The winner was Liberty’s Salvador Quezada, a junior, in 15:42.69. Shane Sparks of Centennial was second in 16:08.84. The Patriots’ top five runners came in among the top 10.
In the girls race, Stockdale scored 26 points and had the top individual, sophomore Adelyn Curran, who finished in 19:45.45.
The Mustangs’ top five runners came in among the top 12. Liberty was second in the team standings with 40 points.
Kenzington Perez was the top Patriots runner, fourth, in 20:36.33. Garces’ Michelle Antongiovanni was third overall in 20:20.71.
South Yosemite Valley League
Ridgeview boys won the league title and had the top individual runner, while the Wolf Pack also had the top female individual, but Highland claimed the girls league team title.
Owen Phelps, a junior, ran in 16:53.15, just ahead of teammate Adriel Parubrub and his 16:53.68.
The Wolf Pack scored 35 points, just ahead of runner-up Bakersfield with 45 points.
In the girls race, Yuridia Rivas-Sandoval, who won last Saturday’s Kern County Championships girls varsity race, came back five days later and won the SYVL title in 19:02.71.
Highland won the team title with 33 points as Catherine Pitts had a third-place finish in 19:42.19. The Scots had six runners among the top 11.
High Desert League (at Kern Valley High School)
The Mammoth High girls captured the High Desert League championship as their top five runners finished among the top eight places. The top individual was Pearl Johnson, a junior, who ran in 19 minutes, 29 seconds.
Only three full teams competed in the race. Kern Valley junior Kyla Hacker was the top runner for the Broncs, finishing fourth in 22:03.7.
In the boys race, Kern Valley won the team league title with 42 points, led by Jaadyen Cleveland’s fourth-place finish in 18:59.4.
The top individual was Mammoth’s Rylen Nash in a time of 17:51.
Bakersfield Jockey Club
The next Bakersfield Jockey Club event will honor 15 high school and three college student athletes this Tuesday morning at Hodel’s Country Dining.
The college honorees are Cal State Bakersfield women’s soccer player Jaiden Gore, Bakersfield College football player Carlos Villa and BC volleyball player Alexandra Watts.
The 15 high school awardees are Danitza Moreno and Kayleene Pantoja (both volleyball) Julissa Leon (cross-country) and Jandsemane Lorenzo (tennis) from Arvin; Emily Cove and Kara Campoy (girls tennis), Emilano Whitten (football) and Bowie Psait (volleyball) all from Liberty; Ila Rose (volleyball) from Centennial; Melissa Galvan (tennis) and Stephanie Arias (volleyball) from Mira Monte; Dafny Vasquez Cortes (girls tennis) from East; Noel Huato (boys cross-country) from Del Oro; and Brady Campbell (football) and Chris Wells (cross-country) from Frontier.
The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and will have guest awards presenter Vance Palm, sports broadcaster for ESPN and local sports, on hand.
A breakfast buffet is available at 8 a.m. for a fee.
