Members of the Escalon Cross Country team competed in the Trans-Valley League Finals at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

The day started off with the JV Girls earning third place as a team.

“Our scoring five were all freshmen and led by a huge personal record from Athena Quiroz, 15:42 and 12th overall,” noted head coach Michael Bower.

She was followed by Leigh Garside, 15:56 and 13th overall; Carli Jones, 16:19 and 15th overall; Amanda Mortenson, 17:06 and 18th overall; and Jaslene Rodriguez, 17:08 and 19th overall.

The JV Boys also followed with a third place team finish of their own. Sophomore Theodore Harp came in 21st overall in a time of 13:27. Then finished a pair of freshmen, Kenneth Vargas in 13:30 and Luke Konradi in 13:44. Rounding out the scoring five were sophomores Matix Trimble, 14:18, and Brenden Berchtold, 15:14.

“We had quite a few young kids hit some huge PRs. Some of these kids dropped 30 seconds, even a minute off of their previous best time. They really have taken to heart the opportunity to learn what we’ve been talking about in practice and it was exciting to see their improvement,” Bower said.

In the Varsity girl’s race, Escalon took fourth place overall. Freshman Kylie Fast finished in third place with a time of 21:17. Junior Lauren Rodriguez shaved a few seconds off of her best time on the course to run 22:25. Finishing in the top five for the team was fellow freshman Victoria Calderon, 22:46; junior Charlotte Shaddix, 23:05; and stepping up from the JV team was sophomore Madelyn Fahey, 24:39.

“Our girl’s team has had some ups and downs this season. Whether some returners started a bit off of where they finished last year, some illnesses or weird injuries, it has taken a lot to see this group come together, and they haven’t even scratched the surface of their potential,” explained Bower. “I’m hopeful that they show another level of what they are capable of this next week at subsections and the exciting thing is almost this entire varsity group will be returning next year.”

The varsity boys finished fifth place as a team. Senior Andrew Morales finished in an impressive second place overall in 17:12. He was followed by senior Jose Calderon in 17:41 and seventh place overall and junior Daniel Bagadiong in 18:25 and 14th place overall. Senior Marcos Grajeda ran 19:35, and Escalon’s top five was finished by freshman Conner Jones in 19:36, a personal best in only his second 5k race.

“Across the board our boys showed improvement in their times, but everyone else in the league made some moves as well. It was just a tough draw that we weren’t able to move up in our team place,” Bower said. “But the TVL is a very competitive league; and the rankings may change when we face each other again next week at subsections.”

At the end of the races, Bower added, the league took a moment to recognize seniors and top runners from each race.

Escalon has seven graduating seniors: Andrew Morales, Jose Calderon, Marcos Grajeda, Jacob Beneux, Destiny Reyes, Faith Reyes, and Kaleia Jones.

“It has been a pleasure to coach these young men and women and watch many of them progress from their freshman year to now. Seeing them through highs and lows, and continue to grow; they have shown ability to become better and I am excited to see where they will all end up,” Bower said.

Athletes can earn All-League honors by being part of the top-10 individuals after the winning team members are accounted for. On the boy’s side, earning all-TVL honors were Andrew Morales, Jose Calderon, and Daniel Bagadiong. Honors were earned by Kylie Fast and Lauren Rodriguez for the girls.

“This League meet comes the week after the top kids attended the Mt. Sac Invitational in Walnut, California on Friday, October 20,” added Bower. “This is the largest cross country race in the US with over 14,000 athletes competing over multiple days. Due to safety concerns the course was shortened to two miles. But the athletes represented Escalon well.”

Conner Jones ran 12:14, Marcos Grajeda 11:46, Daniel Bagadiong 10:56, Jose Calderon 10:28, and Andrew Morales finished third in his race in a blistering 9:49.

Madelyn Fahey finished in 15:32, Charlotte Shaddix in 14:11, Victoria Calderon 14:05, Lauren Rodriguez in 13:24, and Kylie Fast finished 11th in her race in a time of 12:14.

“Some of these kids may have been running a little flat at league finals because of the previous race. But it is a great experience to see the scope of the running community and get a chance to compete on a top course,” said the coach.

This week cross country will travel back to Calaveras Fairgrounds to compete at the subsection meet against all Division 4 schools on Saturday, Nov. 4. From there, racing teams and athletes can qualify for the section race on Nov. 11.