In action on a very hot Wednesday afternoon, as temperatures hit triple digits, the Escalon cross country team traveled to Riverbluff Park in Ceres, and met other Trans-Valley League opponents for the first TVL meet of the season.

“Despite the heat the Cougars had a solid day with some great individual performances regardless of team placement,” said head coach Arend Jones.

The JV girls placed third overall, as junior Vivienne Harp finished first for Escalon, placing 12th with a time of 17:54. Sophomore Amy Alvarado finished second, placing 16th with a time of 18:33. Sophomore Trisha Freitas finished third, placing 17th with a time of 18:36.

The JV boys also placed third overall. Sophomore Brandon Gonzalez finished first for Escalon, placing eighth with a time of 13:40. Freshman Thomas Oliveira finished second, placing 10th with a time of 13:51. Freshman Ivan Isidro finished third, placing 17th with a time of 14:35.

Taking sixth overall as a team, the varsity girls were paced by senior Victoria Calderon, who finished first for Escalon, placing 24th with a time of 25:25. Freshman Andrea Calderon finished second, placing 29th with a time of 26:06 and freshman Jocelynn Jelinek finished third, placing 30th with a time of 26:16.

Escalon’s varsity boys took sixth overall as well. Senior Kenneth Vargas finished first for Escalon, placing 25th with a personal best of 20:15. Junior Ethan Young finished second, placing 28th with a time of 20:33 and junior Rigoberto Ramirez finished third, placing 37th with a time of 21:42.

Coming up on Saturday, Sept. 19, the Cougars go to Angels Camp for the Frogtown Invitational.

GOLF GIRLS

Hosting Orestimba at the Escalon Golf Course on Sept. 9, the match went in the books as a forfeit win for the host Lady Cougars.

“Unfortunately, Orestimba didn’t have a full team, so it was a forfeit win for Escalon,” explained head coach Chris Casazza. “Orestimba only had two golfers. A varsity team must have at least four individual scores to avoid a forfeit.”

And while it was a forfeit, Casazza said because of the scoring system used by girls golf, the match needed to be played to help determine all league rankings via individual player scores.

“Our Escalon girls needed their scores recorded to possibly earn all-league honors at the end of the season,” the coach explained. “Ironically, in a match where we just needed to record four scores to win, our team had our best team score. We had four scores in the 40s, a first for this season. I’m hoping we can maintain that momentum moving forward, and get some more league wins.”

Team score for Escalon was 181, paced by a 40 from Samantha Bruns, 43 by Areli Herrera, and 49s carded by Jayci Trimble and Kristina Mendoza.

The strong showing by Escalon, in a match they won before even stepping on the course, ultimately showcased a strong team mentality and a desire to get better each time out on the course.

Sofia DaSilva and Lori Brown each shot at 54 on the course against Orestimba.

This week, the girls were to host Hilmar on Sept. 15 and travel to play against Ripon Christian on Sept. 16.