By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Ceres runners split with Spartans
Placeholder Image
The Ceres High boys cross country team turned in an impressive performance against Grace Davis at Legion Park in Modesto on Wednesday.

"The boys pulled an upset," said Ceres coach Glenn Driskell.

Alex Torres' 10th-place finish gave the Bulldogs a 28-28 tiebreaker win over the Spartans. The sophomore completed the 3.12-mile course in 19 minute, 17 seconds.

"Our sixth man finished ahead of their sixth man so that's the tiebreaker," Driskell said.

Ceres improved to 2-3 in the Modesto Metro Conference.

Davis fell to 2-3 in the league standings.

"That's a pretty good season for us," Driskell said. "We're young."

Junior Benny Perez placed second in a personal-record 17:22.

"He finally broke 18 minutes," Driskell said.

"He's definitely been our hardest worker this year."

Senior Jordan Gonzalez placed fourth in 18:47.

Junior Nick Gardner placed fifth in 18:51.

Sophomore Henry Shamoeil placed eighth in 19:09.

Sophomore Andrew Chipponeri placed ninth in 19:14.

"Almost everybody had their best time of the year," Driskell said.

Varsity girls fall

Nicole Laranjo is one of Ceres High's most consistent runners. The sophomore placed third against Beyer, Downey and Johansen.

On Wednesday, Laranjo struggled to a ninth-place finish during the Bulldogs' 25-31 loss to the Davis Spartans at Legion Park in Modesto.

Slowed by a sideache, she completed the 3.12-mile course in 23 minutes, 26 seconds.

"If she would have been up ahead of (teammate) Nichole Alvarez like she normally is, I think we would have won the meet," said Ceres girls cross country coach Glenn Driskell.

"She was hurting."

Ceres fell to 3-2 in the Modesto Metro Conference.

Davis improved to 4-1 in the league standings.

Junior Karrah Brown placed second in 20:57.

Alvarez, a sophomore, placed fifth in 22:06.

Sophomore Heather Jones placed seventh in 22:34.

Freshman Marisol Tapia placed eighth in 22:42.

"Good times all the way through," Driskell said.

Frosh-soph take first

The frosh-soph girls finished first in a field of 25 at the 19th annual Lincoln-Lodi Cross Country Invitational Meet, held at Lodi Lake on Saturday.

Laranjo, Alvarez, Tapia, Vicki Morales and Victoria Medina placed first, third, 10th, 15th and 45th, respectively.

"That's the first time we've won an invitational at any level since I've been coaching," Driskell said. "That was a fun experience." - By DALE BUTLER / Staff Reporter of The Ceres (Calif.) Courier