Ceres High's and Central Valley's cross country programs co-hosted the Ceres Invitational last Friday at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.

The Bulldogs and Hawks competed against runners from Livingston, Oakdale, Manteca, Valley Charter and Tioga.

"It was a fundraiser for both of our schools," Central Valley head coach Veronica Moreno said. "Each team had to pay a fee."

The girls' race featured just 16 competitors.

Ceres High's Haleigh Leazer placed sixth with a time of 25 minutes, 21 seconds on the 3-mile course.

Bulldog teammates Mariana Piceno and Danna Vargas finished 12th (27:08) and 14th (29:24), respectively.

Marissa Martinez was Central Valley's top finisher. She took 11th (27:06).

Hawk teammate Jasmine Diaz was 16th (31:49).

"We're working on cutting our times down," Moreno said. "We're making progress."

The boys' field featured 33 runners.

Jose Bastidas (seventh place, 19:47) led Central Valley.

Eduardo Baca (22nd, 22:46), Gilberto Alvarez (25th, 23:49), Anthony Carrillo (28th, 29:00), Alejandro Espinoza (28th, 29:00), Marcos Aguilar (29th, 30:51), David Fajardo (30th, 31:56) and Arnuldo Serrano (30th, 31:56) also represented the Hawks.

Ceres High's lineup featured Efren Ramirez (15th, 21:16), Nick Burt (18th, 21:39), Manuel Baez (19th, 21:56), Beto Rodriguez (21st, 22:38), Merrik Price (23rd, 22:48), Joshneil Sandhu (24th, 22:56) and Primitivo Nuno (27th, 25:39).

"I don't know if the heat got to the kids," Moreno said. "But it was warm. It felt like the desert."