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Central Valley boys cross country unbeaten in league
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Andres Rojo and Central Valleys unbeaten varsity boys cross country team coasted to a 15-48 win over visiting Los Banos last Wednesday at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park. Rojo placed first with a time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds on the 3-mile course. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Central Valley's varsity boys cross country team accomplished a first by posting a perfect score against Western Athletic Conference-rival Los Banos last week.

The host Hawks improved to 2-0 in the WAC dual-meet standings following Wednesday's 15-48 win over the Tigers at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.

"I wasn't expecting to sweep," third-year standout runner Andres Rojo said. "It was a proud moment."

Central Valley had the top six individual finishers against Los Banos.

Rojo led the way, placing first with a time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds on the 3-mile course.

Christian Balderas (19:05), Isaiah Sanchez (19:18), Sebastian Pena (19:27) Enrique Martinez (20:10) and Chase Bogart (20:17) took second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Andres, Christian, Isaiah, Sebastian and Enrique contributed to the Hawks' point total.

Central Valley's Javier Cuevas Sanchez (ninth, 20:29), Sabino Urrutia (11th, 21:05), Alejandro Orozco (12th, 21:13), Ruben Sanchez (13th, 21:14), Carlos Prado (19th, 22:18), Fidel Castillo (24th, 23:18), Aaron Vander Wal (25th, 24:05), Samson Gonzalez (26th, 25:06), Gerardo Solis (28th, 24:16) and Sergio Garcia (29th, 24:23) also competed against Los Banos.

Austin Aaron (seventh, 20:21) paced the Tigers, followed by Joshua Barron (eighth, 20:26), Michael Chavarria (10th, 20:38), Adrian Marquez (14th, 21:24) and Abel Delgado (15th, 21:39)

"I don't know of any other (Central Valley cross country) team that's had a perfect score before," Rojo said. "It's a pretty good feeling because we haven't really experienced any team success in the past. We've had individual success."

Central Valley has already surpassed last season's dual-meet win total.

The Hawks went 0-5 in the WAC standings a year ago.

"Cross country is pretty underrated," Rojo said. "We're trying to bring more attention to the sport. We're confident in ourselves because we know our potential. We're hungry. We've been working hard since the end of the summer."

Tigers 20, Hawks 37
Central Valley's varsity girls cross country team dropped to 0-2 in the WAC dual standings after losing 20-37 to Los Banos this past week.

Rosa Vazquez led the Hawks with a fourth-place finish.
Vazquez finished the 3-mile race in 24 minutes, 44 seconds.

Central Valley teammates Vanessa Contreras (25:09), Emily Curiel (27:03), Melissa Ceja (28:43), Cynthia Robles (34:51), Brittney Smith (35:42), Johana Valdavinos (40:44) and Alexis Eproson (41:07) placed sixth, seventh, eighth, 20th, 21st, 25th and 26th, respectively.

The Hawks will compete against the Pacheco Panthers today in Ceres.