Christian Linarez, Haaydn Martinez, Noah Holloway, Aaron Alarcon and Roman Acosta helped lead Ceres High's varsity boys cross program to a third-place finish at Western Athletic Conference Championships on Wednesday at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park.
The Bulldogs took fourth during the WAC dual-meet season.
"I'm really excited for them," Ceres High head coach Katie Timmermans said. "We moved up a spot. I still think we could have placed a little higher."
The Bulldogs posted a team score of 73 during the WAC finals.
Linarez (18:41), Martinez (18:48), Holloway (19:16), Alarcon (19:56) and Acosta (20:22) took sixth, seventh, 12th, 22nd and 26th, respectively.
"They all worked very hard," Timmermans said. "They want to run well for themselves. But they're also out there for each other. They have a good bond."
Christian and Haaydn were both awarded all-WAC patches.
Linarez set a personal record on the 3.1-mile course.
"I expected Christian to do well," Timmermans said. "He's tougher mentally this year. Haaydn never disappointed me in a race. He likes to compete."
Ceres High's Josh Madariaga (20:22), Dominick Nicastro (20:28), Gurpreet Dhami (20:28), Jaime Mejia (21:06), Ismael Ontiveros (22:12), Julian Virgen (23:14), Brandon Rodriguez (26:51), Isai Anguiano (27:27) and Jose Arroyo (29:28) placed 27th, 28th, 29th, 38th, 49th, 57th, 67th, 69th and 72nd, respectively.
Ceres High's girls cross country team totaled 92 points en route to a fourth-place finish at the WAC Championships last week.
The Bulldogs placed third during the conference dual-meet season.
"We didn't have a good day," Timmermans said. "We could have run a lot better as a team."
First-year runner Destiny Suarez placed fifth on her way to earning an all-league patch.
She completed the 3.1-mile course in 22:47.
"I'm very excited for her," Timmermans said. "This is her first year doing cross country. She's only a sophomore. She has a bright future."
Cristina Arreola (25:40), Peyton Jones (26:05), Joanna Torrez (27:22) and Airy Matus (27:24) finished 18th, 22nd, 28th and 29th, respectively.
Suarez eclipsed her personal-best time.
"She knew what she needed to do and set her mind to it," Timmermans said. "She worked hard this year. She was very consistent with attending practice."
Jacqueline Rodriguez (27:27), Kiana Garcia (27:31), Nadia Suarez (27:53), Maria Diaz (28:44), Marissa Prestia (30:59), Julia Robles (31:28), Deborah Vasquez (32:06), Noemi Garcia (32:13), Laura Gutierrez (32:38), Kendall Neilson (34:36), Alicia Cortez (34:42) and Gricelda Ramirez (34:47) took 32nd, 34th, 39th, 43rd, 55th, 57th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 65th, 66th and 67th, respectively.
Ceres High will compete at Divisionals this Saturday in Angels Camp.
