The members of Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s cross country programs competed at the Hughson SuperCross Invitational on Saturday.

The 2.5 mile course featured obstacles, including a mud pit and sections of hay bales.

“That’s one of the most enjoyable meets we’ll run,” Hawks’ head coach Michael Mrgudic said. “You hurdle a hay bale to get into and out of the mud pit. Some kids fall and get soaked.”

The top 10 individuals in each division were awarded medals.

“I just wanted the kids to have fun and enjoy the race setting,” Mrgudic said. “No stress.”

Central Valley and Ceres High finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the varsity boys black division.

The Hawks and Bulldogs posted team scores of 241 and 309.

Hilmar (78), Elk Grove (84) and Merced (89) took first, second and third, respectively.

Alexis Landa was Central Valley’s top finisher.

He placed 35th with a time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds.

Hawk teammates Cesar Hernandez (16:33), LaDre Sengsoury (16:54), Joshua Michelena (17:51), Jackson Stokes (18:05) and Jadin Navarro (18:07) took 52nd, 64th, 75th, 80th and 81st, respectively.

Aaron Lopez was Ceres High’s top finisher.

He placed 46th with a time of 16:08.

Bulldog teammates Abraham Rodriguez (18:03), Kevin Pena (18:19), Isac Cazarez (18:32) and Zachary Chastain (21:20) took 79th, 85th, 88th and 104th, respectively.

Ceres High didn’t post a team score in the varsity girls black division due to a lack of numbers.

Pleasant Grove (962), North Monterey County (86) and Woodcreek (127) finished first, second and third, respectively.

The Bulldogs had just two runners compete at the meet.

Jaden Stahl was Ceres High’s top placer.

She took 54th with a time of 19 minutes, 26 seconds on the 2.5-mile course.

Bulldog teammate Samira Mendoza (26:11) placed 112th.

Central Valley didn’t field a team at the varsity level.

WAC cluster results

Jaden Stahl and Brianna Luna turned in standout individual performances while representing Ceres High’s girls cross country team at the Western Athletic Conference’s third cluster meet.

“I feel fortunate to have them on the team,” head coach Owen Brown said. “It’s wonderful to see them grow and improve. They’ve been training together.”

Stahl led the Bulldogs with a fifth-place finish on the 3.1-mile course at Ceres River Bluff Regional Park. The junior posted a time of 23 minutes, 56 seconds.

“I saw she had a lot of potential,” Brown said. “I knew with dedication, she’d be very competitive. She can run longer and faster because she’s more consistent with her training.”

“She’s a motivator,” he added. “She’s a sister to a lot of the kids on the team.”

Luna, a sophomore, took 13th with a time of 24:49.

Bulldog teammates Stephanie Espinoza (27:19), Carmen Arce-Hayes (30:40) and Addison Chastain (33:31) placed 26th, 42nd and 47th, respectively.

Ceres High finished fourth overall in the team standings with a score of 98.

Ceres High’s boys team posted a score of 183 on its way to a seventh-place finish during the WAC’s third cluster meet last week.

“They did well considering how many seniors we lost,” Brown said. “We have a bunch of runners new to the sport.”

Aaron Lopez was the Bulldogs’ top placer. He took 23rd with a time of 19 minutes, 45 seconds on the 3.1-mile course.

Sergio Torres (19:59), Martin Bolanos Aleman (21:25), Daniel Plantillas (22:05), Abraham Rodriguez (22:08), Emanuel Barajas (22:55), Christian Valdez (23:00), Kevin Pena (23:18), Isac Cazarez (24:25), Ivan Rodriguez (25:02), Zachary Chastain (26:51) and Aiden Rodriguez (33:24) finished 30th, 43rd, 57th, 58th, 66th, 69th, 73rd, 80th, 83rd, 86th and 87th, respectively.

“We were as competitive as we could be,” Brown said.

The Bulldogs will compete at the WAC Championships on Oct. 25 O’Neill Forebay.