Ceres High’s varsity cross country program enjoyed a productive outing while competing in the new-look Western Athletic Conference last week.

“It was a great way to start the season,” head coach Katie Thiele said. 

Ceres High’s varsity boys team opened the WAC dual campaign with a comfortable 21-38 win over host Lathrop on Wednesday at Eagle Lakes Park.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Bulldogs’ senior runner Aaron Alarcon said. “We haven’t raced against them in the past. They’re one of the new teams in the WAC.”

Alarcon bested all challengers on his way to a first-place finish.

He completed the 3.1-mile course in 20 minutes, 49 seconds.

Daniel Yepez, Bryan Erenas, Fernando Cardoza and Colton Johnson also contributed to Ceres High’s point total.

Yepez (20:51), Erenas (21:17), Cardoza (22:18) and Johnson (23:41) finished second, third, seventh and eighth, respectively.

“I’m extremely proud of our team,” Alarcon said. “The course was very challenging. The sharp turns made it difficult for you to stay in rhythm. There was also a lot of sand. You couldn’t get firm footing on the ground. On top of that, there were multiple hills you had to go over.”

Destiny Suarez, and underclassmen Karina Baez, Gabby Soto, Carmen Ramirez and Andrea Contreras propelled Ceres High’s youth-laden varsity girls team to a hard-fought 26-30 victory against Lathrop.

Suarez led the Bulldogs with a second-place finish.

She completed the course in 26 minutes, 58 seconds.

Baez (27:37), Soto, (28:59), Ramirez (29:12) and Contreras (29:27) took third, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.

Duyst Invitational Results

Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s cross country teams competed at the Kim Duyst Invitational on Saturday at River Oaks Golf Course in Ceres.

Races were staged in the evening.

Central Valley’s boys totaled 325 points en route to a 14th-place finish.

Ceres High’s boys placed 18th (537).

Christian Balderas was the Hawks’ top finisher.

Balderas placed 11th with a time of 13 minutes, 28 seconds on the 2.5-mile course.

The competition featured 191 runners.

Central Valley’s Chase Bogart (14:16), Enrique Martinez (15:02), Favio Gonzalez (15:20), Hector Arvizu (15:33), Javier Cuevas Sanchez (16:04.22), Alejandro Gonzalez (16:04.95), Sabino Urrutia (16:28), Eric Andrade (16:34) and Patric Senesom (16:50.90) placed 35th, 89th, 108th, 119th, 135th, 138th, 144th, 147th and 163rd, respectively.

Aaron Alarcon was the Bulldogs’ top finisher ( 95th, 15:07), followed by Bryan Erenas (111th, 15:26), Daniel Yepez (136th, 16:04), Fernando Cardoza (141st, 16:16), Simranjit Mann (160th, 16:48.30), Colton Johnson (161st, 16:48.89), Brian Estrada (162nd, 16:50.43), Alejandro Carrasco (165th, 16:54), Miguel Prado (179th, 17:30) and Kolton Vaughn (184th, 18:06.84).

Central Valley’s girls (15th, 423 points) finished two spots ahead of Ceres High (17th, 457) in the team standings.

Priscilla Garcia was the Hawks’ top finisher (80th, 18:51), followed by Vanessa Contreras (89th, 19:18), Abigail Garcia (100th, 19:38), Adriana Huaracha (104th, 19:48), Guadalupe Gonzalez (119th, 20:44), Kelsey Naranjo (132nd, 21:14), Carolina Irizarry (137th, 21:29), Claudia Gomez (138th, 21:30) and Aryanna Jimenez (140th, 21:31).

Destiny Suarez was the Bulldogs’ top finisher (73rd, 18:42), followed by Karina Baez (112th, 20:22), Jacqueline Rodriguez (116th, 20:34), Carmen Ramirez (117th, 20:35), Gabby Soto (120th, 20:45) and Noemy Garcia (141st, 21:52).

The race featured 155 competitors.

“This was our first year attending the meet,” Central Valley head coach Veronica Moreno said. “IT was a really good experience for my runners to see what a college race looks like.”