2nd Annual Merced County Cross Country Championship
October 15, 2005 @ Atwater HS

Sponsored by AHS Alumni Dr. Robert Webb and Dr. Brett Reed
Link to Photo Album - S. Rhoades

Conditions: breezy, high 60’s (rained 90 minutes before races)

Course: 3 miles, approximately ¾ packed dirt, ¼ grass, 3 quick ascents up to canal bank; a triple loop course around the AHS “Happy Trail” concluding on track at Falcon Field

Dave Donaldson Memorial Varsity Girls Championship:

Sable Browning of Merced High School, a Sac-Joaquin Masters Meet 800 meter qualifier last year as a freshman, dominated the race. She ran even splits (6:15, 6:17, 6:10) to better the old course record by 4 seconds, easily besting the rest of the field with a time of 18:42. Browning, a sophomore, looks to figure prominently in the SJS Division 1 individual state meet qualifying.

On the team side, Buhach Colony High School (Atwater) was clearly the class of the field. With 6 girls finishing in the top 10 overall, the Thunder scored a county record 22 points, led by individual runner-up Natalie Benoy.

1. Sable Browning Merced 18:42 (course record)
2. Natalie Benoy Buhach Colony 20:51
3. Sarah Sandhaus Buhach Colony 21:14
4. Carly Beard Atwater 21:22
5. Mariana Mancebo Buhach Colony 21:29
6. Anna Mendez Livingston 22:04
7. Breana Brewer Livingston 22:42
8. Christina Esquivel Buhach Colony 22:51
9. Vickie Esquivel Buhach Colony 23:05
10. Maria Ibarra Buhach Colony 23:06
11. Karina Casarez Livingston 24:01
12. Lacey Wilcox Atwater 24:24
13. Susie Mejia Atwater 24:33
14. Christina Carrillo Buhach Colony 25:09
15. Jennifer Guerrero Livingston 26:08
16. Ariel Sutton Buhach Colony 26:19
17. Farm Saechao Merced 26:23
18. Jennifer Wood Buhach Colony 26:27
19. Jennifer Fierro Atwater 26:29
20. Melissa Valdez Livingston 26:32
21. Sally Winter Atwater 28:10
22. Crystal Garcia Buhach Colony 29:26
23. Leslie Monarres Buhach Colony 32:13
24. Rayvonne Dobbins Buhach Colony 35:25

TEAM SCORING:

1. Buhach Colony 22 (109:30)
2. Livingston 51
3. Atwater 58

Greg McKinstry Varsity Boys Championship:

Sophomores made up 5 of the 7 top runners in the boys race, suggesting that Merced County has a bright future in distance running.
Livingston’s Nuno Espadinhe and Buhach Colony’s Andrew Ray ran virtually side-by-side through splits of 5:23 and 10:55. Eventually, Espadinhe created a 20 meter gap that Ray could not cover. Both runners finished under the old course record of 16:33, with Espadinhe prevailing in 16:20. He looks to be a contender for a state meet berth in SJS Division 4.

On the team side, defending champions Atwater returned only one of last year’s top 7 (5 of the 6 non-returnees left the sport, only one was a senior), but the Falcons reloaded well enough to hold off Buhach Colony 31-35. The Falcons also placed 4 runners on the all-county team.

1. Nuno Espadinhe Livingston 16:20 (course record)
2. Andrew Ray Buhach Colony 16:24
3. Brandon Grissom Atwater 16:46
4. Coleman Elliot Buhach Colony 16:51
5. Lorenzo Robles Atwater 17:04
6. Shawn Conour Atwater 17:30
7. Michael Ramirez Atwater 17:45
8. Robert Ayala Buhach Colony 17:58
9. Evan Bohan Buhach Colony 18:00
10. Jason Frank Atwater 18:10
11. Martin Quezada Livingston 18:12
12. Joshua Sandhaus Buhach Colony 18:12
13. Anthony Demma Atwater 18:19
14. Joseph Villanueva Merced 18:21
15. Curtis Brown Buhach Colony 18:28
16. Jose Avevalo Livingston 18:35
17. Steven Mendez Buhach Colony 18:37
18. Francisco Mendez Livingston 19:03
19. Loren Scoto Buhach Colony 19:06
20. Alex Maggoria Livingston 19:16
21. Jarred Lawr Merced 19:32
22. Joaquin Mancebo Buhach Colony 19:37
23. James Banuelos Atwater 19:49
24. Reynaldo Lopez Livingston 19:57
25. Brandon Small Buhach Colony 19:59
26. Adam Obad Buhach Colony 20:13
27. Nick Tatum Merced 20:44
28. Shig Kubo Livingston 21:05
29. Timothy Ortiz Merced 21:21
30. Jesse Torres Merced 21:21
31. Francisco Miranda Merced 23:24

TEAM SCORING:

1. Atwater 31 (87:15)
2. Buhach Colony 35
3. Livingston 65
4. Merced 108