MMC Finals
Saturday, October 27, 2007 @
Legion Park, Modesto
Grace Davis teams snare both titles!
Photo by Joe Hartman
Photos by Joe Hartman
League champions Matt Maldonado (Modesto) and Crystal Esparza (Beyer)
"CATCHING THEIR BREATH" -
with the stars of the Modesto Metro Conference
By Joe Hartman
Victor Vieyra – #3
overall and Varsity Boys Team Winner - Sr. Grace Davis
DyeStatCal: Grace Davis let Modesto have 1-2 and then came in strong.
What does the team win mean to Grace Davis?
Victor: It means everything to us. That’s what we’ve
been wanting since my freshman year. The whole team’s been
wanting this. Today’s just unbelievable. We barely won -
by one I think, or the tiebreaker. A dream come true, pretty much.
DyeStatCal: Tell us about your race. Matt (Maldonado/Modesto) really
started to push it in the second lap and you hung tough. Tell us
how it went. (Note: the Legion Park course is three one-mile loops.)
Victor: Well I was feeling great the first two laps and then it
started getting a little strenuous. I just kept on pushing the
pace as far as I could. They won (Matt and Marty Pyeatt) but I
felt like I did my best.
Mario Toro - Grace Davis Varsity Boys 6th man
DyeStatCal: Mario, when you woke up this morning did you have any
idea that you would be the hero of the day for Grace Davis?
Mario: I had no clue. I had so many mixed feelings. I didn’t
even know what was going to happen. I was so worried. The whole
time it was so unexplainable. I can’t believe… I’m
just so happy right now.
DyeStatCal: On the homestretch the coaching staff was communicating
with you. Did you know exactly what you needed to do at that point?
Mario: The whole time. When I heard him say ‘You gotta get
these two guys. If you don’t get these two guys it’s
over’, it set off a button inside. Everything I had just
exploded. I took off and did what I needed to do.
DyeStatCal: Two weeks from now at sections, if the coach asks you
do the same thing, will you have anything left?
Mario: More than I had today. It’s gonna be excellent. After
today, it let someone new be born inside. It’s like somebody
else came into this race… it wasn’t me alone. Somebody
inside was born in this race and it’s going to let me have
that last stride in every race.
DyeStatCal: Do you believe that cross country is a team sport?
Mario: Cross country is a team sport. Having somebody to look up
to and let others know they can do it too… that makes it
a team sport. One for all and all for one.
(NOTE: It should be noted #7 Kyle Ward of Grace Davis also finished
ahead of Modesto #6.)
Matt Maldonado - Varsity
Boys Individual Champion – Sr.
Modesto
DyeStatCal: You finish your career with an individual championship
in the MMC. How does that feel?
Matt: Not bad. I wish the team would have pulled it out but I’m
still happy.
DyeStatCal: It seemed on the first loop everyone was close together,
but on the second lap you decided to bust out on a pace that no
one else could keep up with. Was that your plan going into it or
did you just feel good at that moment?
Matt: I was planning on negative splits. It ended up that I pretty
much ran it even except the last mile I slowed down a little bit.
I felt pretty good. My hamstring was hurting before the race so
I didn’t want to blow it out on the first mile so I tried
to save it for the second mile, too. I didn’t want to risk
anything.
DyeStatCal: What colleges are you looking at?
Matt: I definitely want to keep running. Maybe Santa Barbara, Arizona
State…Chico State maybe. I’ve talked to all those.
I want to keep running in college. I want to go to a D1 school
but Chico would be cool too.
Crystal Esparza - Varsity
Girls Individual Champion - Sr. Beyer
DyeStatCal: Congratulations on winning today’s race. You
almost made it look too easy. What was your goal and did you hit
your target time?
Crystal: I didn’t hit my time because I didn’t PR so
I was a little disappointed but it was all right. I almost fell
at the tree, I slipped in the dirt, so it was all right.
DyeStatCal: You’ve won this – mission accomplished – and
now onto sections. You were 5th last year and now you’ve
got to deal with all the Davis girls and some fast girls in this
league right here. What do you want to happen at sections?
Crystal: I want to get at least top three at sections. I mean I’ll
still go for the win (laughs).
DyeStatCal: How do you like that course (Willow Hill)?
Crystal: Actually I don’t mind it too much. A lot of people
don’t like it but I like it, it’s all right.
DyeStatCal: As far as colleges, there’s probably people looking
at you, in fact I know there’s people looking at you. Can
you tell us some of the recent letters you’ve got and some
of the places Crystal Esparza is leaning toward?
Crystal: I don’t really know exactly but I really like Berkeley
and Santa Barbara. Those are the two that I really like. And also
USF. And outside of California, Iona. If I could go to Oregon,
that would be really cool.
Amanda Innes – #2 overall and Varsity Girls Team Winner – Jr.
Grace Davis
DyeStatCal: Congratulations on winning the team title with Grace
Davis. Is that the first team title in your history with the school?
Amanda: Yes it is. I think the last time the team won was in 2000
for cross country and Modesto’s been winning it since, so
it was nice.
DyeStatCal: Tell us about some of your teammates who were responsible.
You and Sophia (Villalobos) came in 2-3 and tell us what some of
the other girls have done.
Amanda: First of all, without Sophia I don’t think I would
have finished this race, so I want to thank here A LOT. We push
each other. We also have Brooke Hawkins, she’s a freshman
this year. So she was a big impact on our team. She’s really,
really good. I think she broke 20 (19:58). And we also have Megan
Stevenson, a senior this year so we’re going to miss her
next year. And we also have Jordan Schmidt, Valerie Rose, Monica
Villalobos, and Angel Bobo.
DyeStatCal: What’s the pros and cons of running at Legion
Park where you run the same circuit three times in a row?
Amanda: Well it’s kind of like track. For me I like cross
country because you don’t have to do so many loops but down
here it’s like track, but a bigger loop. So it’s really
mental…another circle, another circle. Usually when you do
cross country it’s ‘OK, I go up this hill and down
and there’s the finish’.
DyeStatCal: OK if I’m sitting at home and making out my list
of who’s going to state out of Division 1, should I put Amanda
Innes on it?
Amanda: You should. I’m hoping. I’m going to try hard
for the next week.
| Varsity Boys |
|
|
|
|
|
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
|
|
| 1 |
Matt Maldonado |
MHS |
15:43 |
|
|
| 2 |
Marty Pyeatt |
MHS |
15:54 |
|
|
| 3 |
Victor Vieyra |
GDHS |
16:05 |
|
|
| 4 |
Roberto Rosas |
GDHS |
16:11 |
|
|
| 5 |
Ronnie Bruce |
GDHS |
16:14 |
|
|
| 6 |
Owen Demming |
MHS |
16:18 |
|
|
| 7 |
Chris Izquierdo |
GDHS |
16:25 |
|
|
| 8 |
Max Wu |
Beyer |
16:41 |
|
|
| 9 |
Nic Heese |
MHS |
16:46 |
|
|
| 10 |
Masis Hagobian |
Beyer |
16:46 |
|
|
| 11 |
Steven Thompson |
GDHS |
16:46 |
|
|
| 12 |
Andrew Serpa |
MHS |
16:46 |
|
|
| 13 |
Mario Toro |
GDHS |
16:56 |
|
|
| 14 |
Jacob Guzman |
Johansen |
16:59 |
|
|
| 15 |
Kyle Ward |
GDHS |
17:01 |
|
|
| 16 |
David Kelly |
MHS |
17:12 |
|
|
| 17 |
Alex Hernandez |
MHS |
17:14 |
|
|
| 18 |
Jesse Lara |
GDHS |
17:17 |
|
|
| 19 |
Navjit Dullet |
MHS |
17:18 |
|
|
| 20 |
Kevin Escobar |
Beyer |
17:23 |
|
|
| 21 |
Andrew Rivera |
MHS |
17:31 |
|
|
| 22 |
Brenal Singh |
MHS |
17:35 |
|
|
| 23 |
Brian Couchman |
MHS |
17:40 |
|
|
| 24 |
Ben Bui |
MHS |
17:45 |
|
|
| 25 |
Javier Baca |
Johansen |
17:46 |
|
|
| 26 |
Shaun Dobbs |
Beyer |
17:50 |
|
|
| 27 |
Josh Heredia |
MHS |
17:52 |
|
|
| 28 |
Zachary Sandoval |
Beyer |
18:06 |
|
|
| 29 |
Caris Keyes |
GDHS |
18:21 |
|
|
| 30 |
Andrew McCormick |
Johansen |
18:21 |
|
|
| 31 |
Ronney Moun |
MHS |
18:45 |
|
|
| 32 |
Jose Ruiz |
MHS |
19:03 |
|
|
| 33 |
Sam Aldach |
GDHS |
19:10 |
|
|
| 34 |
Fabian Recendez |
GDHS |
19:11 |
|
|
| 35 |
Ricardo Hernandez |
MHS |
19:14 |
|
|
| 36 |
Socorro Aguilar |
MHS |
19:18 |
|
|
| 37 |
Hong Yang Gao |
MHS |
19:19 |
|
|
| 38 |
Austin Weltner |
Johansen |
19:30 |
|
|
| 39 |
Joseph Theam |
MHS |
19:37 |
|
|
| 40 |
Matt Silva |
Downey |
19:41 |
|
|
| 41 |
Stephen Torres |
GDHS |
19:42 |
|
|
| 42 |
Nick Otteragen |
GDHS |
19:42 |
|
|
| 43 |
Jade Vigil |
GDHS |
19:55 |
|
|
| 44 |
Jaiawei Liu |
MHS |
19:57 |
|
|
| 45 |
Robert Bassard |
Beyer |
20:12 |
|
|
| 46 |
Cory Kirgbaum |
MHS |
20:26 |
|
|
| 47 |
Tyler Woodward |
MHS |
20:30 |
|
|
| 48 |
Brennan Polley |
MHS |
20:30 |
|
|
| 49 |
Andrew Fromuth |
Beyer |
20:31 |
|
|
| 50 |
Alan Schambers |
Enochs |
20:35 |
|
|
| 51 |
Sam Terpstra |
MHS |
20:40 |
|
|
| 52 |
Brandon Frederick |
GDHS |
20:54 |
|
|
| 53 |
Cameron Polic |
Beyer |
20:56 |
|
|
| 54 |
Enrique Ybarra |
MHS |
21:00 |
|
|
| 55 |
Jovanny Hernandez |
Enochs |
21:05 |
|
|
| 56 |
Derek Parker |
MHS |
21:11 |
|
|
| 57 |
James Escobar |
MHS |
21:20 |
|
|
| 58 |
Allen Duong |
GDHS |
21:28 |
|
|
| 59 |
Kevin Campos |
Enochs |
21:51 |
|
|
| 60 |
Ben Hill |
Beyer |
22:20 |
|
|
| 61 |
Conner Bryant |
GDHS |
22:32 |
|
|
| 62 |
Adrian Go |
Enochs |
22:43 |
|
|
| 63 |
Chris Silva |
GDHS |
22:50 |
|
|
| 64 |
Andrew Kirk |
GDHS |
22:51 |
|
|
| 65 |
Jeff Chiu |
Beyer |
22:54 |
|
|
| 66 |
David Hernandez |
MHS |
23:14 |
|
|
| 67 |
Kaushik Bangalore |
MHS |
23:21 |
|
|
| 68 |
William Su |
MHS |
23:26 |
|
|
| 69 |
Jorge Navarro |
MHS |
23:28 |
|
|
| 70 |
Jaime Felix |
MHS |
23:29 |
|
|
| 71 |
Eric Calvert |
Beyer |
23:38 |
|
|
| 72 |
Andrew Rhoades |
Beyer |
23:52 |
|
|
| 73 |
Ali Castaneoa |
Enochs |
24:05:00 |
|
|
| 74 |
Raphael Ramos |
MHS |
24:10:00 |
|
|
| 75 |
Jesse Gomes |
MHS |
24:13:00 |
|
|
| 76 |
Kevin Cheang |
MHS |
24:32:00 |
|
|
| 77 |
Peter Corr-Barberis |
MHS |
24:44:00 |
|
|
| 78 |
Patrick Ip |
MHS |
24:51:00 |
|
|
| 79 |
Chad Boyarsky |
Enochs |
25:56:00 |
|
|
| 80 |
Michael Mahaffey |
GDHS |
26:12:00 |
|
|
| 81 |
Mark Santos |
MHS |
26:22:00 |
|
|
| 82 |
Jon Ringer |
MHS |
26:44:00 |
|
|
| 83 |
Kym Dinh |
Enochs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Team Standings |
Conference Score |
Dual |
Conference |
Total |
Final |
| 1 |
Grace Davis 30 |
5 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
| 2 |
Modesto 30 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
| 3 |
Beyer 77 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
| 4 |
Johansen 104 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
|
Enochs |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Downey |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Varsity Girls |
|
|
|
|
|
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
|
|
| 1 |
Crystal Esparza |
Beyer |
18:33 |
|
|
| 2 |
A. Innes |
GDHS |
19:24 |
|
|
| 3 |
S. Villabos |
GDHS |
19:25 |
|
|
| 4 |
Katie Drueen |
MHS |
19:35 |
|
|
| 5 |
Sam Reardon |
Beyer |
19:38 |
|
|
| 6 |
Rachel Van Nes |
MHS |
19:49 |
|
|
| 7 |
B. Hawkins |
GDHS |
19:58 |
|
|
| 8 |
A. Fillpot |
Beyer |
20:01 |
|
|
| 9 |
Stephanie Stavrianoudakis |
MHS |
20:23 |
|
|
| 10 |
Fiona Nuestro |
MHS |
20:23 |
|
|
| 11 |
A. Bobo |
GDHS |
20:42 |
|
|
| 12 |
Sacha Guider |
Beyer |
21:10 |
|
|
| 13 |
M. Villalobos |
GDHS |
21:15 |
|
|
| 14 |
Maira Cortez |
MHS |
21:28 |
|
|
| 15 |
Oksana Petrechko |
MHS |
21:29 |
|
|
| 16 |
Kelly Lewis |
MHS |
21:37 |
|
|
| 17 |
M. Stevenson |
GDHS |
21:44 |
|
|
| 18 |
Mackenzie Lewis |
MHS |
21:57 |
|
|
| 19 |
J. Schmidt |
GDHS |
22:03 |
|
|
| 20 |
Monique Hamlet |
Beyer |
22:06 |
|
|
| 21 |
Sara Neff |
MHS |
22:16 |
|
|
| 22 |
Paige Arias |
TDHS |
22:18 |
|
|
| 23 |
V. Rose |
GDHS |
22:45 |
|
|
| 24 |
Jennifer Moncrief |
Johansen |
22:53 |
|
|
| 25 |
Audrey Gnesa |
MHS |
22:56 |
|
|
| 26 |
Bessi Alexander |
MHS |
23:10 |
|
|
| 27 |
Ariel Patton |
MHS |
23:28 |
|
|
| 28 |
Brianda Vazquez |
MHS |
23:42 |
|
|
| 29 |
Haley Gordon |
Johansen |
23:54 |
|
|
| 30 |
Alexa Milner |
Beyer |
23:58 |
|
|
| 31 |
Erica Mann |
Johansen |
24:11:00 |
|
|
| 32 |
Erica Trisler |
Johansen |
24:21:00 |
|
|
| 33 |
Gurinder Kaur |
Beyer |
24:26:00 |
|
|
| 34 |
Breanna Jones |
Beyer |
24:29:00 |
|
|
| 35 |
Kelly Musca |
MHS |
24:31:00 |
|
|
| 36 |
Yadhira Guitierrez |
MHS |
24:43:00 |
|
|
| 37 |
Lauren Wolff |
MHS |
24:46:00 |
|
|
| 38 |
Alyssa Hua |
MHS |
24:55:00 |
|
|
| 39 |
Taylor Carson |
Johansen |
24:58:00 |
|
|
| 40 |
Learkana Chong |
MHS |
25:02:00 |
|
|
| 41 |
Lauren Nitta |
MHS |
25:21:00 |
|
|
| 42 |
Maribel Andrade |
Johansen |
25:54:00 |
|
|
| 43 |
Rita Giles |
Beyer |
25:59:00 |
|
|
| 44 |
Olivia Hua |
MHS |
26:00:00 |
|
|
| 45 |
J. Alvarez |
GDHS |
26:16:00 |
|
|
| 46 |
Nabjot Sandhu |
MHS |
26:21:00 |
|
|
| 47 |
Camille Hackett |
Johansen |
27:39:00 |
|
|
| 48 |
M. Rodriguez |
GDHS |
27:56:00 |
|
|
| 49 |
Keisha Libbrecht |
MHS |
28:58:00 |
|
|
| 50 |
Megan Serpa |
TDHS |
29:16:00 |
|
|
| 51 |
Areli Garcia |
MHS |
29:30:00 |
|
|
| 52 |
Amber Garcia |
TDHS |
29:54:00 |
|
|
| 53 |
M. Soto |
GDHS |
30:09:00 |
|
|
| 54 |
Sennica Koung |
MHS |
30:22:00 |
|
|
| 55 |
Elizabeth Tejeda |
MHS |
|
|
|
| 56 |
Elizabeth Farias |
MHS |
|
|
|
| 57 |
Molika Ponn |
MHS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Team Standings |
Conference Score |
Dual |
Conference |
Total |
Standing |
| 1 |
Grace Davis 36 |
5 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
| 2 |
Modesto 43 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
| 3 |
Beyer 45 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
| 4 |
Johansen 114 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
|
Enochs |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
|
Downey |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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