SALINAS VALLEY — Individual cross country runners and their teams raced Nov. 2 at the Palo Corona course in Carmel Valley for the right to compete at the Central Coast Section championships this Saturday at the Crystal Springs course in Belmont.
South Monterey County standouts Giovanni Ochoa of Gonzales and Fabian Serrano of Greenfield competed in the Mission boys division of the Pacific Coast Athletic League and finished behind overall winner Mack Aldi of Carmel. Aldi finished in a course record time of 16:21 to place first, with Ochoa second at 16:45 and Serrano third at 16:53.
Aldi, Ochoa and Serrano earned All-League patches for their efforts. As a team, Carmel placed second in the division, Greenfield ranked fifth and Gonzales was eighth.
In the Mission girls division, Izoida Ramirez of Greenfield was an All-League runner by placing fourth in a time of 21:22. Gonzales placed eighth in the division as a team.
King City’s Fernando Merino earned All-League status in the Gabilan boys division in a time of 17:37. The Mustangs placed fourth as a team in the division.
In the Gabilan girls division, the King City Lady Mustangs placed fifth and were led by Yahaira Torres, who finished in a time of 21:25.
Soledad placed third in the Cypress boys division and the Aztec girls placed second. Giovanni Bravo of Soledad finished fourth in a time of 18:55 for the boys, and Evelyn Lopez placed fifth in the girls’ race. Both runners earned All-League honors.
