MONTEREY — Competing in the same field as cross country powerhouses Willow Glen, Riverbank and North Salinas, the Upper Lake High School team made the most of the opportunity Saturday morning at the Monterey Invitational.
Boys” small-school winner Nohe Lema from Willow Glen completed the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 27 seconds, while girls” small-school winner Nalley Lopez of Oak Grove won in 21:04.
“The first 15 boys to place all ran in the 15-minute range,” Upper Lake coach John Woods said of the talent-laden field.
“I wanted them to get the feel for a run when they”re not in front,” Woods said of his runners. “They ran OK, but I think we were just a little tired from the drive down there.”
While the competition was incredible, according to Woods, the Cougars did come home with one medals (medals were awarded to the top 30 runners in each division). Ashley Burns finished 13th in 23:28, shaving more than a minute from her time on the same course a year ago.
Also running for the Cougars were Sydney Drozdowski (32:14), Emily Bushta (35:24), Emma Johnson (41:23) and Megan Morgan (43:14).
Upper Lake”s top runner in the boys” division was James Lolonis, who finished 42nd overall at 18:50, just a second ahead of teammate Mike Dolan (18:51), who was 43rd. Charlie Coburn (19:05) came in 46th and Ben Mullin (19:18) was 49th.
Dakota Fallai (23:44) was Upper Lake”s top finisher in the JV race.
n 23:44. He was followed across the finish line by teammates Daniel Van Meter (23:51), Cameron Beighle (25:16), Brandon Lovrin (25:52), Bruce Tucker (25:53) and Sean Gay (27:52).
