Del Oro boys cross country runners Noel Huato and Edgar Gil want all the attention on them this year – and so far, it’s been hard not to ignore them.
On Saturday, Huato and Gil placed in the top eight at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine. Huato, a junior, finished third overall in the varsity boys’ 3-mile race with a school record of 14 minutes, 38.7 seconds. Gil, a senior, finished in eighth with a time of 14:51.5.
“I had a great time going there with my team and coming into the race,” Huato said. “I felt nervous because it was my debut, but we knew that we were the best and we were going to show it.”
At last week’s meet at Morro Bay, the varsity team captured first place in the Large School Varsity category with Huato and Gil placing in the top four. Huato finished second at 14:50.3 while Gil placed fourth with a mark of 15:05.2. The Suns JV team finished third, with Rodrigo Guerra and Alex Cruz finishing in the top 10.
“I had a great time at the Morro Bay invite,” Gil said. “My teammates and I had a great race, since we ended up winning the large school race.
Said Gil of the Morro Bay course: “I and the boys warmed up with two miles on the course and discovered that the sand would be a challenge throughout the race.”
Gil added that the team planned to start the race fast and hold their positions early.
“Before the race to the starting line, we prayed and motivated ourselves,” he said. “We were not nervous and put ourselves in the front from the start. We knew we were the best.”
So far, it’s been hard to deny Gil’s claim of being the best.
The Sun’s boys cross country team was already full of talent going into this season, with returning runners Gil, Alex Garcia, Antonio Torres, Israel Gutierrez, and Alex Cruz. But when the team opened its season to defend its SYHL and Valley titles, it added Huato, a transfer student from Arvin High who was also the Bears’ top runner.
“Noel is an important aspect of the team,” Suns head coach Hulises Gonzalez said. “Noel and Edgar are never afraid to show how they dominate these invitationals. They are on another level as runners and as teammates. They are passionate about getting everyone’s mindset cleared and locked in.
The boys’ varsity team is adapting to college racing styles this season, which means they’re racing much less than the JV and frosh-soph teams. After winning the Valley championship last season, several Suns runners said they were hungry for more and were focused on performing well at the state level.
At the JV level, Guerra finished the Woodbridge Classic at 15:51. Gonzales said Guerra was the first freshman in Del Oro history to break 16:00 min for a 3-mile race.
Although the boys have grabbed most of the attention, the girls team has quietly shown improvement and determination this season.
Sonia Alba, Miley Hernandez Moreno, Susana Jacome, and Alexandra Cruz Rivera have led the girls cross country team this season. At the Woodbridge Classic, Alba crossed the finish line with 23:05.2 and Hernandez Moreno ended at 23:50.4 – both personal records for the runners, who were the only two girls to run for Del Oro.
“The race was amazing overall,” Hernandez Moreno said. “We were focused and we didn’t feel nervous. Seeing our work turning into a reality.”
Alba agreed with her teammate.
“I did a pretty good job at Woodbridge,” she said. “I was able to PR and earn a good time. I’ve been slowly improving this season and it’s been a really good experience.”
At the Morro Bay Invitational, Hernandez Moreno finished in the top 100 with a time of 25:22.8 while Alba followed with a mark of 26:42.9.
Miley • Sep 25, 2024 at 5:43 pm
Yessss, amazing report!