Burroughs cross-country’s Virtue shines in state debut
FRESNO — Emily Virtue completed the most impressive postseason run by any Burroughs High female cross-country athlete at the CIF State Championships.
Judging by her remarkable performance Saturday, the sophomore has plenty left to showcase in the second half of her career at Woodward Park.
Virtue set program records with her time and finish in the Division I state final, covering the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 39 seconds to place sixth and earn all-state honors.
“It felt awesome,” Virtue said. “It’s good to have that experience so that I can come back in the next years and maybe take a different strategy or try to do something again that worked this time.”
Virtue was the fastest sophomore overall and finished 13th in all five divisions combined. She broke the program record at the state final set by Sadee Martinez, when she clocked 18:00 to place 10th in Division I in 2007.
Following a runner-up finish to Walnut’s Chloe Arriaga by a 17:40.7 to 17:45 margin at the Southern Section final Nov. 21, Virtue edged the talented freshman in their rematch. Arriaga placed seventh in 17:41.4.
“Usually, I’m used to being in the top three. But today, there must have been about 15 people up front at the beginning that were running faster than our usual pace and it was crazy,” Virtue said. “I knew I needed to move up, but it was so hard.”
Virtue didn’t advance past the Southern Section prelims last year, but enjoyed a breakthrough season that included a Pacific League title, elevating her profile to one of the elite sophomores in the country.
“I’m glad I could make it to state this year. That was kind of my goal,” Virtue said. “Compared to last year when I made it to CIF prelims and I didn’t do too well there, I’m happy with how far I’ve come.”
After winning a Southern Section Division I team title and placing fourth at last year’s state championship, Burroughs’ boys team couldn’t duplicate the same magic this season.
Following a sixth-place effort at the section final, Burroughs struggled to keep pace in the final two miles of the state championship and finished 12th with 291 points, one shy of 11th-place Rancho Cucamonga.
Jagdeep Chahal led the Indians with a 31st-place finish in 15:44. Justin Villagran was 41st in 15:51.1, Timothy Wells finished 66th in 16:12.1, Jacob Calderan took 118th in 16:35.5 and Andrew Barrondo placed 120th in 16:35.8 for Burroughs, which had Chris Hoxsie finish 122nd in 16:36.7 and Andrew Hoxsie (17:22) place 164th.
Bell-Jeff sophomore Valerie Zavala was 19th in the Division V girls final in 19:30.8.
After placing 14th at the Southern Section final, Zavala finished seventh among section runners in her state debut.