Striving to Get Ahead : Salesian High’s Cross-Country Team Has a Little Room for Improvement: 1st or 2nd Place

The way the Salesian High cross-country team sees it, there are only two ways to improve on its performance over last year in the Division IV State meet in Fresno: Second place or first place.

“We know our team can improve,” junior David Moreno said. “When we go to races, everybody is looking out for you and there are a lot of expectations.”

It won’t be any different for the six-time defending Santa Fe League champion Mustangs, who took third in last year’s State meet.

Started in the 1960s by Brother Tom Keegan, Salesian’s cross-country program has won three Southern Section titles and finished second four times over the last 20 years.

Making it to the State meet, though, had been an elusive endeavor until last season, when the Mustangs qualified as the fourth and final team in the Southern Section finals.

Salesian, however, which had placed fourth in its only other appearance in the State meet in 1987, exceeded all expectations by finishing third. The Mustangs entered the meet as the No. 10 team in the State Division IV rankings.

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Senior Eduardo Santillan, Salesian’s top runner at the State meet in 24th place, returns this season. Santillan finished ninth in the Southern Section championships, running 16 minutes, 41 seconds on the three-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College. However, the Mustangs lost their second-, third- and fourth-best runners to graduation.

This season, the coaching staff is pinning its hopes on freshmen Marcos Aguirre and Andy Cortez. The duo will be complemented by senior Moises Flores, and sophomores Marco Ochoa and Javier Garcia.

“We had a strong team and I believed we were going to the State meet last year,” Flores said. “This year, we’re also capable of going up north again if we take care of things. We will have more motivation to uphold our tradition and it will be a big challenge.”

Salesian, which recently returned from a summer running camp in Mammoth Lakes, won’t have to wait until November to test its strength among the state’s best.

In October, the Mustangs will compete in the Stanford, San Luis Obispo and Mt. San Antonio College invitationals. The Mustangs also will be competing in a revamped Santa Fe League that includes traditional small-school powers Bell-Jeff of Burbank and La Salle of Pasadena.

“We thought it would be a rebuilding year from the people we actually lost,” said Salesian co-Coach Mark Johnson, who coaches the team along with Frank Garcia. “It won’t be as easy as last year. But with two freshmen coming in, we can equal last year’s effort.”

Other teams to watch:

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* Bell--The Eagles were fifth in last year’s City meet, but could be a team of the future. Junior Eduardo Trujillo, who ran 4:43.49 for 1,600 meters, and sophomores Rodolfo Toro and Sergio Cruz lead the team.

* Bell Gardens--The Lancers, who placed seventh in the Southern Section Division I finals, are seeking their sixth consecutive league title. Senior Carlos Diaz, who was second in the Almont League finals last fall, and junior Jose Lopez also return.

* Belmont--The Sentinels won their 10th City title in 14 years last season. Juan Olivas, a returning senior, ran 16:11 on the three-mile course at Pierce College, good enough for 11th place in the City final. Senior Marco Vidrio and sophomore Manuel Lopez were also members of the City champion team. Sophomores Eduardo Derbyshire and Rene Garcia are first-year runners but are expected to be among Belmont’s top seven.

* Garfield--The Bulldogs have one of the deepest teams in the Southeastern Conference. Richard Martinez was sixth in the City championship meet at Pierce College in 15:45 for the fourth-place Bulldogs. During track, the senior placed fourth in the 3,200 meters and missed qualifying for the state meet by less than a second, running 9:42.92. Seniors Junior Camacho, Jesus Mata and Armando Morales could finish among the top 15 runners at the conference meet.

Girls

* Bell Gardens--Junior Elsa Arrellano and sophomore Cindy Lopez helped Bell Gardens to a share of its fifth consecutive league title. They could be a team of the future with sophomore Elena Toscano and freshmen Jackie Medrano and Erica Ferrer expected to be among the Lancers’ top five.

* Belmont--Won an unprecedented fifth consecutive City title last season and were ninth in the State Division I final. Leydi Gutierrez was the section’s top 10th-grader in last year’s City final, placing ninth in 20:11. Seniors Delfina Martinez and Patty Chavez also return. Seniors Irma Parada and Sandra Castellanos and sophomore Maritza Hernandez are the top newcomers.

* Garfield--The Bulldogs missed qualifying for the State meet by six points, placing third in the 1993 City championships, but could surprise Belmont and Huntington Park for the City title this fall. Aida Rochin was a state meet qualifier in the 1,600, running 5:22.7, in her first year of track as a junior. Senior Elvira Perez is also back.

* Huntington Park--The Spartans placed second at last year’s City meet and could challenge Belmont this season. Senior Lourdes Menchaca was a City finalist at 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters in track. Juniors Gaby Gonzalez and Estrella Ojeda and sophomore Maggie Gonzalez also return. Senior Maricela Falcon and freshman Angie Ramirez are first-year runners.