2015 Varsity Girls Recap

This year, more new schools tried out our meet.  Coming over from Hollister, San Benito High seemed to be a "featured" team, as the Lady Haybalers were sitting second in the Central Coast Section Division 1 rankings.  Other big and quality programs toed the line in the form of Turlock (D1), Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove (D1), Seaside D4 (Also a perennial state meet contender from the Central Coast Section), and Hughson who was ranked 2nd in the Sac Joaquin Section D4 standings at the time of the meet.

As the gun sounded, Ariana Lara of Hilmar bolted to the front and established an early lead.  The San Benito ladies also got our strong, establishing their 5 scorers in the top 12 of the race.  As the pack approached the 1 kilometer mark, Lara held a strong lead.  She was followed by Elli Kliewer and Hailey Cross of San Benito as well as Rachel Victor of Pleasant Grove.

That order held up as the ladies passed the one mile mark and entered the Arboretum.  But, by this point, the Hughson ladies, who had held back a little bit at the start, were beginning to move up, with their top group of: Esmeralda Campos, Emiily Fife, Kinsey Langley, and Abby Mitchell all moving into the top 20.  Hughson's 5th, Taylor Gray was also near by.

Lara and Kliewer battle for the lead with less than 1k to go.

The Huskies enjoy a significant home course advantage when the race enters the Sturtevant Arboretum, since they do workouts there at least once a week.  It was at this time, where they really began to move up to challenge San Benito.  As the ladies exited the arboretum, Lara of Hilmar continued to lead, but the two Haybalers were eating into her advantage. A few of the San Benito runners were beginning to fade and the Huskies were moving up strongly in what was quickly becoming a two team battle for the overall title.

Huskies running strong as a pack

On, the final trip through our mud pit, Lara was caught by Kliewer and Cross.  The San Bentio girls continued to lead, but Hughson's pack of 4 continued to move up.

In the end, the Lady Haybalers had too much firepower for the Huskies to overcome and prevailed 26-45.  The Huskies continued to close the gap all the way to the finish line on this shorter than normal course, with Abby Mitchell and Emily Fife closing hard to finish in 5th and 6th place over all in the field of 107 runners.



Final Team Scores (Top 5 Teams), 14 complete teams

Heading for home with heavy shoes!

San Benito - 26
Hughson - 45
Turlock - 100
Pleasant Grove - 135
Seaside - 136

Top 5 Individuals (107 Finishers)
1. Elli Kliewer, San Benito - 16:32
2. Hailey Cross, San Benito - 16:39
3. Rachel Victor, Pleasant Grove - 16:40
4. Ariana Lara, Hilmar - 16:42
5. Abby Mitchell, Hughson - 16:43