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Another fall season, another outstanding finish for both Hartnell Cross Country teams.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished in the top 10 of the state championships this past weekend in Fresno at Woodward Park. The women’s team took fourth place and the men’s team finished seventh in a field of 50 schools, per California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) results, despite being the smallest school (by enrollment) in the top 10 of both races. 

The women’s team started the postseason with a massive win in the NorCal Regionals on home turf in Toro Park Nov. 8 for their second title in as many years. 

The Panthers, filling out four of the top five finishers, took the top spot with 29 points. The distance from the Panthers to Sierra College in second was 80 points — bigger than the points gap from Sierra College in second to San Joaquin Delta in seventh.

Led by a squad full of local prep talent, the Panthers continued on to the state championships to finish fourth. Watsonville High alum Daniela Salazar paced the team with a fifth-place finish, and in doing so, becomes just the third two-time All-American in Hartnell Women’s Cross Country history. 

Freshman Valeria Gomez-Lozano (North Salinas) finished ninth in her first state championship entry and just her third season of cross country running. She joins Salazar in earned All-American honors as well.

Notre Dame alum and sophomore Shantal Martinez, competing in her first season since transferring home from Ohio Valley University, took 20th in 19:25 to round out the Panthers’ top three finishers.

On the men’s side, the Panthers took home fourth at the NorCal Regional Championships Nov. 9, led by sophomore Jesus Avalos (King City) in sixth. The squad maintained a top-10 standing in the state championships as well, finishing seventh out of the 50 teams competing at Woodward Park.

Avalos again led the way in finishing 23rd with freshman Isaac Gensel (Monterey) two tenths of a second behind in 24th. Sophomore Juan Gutierrez III (San Benito) rounded out the top three for the men’s side in taking 53rd overall out of 175 runners.

Ayrton Ostly peruses Twitter, fields, courts and tracks throughout Salinas looking for stories from the community. Have a tip? Drop an email to aostly@thecalifornian.com and subscribe for full access to all of The Californian’s local news coverage.

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