Paced by second-place finisher Andreas Dybdahl, Santa Barbara won the large-school race at the Clovis Invitational in Fresno on Saturday.
The Dos Pueblos boys finished ninth in that race, paced by sophomore Eamon Gordon in fourth place.
The Charger girls finished 10th as a team, and the Dons 30th.
There were 37 schools competing in the boys’ Large Schools race, and 33 in the girls race. The 5,000 meter course is the same used in the state high school meet.
Santa Barbara
Boys
The five Dons boys scorers in the race were separated by under a minute. Dybahl ran the course in 16:08, followed by teammates Cainan Birchim (16:35, 14th place), Oliver Levine (16:50, 28th place), Blaise Snow (16:55, 32nd place) and Bode Andrulaitis (17:07, 45th place).
They gave Santa Barbara 118 points for the big-school win. El Toro was second at 138 points and Agoura third with 183.
Donovan Cheruiyot of Vacaville was the individual winner, in 15:49.
“That was a big race on a big stage for Andreas,” Santa Barbara coach Olivia Perdices said.
“He told the team yesterday he wanted to get out with the front group and give himself a chance. He was at the back of a chase pack of four with 200 meters to go and got to the front of it. Cheruiyot was at the front of the race from the gun and ran strong wire to wire.
“The boys as a whole said they wanted the team win over anything else today. To a man they talked about it not really mattering what the time or order was, they just wanted to race well and put up less points than anyone else. It makes it really gratifying when they bring that attitude to the line and deliver on it.”
Girls
The Santa Barbara girls were 30th in the large schools race, led by Mackenna Show (22:22, 132nd place) and Ridley DeSoto (22:24, 135th place).
“The girls picked up some big race experience today, that should help us later in the season,” Perdices said.
Dos Pueblos
Boys
Eamon Gordon ran a 16:11.0 for his fourth place finish, followed by senior Tyler Jamieson (17:05.9), senior Luciani Koroshec (17:17.1), senior Orlando Ye (17:37.8) and Junior Dominic Corral (17:44.4).
“Eamon Gordon ran another aggressive race up front for the whole race,” Charger coach David Jackson said.
“Tyler Jamieson demonstrated incredible drive through the 2nd mile as he picked off over 50 runners, putting himself in a final-mile dogfight; surging and moving through the course. Luciani Koroshek ran in just his third race of the season, and is sharpening his skills. He moved from 103rd at the mile to 56th at the end. He keeps moving up our pack, and he may do that next time.
“Dominic Corral continued to show terrific focus by staying close to our fourth runner, and refusing to let go. Because of his determination, our pack time was an improvement on our last race.”
Girls
Senior Phoebe Wolfe Lyons led the Dos Pueblos girls charge, running a 20:01.4). She was followed by senior Ellie Gleason (20:43.3), junior Sophie Saleh (21:19.1), sophomore Quinn Gleason (21;22.1), and freshman Cate Bishop (21:38.5).
“It was the big meet experience we were hoping to get,” Dos Pueblos girls coach Micks Purnell said. “Overnight trip. Big fields. Lots of excitement. Our runners have to learn to execute in this environment to do well in CIF championship rounds later in the season.
“Phoebe Wolfe Lyons executed a really good race as she has become so good at doing. There were 227 runners, so the started was crowded. She managed it well and passed 30 runners mid-race and was still able to get 5 more in the last mile. Quinn Gleason came back from a tough experience last week at the league meet to be our 4th scoring runner. Cate Bishop, who was planned to run in the Frosh-Soph race, took the place of a varsity runner who was sick. She went out a little fast but held together well to get a great time and be our 5th scorer.”
The Chargers will host the Dos Pueblos Invitational on Saturday, October 15, on its own course. First race is at 10 a.m. Start and finish is on the grass field behind the stadium.