Jags Take First, Post Solid Times In South Bay Invite

Valley Center’s cross-country teams enjoyed a successful week at the South Bay Invite on the 3.1-mile course at Rohr Park in Chula Vista on Saturday, an event consisting of 24 teams from San Diego County.
The varsity boys team had its best race so far as a team and captured the first place trophy with a total of 54, followed by Bonita Vista with 60 and Otay Ranch with 66.
Nicasio Westlund (16:17) continued his strong season placing third, while Daniel Henderson (16:33) was not far behind in sixth. Nick Vanderpoel (16:56) and Stephen Lopez (17:07) were 12th and 13th, respectively, while Travis Robey (17:16) finished out the Valley Center team scores in 20th place. Alex Sanchez and Genaro Rodriguez both set personal record times for 3.1 miles in finishing 41st and 43rd.
The boys JV team also raced well, finishing fifth as a team. Daniel Caballero was the top finisher in 19th place, with Juan Cisneros taking 21st. Sam McCuskey, Nick Mendoza, and Trevor Ryback placed 48th, 49th, and 52nd, respectively, out of 218 runners.
The girls varsity team finished tenth on the 2.5-mile course, behind a second-place effort from Kaylee Hudson (16:09). Meanwhile, Dani Lettice (16:50) stepped it up for the second week in a row to take tenth place.
Caty Alvarez and Daniela Troncoso place 97th and 99th, respectively, in the race of 144 participants.
The Jaguars open their league season Friday at Del Norte at 3:15 p.m.