2023 All StanCo Team

My mission has always been to promote HS distance running through Stanislaus County. For the 11th year, as part of that mission, I am naming the "All StanCo XC Team." This team was voted on by the County's coaches. This year I sent out 30 ballots, and a record 20 people voted. The team is comprised of the top ten male and ten female vote earners. On my scoring system the top two males tied with 3353.5 points. The top female tallied 3920 points out of a possible 4000...the final member of the team had only 105 points. That tells me that the points were clustered strongly on the top individuals...there was strong consensus for the top 8 individuals on both the male and female side. Those final two spots however were close. This year's team has thirteen first timers. Zoe Leach is the only member who has previously made the team more than once. On the girl's side there is only one senior. On the boy's side there are four seniors. That makes five seniors; only during the 2020 COVID year were there so few seniors on the team.

 

I'll begin with the ladies:

 NATALIE ARRIAZA (Patterson) 10th--What a year Natalie had. She rolled through the CCC, finishing 1st in the CCC Championship meet in 17:12. She won the D2 Sub Sect race in 19:04.3. The D2 SJS meet might have been her worst race of the year and she still placed 4th, ran 19:08.1 which is #3 all time, and qualified for State. At State she continued to amaze placing 8th in 17:59.6. She is only the second StanCo lady to crack the 18 min barrier on this course

ZOE LEACH (Downey) 11th--Zoe worked hard last year and over the summer to adjust her stride. It paid off big this season as she went undefeated in CCAL races. She ran 18:45 in the CCAL Championship meet on the Legion three loop course which was #16 all time. At the Sub Sect meet she was 2nd in the D1 race in 19:28.7. Best of all, she placed 4th at D1 SJS to qualify for State. Her time of 19:35.4 is #17 all time. On the historic Woodward Park course at State she had the #13 all time mark of 18:45.2 which was good for 44th in D1. 

JYMENA NGUYEN MARQUEZ (Grace Davis) 10th--Jymena swept through the WAC season. She ran 20:16 in the Championship race. At Subs she was 12th in D2 with a 20:09 time. Her time of 19:54.5 at D2 SJS is #27 all time and was good enough for 12th place and a berth in the State meet. At State she placed 64th in 19:20.8 which is #28 all time.  

     

MAYA DAY (Turlock) 9th--What a rookie season Miss Maya Day had. Initially my expectations were high. It took her about half the season to find her groove. Once she did you could see her confidence grow. At the CCAL Championship she ran 19:13 to place 3rd. At Subs she was 4th in the D1 race in 19:40.9. at SJS she ran 20:20.5 to place 11th and just miss qualifying for State.  

 

GISELLE FERNANDEZ (Riverbank) 10th--Giselle was unbeaten in TVL races. In the final meet she ran 19:37. At D4 Subs she placed 3rd in 20:09. At D4 SJS she ran 20:33 which is #27 all time and placed her 4th . She qualified her for State where she placed 24th in 18:54.9 which is #18 all time.

 

MAYA WOLFE (Modesto) 11th--After successful 9th and 10th grade seasons this year was more of a struggle of Maya. She rallied at the end to place 4th at the final CCAL in 19:27. At D1 Subs she was 15th in 20:34.3. At SJS she was close to qualifying for a return trip to State. She placed 12th in 20:20.8

AVERY CARLSON (Pitman) 10th--Avery made it through the full season (mostly) which is a victory in itself. She also led the Pride to just hold off Turlock to win the CCAL team title. At Subs she ran 20:24 in the D1 race to place 14th. At SJS she was 14th in 20:21.4

BRADIE EVANS (Oakdale) 10th--This was Bradie's first XC season. At the beginning of the year she was going to play Volleyball instead. Well The Mustangs are glad that she changed her mind. She led Oakdale through the VOL. At their championship meet she was 2nd in 20:05. At D3 Subs she was 17th in 20:29.6. Like many of the others on this list she just missed qualifying for State at the SJS meet. She ran 20:24.4 to place 14th.

 

DAIZY GONZALEZ (Turlock) 11th--Over the summer Daizy switched schools from Pitman to Turlock so she had to sit out the start of the season. That shuffle was almost enough to give the Turlock Ladies the CCAL title (almost). Regardless, Daizy seemed to re-find her joy for running. She placed 2nd at the CCAL final meet in 19:12. At Subs she was 19th in 20:42.6. She was disqualified a SJS in some bumping at the finish line.  

 BRADY WYLIE (Oakdale) 12th--This was Brady's first XC season. Her background is in gymnastics, but it is her competitive spirit that led to her success. She placed 4th at the final VOL meet. At Subs she was 24th in the D3 race in 21:09. Perhaps her toughest race of the year was SJS, where she ran 21:42.7 to place 32nd

On the boy's side:

OMAR ALSAIDI (Oakdale) 12th--Last year when Omar transferred from Ripon to Oakdale  the higher level training partners and workout regiment opened up his true potential. Over the past year and a half he has firmly stamped his name on the historic StanCo lists. At the final VOL meet he won in 15:52. He ran 16:19.5 to also win the D3 SubSection race. At SJS Omar placed third in 16:01.6 which may have been his worst race of the season, but he still played a major role in Oakdale tri-peating as D3 section champs. At State he placed 5th in 15:09.6 which is #3 on the all time list.

JACKSON OLIVEIRA (Oakdale) 12th--If Omar was Batman then Jackson was Robin (or was it the other way around). They were hardly two steps from one another at any point this season. At the final VOL meet Jackson placed 3rd in 15:53. At D3 Subs he was 2nd in 16:22.7. He ran 15:40.7 which was #3 all time to place 2nd at SJS. At State he was 4th in the D3 race in 15:07.9 which ranks him second only behind Giselle's brother German. His last HS XC meet was the Foot Locker Western Regional where he placed 12th in 15:45.

MASON OLIVEIRA (Oakdale) 12th--a year ago Mason was still battling to recover from a horrific accident. I think it is safe to say he has fully recovered. He placed 2nd at the final VOL meet in15:52. At D3 Subs he was 3rd behind his two teammates in 16:25.5. He ran 16:08.6 at Willow Hills for SJS, which is #7 all time. He placed 4th. On to State which might have been his best race ever. He ran 15:23.3 (#6 all time) to place 10th. 

ISMAEL DOMINGUEZ (Oakdale) 11th--Last year for XC Ismael was running XC for Gregori. The Subsection meet last year may have been his worst race ever. He transferred schools soon after and was a key piece of the Mustang juggernaut this season. He placed 7th in the final VOL meet in 16:14. At D3 Subs he ran 16:38.8 to place 9th. SJS may have been his best race of the season. He was 6th in 16:24.6 which is #11 all time. At State he ran 15:37.3 which is #10 all time and placed him 19th in the D3 race.

DIEGO CIBRIAN (Grace Davis) 11th--Diego is solid runner, but last year he never really exhibited a killer competitive instinct. As the season progressed he became more of a competitor. He won the final WAC meet in 16:38. At D2 subs he placed 7th in 16:41.9. At SJS he was 14th in 17:05.

LOGAN PETTY (Turlock) 11th--Logan helped lead the Bulldogs to their first ever trip to State. He was injured for the entire last track season, so it was good to see him healthy and competing at a high level again. He placed 2nd at the final CCAL meet in 16:34. At subs he ran 16:50.3 to place 14th in D1. He ran 17:05.3 at SJS to place 11th. He ran 16:34.9 at State and placed 133rd.

MEHTAAB DHILLON (Modesto) 12th--Mehtaab used his experience to sweep through the CCAL season. In the final CCAL he was 1st in 16:33 to just edge Logan. He ran strong at D1 Subs to place 9th in 16:48.8. His most disappointing race was his last. With hopes of qualifying for State, he was a distant 23rd at SJS in 17:27.3

JACOB CAVANAUGH (Oakdale) 11th--Jacob was the key fifth scoring runner for Oakdale. Always overshadowed by his faster teammates, he would be the #1 runner on most other teams in the County. He was injured toward the end of the regular season. He ran 16:39 to place 12th at the final VOL. He skipped subs to avoid further aggravating the injury. At D3 SJS he placed 13th in 16:54.7. At State he placed 45th. His time of 16:05.1 is the #22 mark on the course all time for StanCo.

HASAN MODAN (Gregori) 9th--Hasan is one of the few Freshmen males to ever make this list. He poured it on at the end of the season, really finding his racing competitive spirit. He placed 4th at the final CCAL meet in 16:49. At D1 Subs he was 16th in 16:53.8. He struggled on the tough Willow Hills  course at SJS. He placed 20th in D1 with a time of 17:21.1.

TEDDY SANTOS (Turlock) 11th-- Teddy was integral to the Bulldogs earning their first ever trip to State. Prior to that he was solid throughout the season. At CCAL 3 he ran 16:46 for 3rd. At Subs he placed 20th in D1 in a time of 17:03.9. At SJS he placed 12th in 17:05.5. He ran 16:55.9 at State to place 162nd.

HONORABLE MENTION

Although they didn't win, it is an honor in itself to make the ballot and receive votes for the All StanCo recognition. The following athletes all received votes during the selection process:

 

AVERY JONES (Central Catholic) 10th

AUBREY LASCANO (Pitman) 12th

NAYELI MATTISON (Pitman) 10th

LILA BRACKETT (Turlock) 12th

AVA CALANDRO (Oakdale) 11th

 

PARKER WHITEMEYER (Oakdale) 10th

HAYES TERRY (Beyer) 10th

DANIEL ZARAGOZA (Turlock) 12th

JORGE MANDUJANO (Patterson) 12th

JACKSON OLSEN (Beyer) 12th

PATRICIO KEARNEY (Orestimba) 11th

ABRAHAM SARMIENTO (Grace Davis) 11th

JACOB NGUYEN (Grace Davis) 11th