Sequoias cross country looks to produce multiple All-Americans
By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
The last time College of the Sequoias competed in a championship cross country season, it produced two All-Americans.
Giants coach David Sanchez said that number could more than double as the California Community College State Championships return after the 2020 season was canceled because of safety concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Sanchez, men's runners Evan Loftin (El Diamante High), Juan Santacruz (El Diamante) and Lionel Aguayo (Lindsay), as well as women's runners Ximena Ramos (Reedley) and Liliana Salado (Mt. Whitney) all have a strong chance of finishing among the top 14 during the state meet, scheduled for Nov. 20 at Fresno's Woodward Park.
"If everything goes well, they should be All-Americans and leading our men's and women's teams," Sanchez said.
Loftin, the only sophomore in the program, is expected to lead the men's team. He helped the Giants place sixth in the state in 2019, when he was the team's third runner to cross the finish line, placing 54th overall in 21:51.1.That team also produced state champion Ismael Ramirez (Redwood) and eighth-place finisher Oscar Perez (Dinuba).
Loftin, Santacruz and Aguayo all had accomplished high school careers. Loftin and Santacruz both rank among the top distance runners in El Diamante history, while Aguayo was fifth in the Central Section's Division III and earned a berth in the 2019 state meet while at Lindsay.
"They are talented guys," Sanchez said. "And they will get better with experience."
If the Giants can also get solid performances from their fourth through seventh runners, Sanchez said the men's team will be a contender for a top-five state finish.
Patrick Espinoza (Robert F. Kennedy-Delano), Alfredo Rios (RFK), Fernando Hernandez (Mt. Whitney) and Matthew Jarret (Reedley) are all leading contenders to fill the fourth through seven spots.
Mark Gomez (Tulare Union), Nick Chavez (Orosi) and Alexander Peralta (El Diamante) are also pushing for a spot in the top seven.
"I tell the athletes it's not about how we start, it's how we finish at the end," Sanchez said. "If all these kids put in the proper foundation between now and Nov. 20, we can be a top five team."
Sanchez said he believes the women's team could be among the top 10 in the state if he can find one more runner to round out the scoring five.
Ramos and Salado were both three-time Central Section Championships qualifiers during their high school careers, with Ramos placing 16th (20:50.85) in Division III and Salado placing 84th (22:45.96) in Division II in 2019.
"They should be state-bound and the caliber of All-Americans," Sanchez said. "They do all the extra work in the classroom and on the course."
The Giants next two runners -- Sherlyn Hernandez (Corcoran) and Kaitlin Hernandez (McFarland) -- were also accomplished runners in high school.
Sherlyn Hernandez was a three-time California Interscholastic Federation State Championships qualifier, posting a career-best time of 20:50.5 while placing 141st in Division III in 2019.
Kaitlin Hernandez competed in the section finals twice and made the state meet field as a freshman in 2017, finishing 145th in 20:17.4 in Division I.
"They are hard workers," Sanchez said. "We should be expecting a lot of improvement out of those two."
Sanchez said he is still trying to recruit a fifth runner that would enable Sequoias to field a full scoring team.
The Giants opened the season Sept. 4 at the Fresno Invitational, which featured runners from the NCAA Division I and II levels in addition to community colleges.
Salado had the best finish for a Sequoias' runner, placing 15th out of 92 runners in the women's field in 20:28.1.
Kaitlyn Hernandez was 43rd overall, completing the 3.1-mile course at Woodward Park in 21:32.5. Sherlyn Hernandez was 53rd in 22:03.3.
For the men, Aguayo led the way by placing 25th out of 112 runners in 22:09.7 over the four-mile course.
Santacruz was 29th in 22:26.3, Hernandez was 31sr in 22:27.7, Rios was 48th in 23:11.4 and Gomez was 50th in 23:14.1 as the Giants placed fifth out of the 11 complete teams. Sequoias was second only to Clovis Community among the eight community college teams in the field.
The Giants also had Matthew Jarret place 53rd in 23:18.9 and Patrick Espinoza finish 84th in 24:55.3.
Sequoias returns to action Sept. 24 at the Chabot Twilight meet in Hayward.
The Giants host their only meet of the season -- the Sequoias Invitational -- Oct. 8 at the COS farm in Tulare.
The Central Valley Championship meet is set for Oct. 27 at Fresno's Woodward Park, followed by the Northern California Championships on Nov. 5 in Rocklin.
