12.28.07
Fall 2007 All-Area boys cross country selections
schwartz wins kern inviteOriginally uploaded by andynoise
Runner of the Year: Chris Schwartz
Foothill, junior
First Kern County runner to win Division I state cross country title.
Placed first in 12 straight meets from Sept. 26 through the Nov. 24 state meet
One of only 15 juniors in the nation to qualify for the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego
Alfonso Cisneros
McFarland, junior
Finished second in Kern County, third in the Central Section and sixth at the Mount San Antonio College Invitational
Placed second in Southwest Sierra League
Cody Gragg
North, senior
Took home titles at Wolfpack Invitational, McLane Invitational and Golden West Invitational before winning Southwest Yosemite League
Ran 16:00 in Central Section meet, qualifying for the state meet
Jesus Gomez
McFarland, senior
Finished sixth in Kern County, third in Southwest Sierra League and 10th in Central Section Division IV finals
Placed sixth in Central Section individual meet to advance to state
Oscar Fuentes
East, junior
Second in Southeast Yosemite League in 16:08
Second in Central Section in 16:39
Ran 17:09 at state meet in Div. II
photo album HERE
boys runner of the year 1984-2006
Coach of the Year: Amador Ayon, McFarland
Ayon guided McFarland to its 17th straight Central Section title (20th overall) and a third-place Division IV finish at the state meet.
Ayon said the key to McFarland’s success was a hard-working group of runners.
“The highlight of the season was the whole season. Every single day was enjoyable to me,” Ayon said. “These kids were there every day. My assistant coaches were incredible.”
McFarland placed five runners in the top 10 at the Central Section Div. IV meet. Earlier in the season, McFarland cruised to the title at the Kern County Championships against county schools of all sizes by placing six runners in the top 9.
McFarland had only one senior on this year’s team, No. 1 runner Jesus Gomez, and a solid crop of prospects are in the local junior high. “The cupboard is not bare by any stretch of the imagination,” Ayon said.
boys coach of the year 1987 to 2006
Second team All-Area
Eddie Garcia, McFarland
Arturo Ramirez, Centennial
Angel Moreno, Highland
Talon Reed, Liberty
Gerardo Alcala, McFarland
Marco Perez, McFarland
Honorable mention
Burroughs: Caleb Rosales
Bakersfield: Andrew Ariey
Centennial: James Diller
Frontier: Michael Golich
Garces: Conner O’Malley
Golden Valley: Robert Quintero
Highland: Colin Lewis, Andrew McCay, Thomas Tuner, Jake Van Zandt
McFarland: Eddie Bautista, Marco Camargo, Jose Gomez, Francisco Nava
Ridgeview: Robby Baker
Shafter: Joshua Wittenberg
Stockdale: Michael Bernaba
Tehachapi: Chris Sanchez
West: Tesfa Habebo
Wasco: Asencion Mendoza
Schwartz stepped up on big stage
BY JEFF EVANS, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jevans@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:30 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:35 PM
Chris Schwartz was the first Kern County runner to win a Division I state cross country championship in the 21-year history of the state meet, and that wasn’t even Schwartz’s biggest highlight of the season.
Photos:
Photo by Casey Christie / The Californian
Foothill High’s Chris Schwartz, right, outsprints, Trabucco Hills’ Riley Sullivan near the finish line in Fresno, during the state championship cross country match. Schwartz took first and Sullivan came in second.
“Going to the nationals was my highlight,” said Schwartz, a junior at Foothill High School who is The Californian’s All-Area Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“And I had my worst day ever at the nationals,” Schwartz added, referring to his 37th-place finish at San Diego’s Balboa Park in early December at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.
But Schwartz, 17, already had an outstanding season prior to that meet.
He was the dominant Kern County runner all season, including easy wins at the Kern County Championships and the Southeast Yosemite League meet.
Schwartz captured the Division I Central Section championship at Woodward Park, clocking 15 minutes, 31 seconds over the 5-kilometer course.
The state meet followed two weeks later.
With all eyes focused on co-favorites Riley Sullivan from Mission Viejo-Trabuco Hills and Brett Walters from Hesperia-Sultana, Schwartz used a late-race kick to pull ahead and win the race in 15:13, one second faster than Sullivan and eight seconds faster than third-place finisher Walters.
“I was planning to finish in the top-5, and I won,” Schwartz said.
The state meet marked the 12th straight race Schwartz had won, dating to a Sept. 26 triangular meet at Foothill.
Schwartz credited maturity and advice from Foothill track assistant coach Paul Contreras as the catalysts for his special cross country season.
“My track coach from last year (Contreras) helped me with pacing,” Schwartz said. “I couldn’t have done it without pacing.”
Schwartz, a state track meet qualifier last spring in the 3,200 meters, said he’s a stronger cross country runner.
“The further the distances, I’m much better,” he said. “I can’t outrun people. I’m more of a long-distance runner.”
Schwartz calls the late Steve Prefontaine, one of America’s greatest distance runners, as an idol who keeps him motivated, even though Prefontaine died in a 1975 automobile accident, many years before Schwartz was born.
“I know he died before I was born, but I want to catch his time,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz placed seventh at the West Regionals following the state meet, which qualified him for the Foot Locker national championships in San Diego. He was one of 40 of the top runners in the nation invited to the meet.
At the regionals, he out-kicked Sullivan again, “just like the state meet,” Schwartz said, and was the second-fastest runner from California.
He said he was one of only seven juniors at the Foot Locker meet.
“I was kind of surprised to make it,” Schwartz said. “I was the only junior making it from the Western Region.”
Schwartz is already planning to run in the Foot Locker meet next season.
“Next year I won’t be as nervous and I’ll know the course more. And most of the kids who will be coming will be running it the first time, or I ran against them this year.”
