The Lady Broncs, Aspen Hacker leads the pack on her way to finishing in first place. Submitted photos.
All Kern Valley runners set PR’s in race at Kingsburg Gun Club
Kern Valley was invited to run at the John Seaman’s Cross Country invitational. The Lady Broncs, as a team was second in the small school division.
This race was held at the Kingsburg Gun Club in Kingsburg, Ca. The other highlight from this race is that all 10 Kern Valley runners were able to race to individual PR’s. The Lady Broncs saw all five runners finish in the top 51 places. They were led by Aspen Hacker, who crossed the line in first place. Her time for the run was 18:23.60. She was followed by her sister Kyla in 12th place in a time of 20:33.26. Greta Boettcher finished in the 17th spot with a time of 20:50.36. Coming in at 29 was Tabitha Cazares with her time of 21:50.36. Faith Kirby was the fifth runner for the Lady Broncs to cross the finish line. She placed 51st with a time of 23:14.36. With their finishes and times, the Lady Broncs were the runner up in the small school division.
Turning to the Broncs runners, Ethan Mauer was the top finisher for Kern Valley. He came in 58th with a time of 19:19.35. He was followed closely by Logan Sampson who crossed the line just under two seconds behind his teammate. Sampson finished in 59th place in a time of 19:21.15. Next up for the Broncs was Angel Oliveras in the 103rd spot. His time in the race was 20:54.13. Dario Jones in the 118th place came across the line in a time of 21:34.66. Wrapping off the Broncs runners was Matthew Leonez who was 138th in a time of 23:58.63.
Head coach Kenny Bushling said, “We participated in the John Seaman’s Cross Country Invitational in Kingsburg hosted at the Kingsburg Gun club. There were 45 schools that competed and there was a large school and small school division. In the small school division, which is schools in D3, 4 and 5. A. Hacker took first place (83 runners competed in the race) and had a PR. K. Hacker and Boettcher both earned medals with a 12th and a 17th they also had PR’s. In fact, all five members of the team set new personal records. In cross country not all courses are the same, at the gun club the course is relatively flat with minimal uphill, the weather was perfect at 75 degrees and no wind. Super proud of the girls and how they are running for each other and pushing themselves for help the team. As a team the girls took a second place. An excellent showing for our school.”
Once again, the runners from Kern Valley proved that they belong on the course. Both the Broncs and Lady Broncs continue to make strides in making the effort they are putting forth noticeable to other schools. This in turn makes them a force to be reckoned with as the CIF races are on tap.
Earlier in the week, the Kern Valley teams hosted Rosamond in a key HDL matchup. The Lady Broncs won by forfeit as Rosamond did not have the required number of runners to earn a team score. A. Hacker sat this race out. According to Bushling, “I had Aspen Hacker sit this one out because runners are only allowed to run 14 races prior to CIF. She was on pace to run in 15, so now she will be at the 14 maximum.”
The top finisher for the Lady Broncs was Boettcher she crossed the line in first with a time of 22.32. She was followed closely by K. Hacker who came in second in a time of 23.43. Cazares (24.45) was third. Kirby (26.33) was fifth. Kassandra Guarneros (27.01) came in sixth, and Delilah McComes (34.06) finished ninth.
The boys race ended up a being a battle. The Broncs runners were able to come away with the 21-35 victory to keep them in a tight race for second in the HDL. Sampson led the way in first place in a time of 20.23. Sabastian Stallone was third in a time of 21.28. Mauer (22.08) was fourth, while Oliveras (22.50) came across the line in sixth. The team scoring was finished up by Jones (23.59) who was seventh. Leonez (25.59) wrapped up the Broncs running coming in 10th.
Bushling said, “The boys are doing a great job and have really improved this season. They won today 21-35. They are currently in second in the HDL and with a victory this week against Cal City, they will lock it up in the HDL. The one loss is to Boron (who is currently undefeated in league).”
