Santa Ana Valley Gains Cross-Country Victories

In a race that began with a cloudburst and ended with a rainbow, the Santa Ana Valley High School girls’ cross-country team defeated rival Villa Park, 25-32, Thursday in a wet and muddy Century League dual meet at Villa Park.

Santa Ana Valley, top-ranked in Orange County, and Villa Park, ranked second, had to battle more than one another, as a downpour caused puddles and mud banks to slow and even stop some runners.

One who didn’t seem affected by the conditions, however, was Santa Ana Valley’s Maricela Benavides, who won the three-mile race in 17 minutes 41 seconds, just missing the 17:37 course record.

“I thought the rain was great,� she said. “And then a rainbow at the finish. It was a great day to race.�

Benavides, a 4-foot 10-inch, 94-pound senior, shared the lead with Villa Park’s Laura Doering for the first three-quarters of a mile.

Just before the one-mile mark, Benavides surged to open a 10-yard gap on Doering. Benavides continued to press the pace, gaining 150 yards on Doering, who finished second in 18:19.

But it was in the second pack, more than 200 yards behind Benavides, where the team race was determined.

Four runners, Maria Vargas and Linda Villa of Santa Ana Valley and Karen Longyear and Susannah Thrasher of Villa Park, fought for the crucial third and fourth positions.

Vargas and Villa ran shoulder-to-shoulder, working together to hold off the Villa Park duo. Though all four slipped and fell along the muddy course, Vargas and Villa managed to stay ahead, placing third (18:40) and fourth (18:51), respectively.

“Linda and Maria did it for us,� Santa Ana Valley Coach George Payan said. “Without their performances, Villa Park could have gotten pretty close.�

In the boys’ race, Jimmy Rodriguez and Jose Brito led Santa Ana Valley to a 26-31 victory.

The Falcons formed a four-man pack through the first mile, surrounding Villa Park’s Kory Lynch and Phil Madison.

Rodriguez, the only senior in the Falcon top five, broke away from Brito after the half-way point and won easily in 15:57. Brito finished second (16:08), followed by Lynch (16:11) and Madison (16:29).

Rounding out the top five for Santa Ana Valley were sophomore Fred Sandoval (fifth, 16:34), Alfredo Delibrados (sixth, 16:36) and Jesus Montanez (13th, 18:06).