The Valley Oak League Cross Country Championships were hosted on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at Oakdale High School and both the varsity boys and girls took first place, both at the championships and in the overall league standings.
Several runners had standout performances on the 5k course.
For the varsity girls, top finishers were Haleigh Humble, first, 18:33; Kassidy Fmura, third, 20:04; Hannah Beth Norman, fourth, 21:37. All three also received All-League Honors. Also running hard for the varsity squad, taking places 10 through 13, were Ava Calandro, 22:07; Karina Verduzco, 22:42; Angelica Elizondo, 23:27; Audry Scott, 23:50.
Leading the varsity boys was second place overall finisher Dax Daley, 16:23, followed by Simon Appel, third, 16:25; Mason Oliveira, fifth, 17:00. They all received All-League Honors. Oakdale’s next five runners across the line took eighth through 13th place. Jackson Oliveira was eighth, 17:14, followed by Nathan Luca, ninth, 17:36; Carlos Martinez, 18:12; Abner Gonzalez, 18:14; Alex Martinez, 18:15.
“We came out to compete today and the team did not disappoint,” coach Guy Fowler said of the championship meet. “The varsity girls won their fourth consecutive league championship and the varsity boys won their first league championship since 1973. It was a great effort by all our runners and that is because they worked hard all season.”
Next Meet for the Mustang runners is the CIF SJS Sub-Section Meet on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Frogtown; the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.
LADY MUSTANG GOLF
The Valley Oak League champions headed to Paradise Valley Golf Course in Fairfield for playoffs on Monday, Oct. 25.
“The condition of the course was wet and soggy, sloppy and muddy, and throw in any other descriptions that may help with explaining playing on a course that saw nine inches of rain the previous 24 hours,” noted coach Lee McGhee. “There were a few lakes in some of the fairways. A couple of holes were shortened because of the lakes, turning par 5’s into par 4’s. So the course played as a par 70 for the tournament.”
McGhee said the Lady Mustangs played well, finishing in third place overall as a team with a score of 412.
The top two teams and six individuals moved on to play at the Masters on Nov. 1.
“Kaylie Parola shot 74 for us and moved on individually. Tori Blanc also played well and shot 77. That got her into a playoff for the final spot to advance to the Masters which they conducted once they tallied all the scores,” McGhee explained. “There were four players tied with 77 that played off. It took two holes and one of the Vista del Lago girls made a birdie on the second hole to secure moving on. Tori played awesome with a par and a par on the two playoff holes.”
At the league tournament, along with Parola’s 74 and Blanc’s 77, Oakdale got an 83 from Xcaret Duque, 84 from Hannah Herschbach and a 94 from Janelle Velazquez.
“The Masters Tournament played (Nov. 1) at The Reserve at Spanos Park Golf Course. Par 72 with scattered showers throughout the round,” McGhee reported. “Kaylie played well and ended with an 84 which was tied for 41st out of all 100-plus players. Some highlights would be a birdie on #9 and on #18 - both signature holes for the golf course.”
Now the girls will start the offseason.
“I look forward to a year of practicing and them getting better before we start next year in August,” the coach said. “Also, I would like to congratulate our three seniors for all of their efforts to help support our team and them all being able to play and contribute this season. I wish them all three much success in their future endeavors, in golf, in education and in life.”
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The varsity volleyball girls went into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs with an outbracket match on Monday night, Oct. 25. Oakdale hosted the game, defeating McNair of Stockton in the contest. They swept past the Eagles with a 25-13, 25-9, 25-13 decision. That victory put Oakdale into a Division II match on Tuesday, Oct. 26, traveling to face off against Whitney. The No. 2 seed Whitney squad got a fight from Oakdale, the No. 15 seed, but ultimately got the win in a straight sets sweep, defeating the Lady Mustangs in three tough ones, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17.
Oakdale wrapped up the campaign at 7-5 in league play, 9-9 overall.
Next week, a look at the regular season and playoff run for Oakdale’s water polo squads.
