Chris Watkins crosses the finish line at the CCCAA state cross country meet at Woodward Park Saturday, Nov. 23. Watkins finished 38th overall. (Michael Ford/ Clovis Roundup)
The Clovis Crush cross country team has had a strong season in 2019, and with just one race left on the schedule, there was one last chance to leave a lasting impression in the CCCAA state championships at Woodward Park on Saturday.
Clovis finished with both the men’s and women’s team finishing in the top 15 as a team, with the men ending up 11th and the women finished 15th.
Sophomore Mohamed Saleh finished 26 overall and the top for the men’s team with a time of 21:19.7 in the four mile race, and was in position to finish in the top ten with under a mile left in the race, but couldn’t maintain the pace.
“He was in great position. He wanted to be top 10,” coach CJ Albertson said. “He was in position with a half-mile to go. He just didn’t have the finish that he wanted to.”
Chris Watkins was the second to cross the finish line for the Crush with a time of 21:36.2, good enough for 45th place.
Seth Frazer finished 60th and Jared Orth finished 166.
On the women’s side, Alyssa Freeman took the top spot for the Crush, finishing 45th overall with a time of 20:08.5 and a pace of 6:30 per mile.
Freeman has been the best overall runner for the women, finishing second overall in the CVC championships on Oct. 30.
But Albertson said that he thought that Freeman could have run better, although her being sick earlier in the week may have affected her time.
“The first day she ever missed practice was this week, the week of the state meet,” he said. “I think she could have ran a little bit better, but her season was amazing, it was awesome to see was she accomplished.”
Glendale College finished in the top overall spot on the women’s side with 66 points and San Diego Mesa won on the men’s side with 37 points.
With the cross country season now over, Albertson reflected on what he thought of the team in just its second campaign since the program’s start in 2018.
“I think it will really set things up well for the future,” Albertson said. “We didn’t have those top 10 state finishes, so the results didn’t quite show how well the season went. I think the team culture of this season and how things are progressing, it’s really exciting.”