Blanco All-American, Hartnell Top Norcal Team at State

Heading into the 3C2A State Championship, the Hartnell College men's cross country team knew they had left a better performance on the table at the Northern California Championship. After placing fourth, a change to the line-up for the state championship was made in hopes of a higher finish. The Panthers were rewarded with a top 10 finind and two spot improvement from 2023. 

Sophomore Jesse Blanco, the recent Norcal champion, was hoping for an individual title run but a fall just after 2 miles put him out of contention with just a little over a mile to go. The pre-race rain and mud made it very difficult for Blanco to move back up through the field but he was able to rally for a sixth place overall finish thanks in part to the second fastest closing split in the field. Blanco, who last competed at the state championship in fall 2022, improved from 62nd in his first year to All-American. Blanco was just seventh at the Clovis Crush Invitational. Freshman duo Alvaro Ruelas and Giancarlo Mendo finished their impressive first years as Panthers placing 51st for Ruelas in 22:03 and 64th for Mendo in 22:16. Freshman Gabriel Clemente Altamirano (22:44) was fourth the Panthers and Aaron Eldredge (22:58) was the final scorer. Ivan Martinez-Galindo (22:59) and Galen Okamoto (23:10) rounded out the team. The Panthers finished ninth overall as a team with 303 points. They were easily ahead of Coast Conference champion De Anza College (326), Norcal third place American River College (348) and Norcal Champion Butte College (476). 

Blanco is third All-American for Hartnell College since the return from the COVID-19 pandemic and his sixth place finish is one of the best in Hartnell College history.