Panthers Third at Toro Park Invitational
Hartnell College and Toro Park have hosted the Northern California Championship in 2005, 2014, 2017, and 2019 and will do so again on November 8th. This year's Toro Park Invitational served as the preview meet with nearly every regional team in attendance. The Panthers had an uncharacteristic off day and were only able to finish third with 100 points. American River College was the team winner with 79 points and Butte College second wtih 84 points.
Sophomore Jesse Blanco made a run for the overall win placing second in 20:42. He trailed only Butte College runner Stephan Chapdelaine who won in a time of 20:33. Blanco's performance moves him into the top 10 all-time for Hartnell College just ahead of 2022 Norcal champion Esteban Deniz. This was the first time this season Blanco has finished as the top runner for the Panthers. Alvaro Ruelas continued to show his high level of consistency with a tenth place finish in 21:29 in his Toro Park four mile debut. Giancarlo Mendo ran with Ruelas much of the race and finished sixteenth in 21:51. Another freshman Gabriel Clemente Altamirano (22:25) was fourth for the Panthers in 36th and Elijah Melchor (22:41) was the first runner. A nagging ankle injury kept Melchor from his normal top finish. He will be needed in November if the Panthers are to contend for the overall win on their home course. Juan Gonzalez (23:00) and Galen Okamoto (23:01) rounded out the top seven with Okamoto making an appearance in the top 7 for the first time.
The Panthers will travel north to the Butte College Invitational for some extra time together as a group. The race will be Friday, October 11th and hosted on the campus of Butte College. Hartnell Head Coach Chris Zepeda was an assistant coach at Butte College from 2004 to 2006.
Hartnell Men's Results
20:42 Jesse Blanco
21:29 Alvaro Ruelas
21:51 Giancarlo Mendo
22:25 Gabriel Clemente Altamirano
22:41 Elijah Melchor
23:00 Juan Gonzalez
23:01 Galen Okamoto
23:06 Ivan Martinez-Galindo
23:08 Aaron Eldredge
23:15 Leyder Hernandez
23:28 Nathan Emerson
23:34 Alejandro Hernandez
23:47 Erik Luna Bedolla
23:51 Adrian Hernandez
24:10 Jason Garcia
24:18 Marcus Serrano
24:24 Kevin Ramirez
24:32 Carlos Rangel
24:38 Jacob Duff
25:50 Omar Quiroz
26:35 Edgar Javier Soto
27:03 Francisco Vargas
28:54 Ernesto Martinez-Luna
30:51 Joel Sosa
