Avila Leads Panthers in Season Debut

Like his fellow female teammate Andrea Villegas, sophomore Mario Avila has waited patiently since his first cross country season in 2021 to wear the Hartnell uniform again. In the time between, Mario enlisted in the reserves and completed his boot camp and then returned to help the Panthers to a second place Norcal trophy on the track. With Moises Benito sitting out the Fresno Invitational, Avila would assume the top runner role for the Panthers leading them to a seventh place team finish. Avila ran a controlled race that saw him place twentieth overall in 21:38, just 14 seconds off his 2021 3C2A State Championship time. 

After Avila, the Panthers would rely on a roster that is heavy on freshmen and those who were outside the top 7 last fall. Freshman Elijah Melchor from Soledad would be the second Panther to cross the line in 22:05 over the four mile course after running over 2 miles with Avila. Melchor has impressed all summer and his time was third best for Coast Conference runners in the race. Aptos graduate Alexis Zacharias emerged as the third runner in his Panther debut (23:01). Kaimana Cantere (23:13) crossed next and Gael Godinez (23:41) moved up steadily to complete the scoring five. Maximo Puga (23:48) returned to competition after a year away and Leonardo Diaz (23:52) enjoyed running in the top 7 for the first time in his Hartnell career. 


20. Mario Avila 21:38
33. Elijah Melchor 22:05
66. Alexis Zacharias 23:01
74. Kaimana Cantere 23:13
89. Gael Godinez 23:41
92. Maximo Puga 23:48
93. Leonardo Diaz 23:52
95. Emiliano Ramirez 23:58
118. Juan Gonzalez 24:47
120. Ryan Willson 24:52
122. Carlos Hernandez 24:51
123. Jacob Dizon 24:52
128. Matthew Santos 24:58
129. Diego Villegas 24:59
132. Axel Sanchez 25:11
141. Malachi Cruz 25:42
145. Josue Macias 25:55
148. Carlos Espinoza 26:01
150. Marcus Serrano 26:06
154. Imanol De Jesus 26:39
156. Hugo Jimenez 26:48
161. Richard Cimientos 27:40
169. Noe Torres 29:55


The Panthers will compete next at the Monterey Bay Invitational at the newly completed Palo Corona Cross Country Course in Carmel Valley.