Panther Men Place Third at Conference Championship

Moises Benito gives chase in the Coast Conference Championship. Benito placed second overall in 20:42.
Moises Benito gives chase in the Coast Conference Championship. Benito placed second overall in 20:42.
Photos Results
October 27, 2023

Running without sophomore captain Mario Avila, the Hartnell College men's cross country team could only hope for the best and see if any of the other Panthers might be able to step up in his absence. With Avila, the Panthers could only muster a third place team finish but did manage to have three all-conference runners, two of which are freshmen. Hartnell finished behind first-time winner Chabot College and De Anza College. 

Moises Benito found himself chasing from the onset of the men's championship four mile race. Never closer than one second behind Antoine Moret of De Anza College, Benito could never close the gap. Despite running a course personal best of 22 seconds, Benito would finish as this year's runner-up. Moret would win in a near coruse record 20:28. Behind him, freshman Elijah Melchor of Soledad finished fourth in 21:15 after spending the first 5k chasing 14:54 competitor Daniel Trampe of Chabot College. Melchor will be the top returning runner in next year's championship. Finishing as the surprise third runner, Alexis Zacharias in his first year of competitive running, gnabbed the final All-Coast Conference honor in fourteenth place (22:11). Freshman Juan Gonzalez also enjoyed his best race in nineteenth overall (22:38). Emiliano Ramirez (22:48) and Axel Sanchez (22:59)  were 21st and 23rd. Freshman Carlos Hernandez was 24th in 23:02. 

The Panthers will compete next at the 2023 Northern California Championship at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez, CA. 

Hartnell Coast Conference Results

2. Moises Benito 20:42
4. Elijah Melchor 21:15
14. Alexis Zacharias 22:11
19. Juan Gonzalez 22:38
21. Emiliano Ramirez 22:48
23. Axel Sanchez 22:59
24. Carlos Hernandez 23:02
25. Kaimana Cantere 23:02
29. Maximo Puga 23:21
31. Jacob Dizon 23:28
33. Diego Villegas 23:33
34. Galen Okamoto 23:40
36. Gael Godinez 23:48
38. Leonardo Diaz 23:55
39. Carlos Espinoza 24:05
40. Ryan Willson 24:08
43. Arturo Melgoza 24:44
45. Noe Torres 25:05
46. Marcus Serrano 25:13
47. Malachi Cruz 25:32
48. Matthew Santos 25:37
49. Josue Macias 25:45
51. Omar Quiroz 26:44
53. Imanol DeJesus 26:56
55. Bernabe Munoz-Maravilla 27:04
57. Hugo Jimenez 27:37
59. Richard Cimientos 27:45