Action this week for Riverbank’s cross country runners included a strong showing in league competition.

“Wednesday we ran in the second TVL race at Tuolumne Regional Park in Modesto. Overall, this was probably the best we have run in the second TVL race of the year,” coach Monte Wood said. “Almost every kid set a personal record, and we were very pleased about that. Some of our younger boys are really making great strides. Isaiah Bargas, Adan Salgado, and Jesus Sepulveda all ran really well. They have a chance to develop into really good runners for us.”

At the varsity level, Chris Martinez won the first race of his four year career.

“He has really matured over the last year as a runner and leader and it shows in our team,” noted Wood. “As a team, we finished second behind Escalon, but we have given ourselves a chance to at least get a co-championship at the end of the year if we can win the league championship race.”

Sophomore Ramon Rosas broke 18 minutes for the first time in his career by running 17:57 for the 5k. Julian Lopez was solid and Carlos Aguilera is almost back to where he was last year, Wood added. In October of last year, Aguilera suffered a hip injury that sidelined him for months, but he is almost back to full strength.

“The girls finished third overall which was an improvement from fourth in the first race of the year,” Wood said. “Sophomores Anastasia Toscano and Diane Murillo ran really well, and I am excited that they are working so well together right now.”

Yara Choeb ran her first 5k and did very well.

“She has a lot of potential but doesn’t realize it yet. We needed her to run varsity because of injuries to other runners, and she willingly jumped in and ran her first 5k,” said the coach. “I would expect she will have a dramatic drop in her 5k time at the end of October.”

The next race for the Bruins will be in Fresno in the Roughrider Invitational on Oct. 13. The race will be run on the state course at Woodward Park.