The St Francis Men's & Women's cross country teams had a strong showing Friday afternoon at the Sunset Run in Toro Park, Salinas as both squads opened the 2014 season.
For the men, it was Jr. Paul Colosi who took the lead for the Sharks, placing fifth overall in 16:09.5 for the 2.2 mile course. Seven Sharks finished between seventh and 17th place including freshmen David Ambriz in seventh (16:15.8), freshman Thomas Zhu in eighth (16:20.9) and Leslie Zhou (16:17) in ninth, sophomore Nathaniel Ramos in tenth (16:21.0).
Cati Bianchi was the overall winner in a time of 17:59.9 followed closely by newcomer Olivia Burke in second in 18:06.4. Freshmen, Noella Mendoza placed fourth in 18:18.4 to give SF three of the top four finishers. Jasmine Estrada and Larisa Rocha, placed 11th in 18:41.0 and 14th in 18:49.4 to round out the Sharks' top five.
As a team, the Sharks will be back in action Wednesday, Sept 3rd. St. Francis will host the Watermelon Run @ Pinto Lake County Park @ 4pm.