Monte Vista Christian junior Anna Conca kept her season alive after putting on a stellar performance at the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31.
The Mustang standout runner won the Mission Division race in 19 minutes, 19.5 seconds on the rugged three-mile course at Toro Park in Salinas.
The victory automatically qualified her for next week’s Central Coast Section Championship at Crystal Springs Cross Country course in Belmont on Nov. 14.
“It feels great,” Conca said. “Last year I got second, so this year I really wanted to get first. So I’m happy with my finish.”
Conca got a bit of redemption after she was runner-up in 2025 to teammate senior Finley Castro, who this year placed second in 20:26.1. Carmel High junior Jasmine Jin (20:30.7) took third to punch her ticket to the section finals.
For the first two miles, Conca said she went out a little more conservatively than usual as a tactic to assist her fellow comrades.
“I was working with my teammates,” she said. “We were just working together, and then that last mile, I picked it up, and it was my fastest mile of the three.”
MVC sophomore Cara Lorenzen finished in a personal-best 23:11.9 for a 16th-place finish. She will join her Mustang teammates at next week’s CCS championship.
“I love to run,” Lorenzen said. “The way I feel after a 5K is just the best. And now we get to have Halloween.”
Watsonville High senior Aileen Reyes placed 10th in 22:14.5, making her the lone runner on the Wildcatz team that qualified as an individual out of the Mission Division.
“I felt good,” she said. “It’s a hard course, but you just have to push through it.”
Despite the large mashup at the starting line, Reyes found her way into a great position for the first mile until she reached the dreaded hills near the three-mile mark.
“My plan was to just stay at a seven-minute pace the whole time, maybe let it rise up a little throughout the hills,” she said. “But other than that, just keep it low.”
Ceiba College Prep senior Melissa Arellano (22:03.9) placed sixth in the Cypress Division race, earning a spot to the CCS Championship. Joining her is Pajaro Valley sophomore Amairany Hernandez Delgado who placed eighth in 22:44.
PV head coach Yafeet Garcia said they didn’t have five healthy girls throughout the season, which held the Grizzlies back from competing with a full team at any meets.
Anzar High freshman Penelope Samuels won the Cypress Division race in 19:34.4, followed by Monterey High sophomore Melanie Tellado (21:31.4) and Soledad High junior Darleen Espinoza (21:52.7) in second and third, respectively.
Conca will make her third consecutive appearance in the CCS Championship at Crystal Springs.
“It’s a great atmosphere there,” she said. “All the fast teams there, all the fast individuals, they get a chance to qualify for State. It’s a great opportunity, and I’ll be looking to try to medal again, and have a really big PR there.”
