Win or lose, first or last, Watsonville’s boys and girls cross country teams will advance to the Central Coast Section meet no matter how they perform at Saturday’s inaugural Pacific Coast Athletic League cross country finals.
The lone Division I team in the PCAL’s Cypress division, the Wildcatz will get an automatic berth into the section meet as long as they field a team of five at Toro Park in Salinas for a gigantic meet that will feature 31 other schools spread across four divisions.
Head coach Rob Cornett feels happy for his kids, but some remorse for others on various teams that will be left on the outside looking in.
“You feel for some of those teams up in the Gabilan that should make it in,” Cornett said. “For various reasons, it’s been a really tough job to sort some of these issues out.”
Watsonville is not the only team that will benefit from this year’s league finals structure.
Because the coaches and athletic directors of the PCAL decided to send the top four teams from each division to the CCS meet instead of sending its best overall teams like the now-defunct Monterey Bay League did in the past, teams in the middle of the pack in their division will have a puncher’s chance at earning a trip to the section meet.
That means teams like Santa Catalina’s girls in the Santa Lucia, and Pajaro Valley’s girls in the Cypress could very well qualify for the postseason over a team in the Gabilan or Mission that falls in their same CCS division and would easily win a head-to-head matchup.
Soledad’s girls do not have a shot at finishing in the top four in the Gabilan, and will not beat North Monterey County for the division’s D-III CCS berth. But according to athletic.net, the Aztecs would not only beat all D-III teams in the three lower divisions — Greenfield, Monterey and Pajaro Valley — in a head-to-head, they would also qualify for the postseason if the PCAL decided to take its top teams regardless of divisions.
“There’s a give and take with both (methods),” Cornett said. “We decided to go with this format this year, but I think there might be some changes in the future.”
Here are a few things to watch on Saturday:
TWO AT A TIME
Because of safety reasons, the four divisions will run in pairs of two. The Gabilan and the Cypress will run in unison, and the Mission and Santa Lucia will be paired up.
The Gabilan and Cypress boys will run at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Mission and Santa Lucia boys at 11 a.m.
The Gabilan and Cypress girls will take off at 11:30 a.m., and Mission and Santa Lucia girls will close out the day at noon.
“We like it,” said St. Francis head coach Ramona Young. “We get to run with some of the fastest kids in the league. It’s going to push us come Saturday.”
BATTLE FOR WATSONVILLE
The two Watsonville private schools, St. Francis and Monte Vista Christian, have been locked in a tight battle in the PCAL-Santa Lucia.
A winner will be crowned on Saturday.
St. Francis, led by senior E.J. Kelly and junior Patrick McCarthy, has won two of three center meets this season, and M.V.C., with junior David Wang, and sophomores Andrew Bachman and Justin Lomeli leading the way, has won one.
St. Francis won the most recent center meet, 26-31.
“Our boys are ready,” Young said. “Last week was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what they can do when they run as a pack.”
RUIZ’S RETURN
Watsonville sophomore Layla Ruiz has the PCAL’s course record at Toro Park (19 minutes, 22 seconds), and will be heavily favored to win the individual league title in the Cypress division and finish with the fastest overall time of the day.
Cornett, however, said Ruiz’s triumph is not a forgone conclusion.
Ruiz, who last year advanced to the CIF state meet and was named the top freshman in Northern California, is still feeling the effects of a nagging IT band injury that has limited her to just three races this fall.
Cornett expects Ruiz to battle through the injury on Saturday.
“She’s running with pain, but she’s tough,” Cornett said. “She’s going to give it her best.”
A STAR IS BORN
Ceiba College Prep freshman Nellie Rubio-Pintor has made a name for herself over the last two PCAL-Santa Lucia center meets.
She finished second in her varsity debut on Oct. 4 and beat Oakwood’s Kate Marcotullio by a tenth of second in the final center meet of the season on Oct. 18 at Toro.
Saturday will serve as a rematch between Rubio-Pintor and Marcotullio. St. Francis’ trio of Angelika Castro, Camryn Ryan and Riley Croghan will also be in pursuit of the Spartans’ star.
“I think she’s got a lot more in the tank,” Young said of Rubio-Pintor. “She’s got a beautiful stride, and she’s had a good season…Our girls are going to try to give her a run for her money, and see if we can chase her down.”
