Monte Vista Christian wrapped up the Gabilan Division boys cross country title after putting on a fantastic performance at last week’s Pacific Coast Athletic League Championships.
Gavin Beckmen, a senior, placed fifth in 16 minutes, 02 seconds on the three-mile course at Toro Park in Salinas on Nov. 1.
Freshman Owen Beckmen (16:03) took sixth, while senior Conor Gilliam (16:30.2) finished seventh for MVC, which placed second as a team with a score of 69.
All three Mustang runners set a personal record at Toro Park while earning all-league first team honors.
The Mustangs secured the Gabilan Division crown with a compiled score of 33 points—18 for three PCAL Center Meets and 15 at the league championships.
They beat powerhouses Salinas (27) and Alisal (26), which placed second and third, respectively, in the final league standings.
“Accomplishing it as a D-V school was a really big deal for our school and our team in general because we trained so hard over the summer and during the season to make that happen,” Gavin Beckmen said.
MVC head coach Erik Beckmen said it’s a huge accomplishment for a school with an enrollment size of about 750 students—560 of those at the high school level. This year, he had 24 total runners on the course.
Other top Mustang finishers at last week’s PCAL championships include freshman Joseph Palacios (17:18.8) in 23rd, senior Dilano Lucero (17:31.1; 28th), junior Luciano Guerra (17:59.4; 42nd) and sophomore Neil Radar (18:19.9; 46th).
“I think this team has just bought in, every year our team gets bigger and bigger,” he said. “They’ve taken it seriously. They’ve taken nutrition, the conditioning, just everything. I think that’s what you need to be a top team in order to compete against Alisal.”
MVC advanced to the Central Coast Section Championships at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont on Nov. 15. They will compete in the Division V race scheduled for 2:40pm.
The Mustangs have been on a roll since the start of the 2025 fall campaign, and they don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Gavin Beckmen set the tone after setting a school record for a three-mile race. He won the Jackie Henderson Memorial Invitational in 15:49, surpassing the previous record of 15:55 set by James Ponzio in 2021.
Beckmen said their biggest motivation is to get as far as possible, including their goal to place in the top seven at the California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country Championships.
“And to do that, we had to do good in our league and possibly win league, which is what we did,” he said. “And last year, I don’t feel like we had as much motivation.”
Beckmen added that gaining a crop of new freshmen also fired up some enthusiasm into the upperclassmen.
One of those new freshmen is Beckmen’s brother, Owen, who placed sixth in 14:32 to help the Mustangs win a team title at the Ram Invitational at Westmoor High on Sept. 27.
MVC recently delivered a dominant performance by winning a team title in its respective division at the 77th Annual Mt. SAC Invitational at Mt. San Antonio College on Oct. 25.
Gavin Beckmen won the Division V Red race in 16:52, followed by Owen Beckmen (17:02) in third, Gilliam (17:18) in sixth and Palacios (17:50) in ninth.
The Mustangs were also spectacular in the ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno—home of the CIF State championships.
Gavin Beckmen ran a personal-best 16:23.30 on the 5,000-meter course, placing 20th and earning a medal in a race that featured 209 total runners.
Owen Beckmen took 22nd in 16:27.20, breaking the freshman school record in a 5k race previously held by his brother Gavin.
Gilliam (16:50.30) placed 46th for MVC, which finished fifth out of 28 teams in a tough field that featured four of the top Division 5 teams in the state.
“Just being in the top league and having the drive to beat out all the top schools would make a name for our team going into CCS and State,” Gavin Beckmen said.
On the girls side, MVC junior Finley Castro won the PCAL Mission Division race in 19:29, while teammate sophomore Anna Conca (19:44) was right behind her in second place.
“I felt pretty confident because both me and my teammate, we had placed pretty well at the other PCAL [races],” Conca said.
Both runners earned a trip to next week’s CCS championships, and a chance to punch their tickets to the CIF State Championships in Fresno.
“Trust your gut,” Erik Beckmen said. “In these races now, it’s all about heart. Everybody’s feeling the pain.”
Conca won all three Mission Division races during the PCAL Center Meet portion of their schedule. She also finished with a personal best 19:40.3 in a 5k race and earned a medal at the Clovis Invitational.
Castro won the Mt. SAC Division 5 yellow race in 20:03.4 as she battled through warm temperatures that reached up to 84 degrees. Conca (20:59.2) placed fifth, while teammate senior Nylie Joneson (26:24.4) took 69th in a field of 104 runners.
“Anna and Finley, they both have worked really hard,” Erik Beckmen said. “They’re very competitive, and they feed off each other. It’s just a great dynamic. And all the girls, they’ve improved.”
Conca’s biggest accomplishment this season came at the PCAL Center Meet finale on Oct. 15. She won the Mission Division race in 18:04 to set a new school record on a three-mile course.
Next up, the CCS Championships at Crystal Springs—a course that most runners aren’t too keen to race on.
Conca’s goal there is to place in the top seven for a chance to stand on the podium, and a chance to compete as a team at the State finals.
“We’re all gonna try our hardest and see if we can go,” she said.
