Warriors Run Strong at RLS Relays

The Valley Christian Warriors traveled to Pebble Beach Saturday to compete in the RLS Relays.  In a unique relay format each member raced 1.6 miles over varying terrain that included fire road trails, single track trails, sand, pavement, lots of hills and more.

Each team comprised of 5 runners.  The Boys Varsity team comprised of Ryan Ensor, Dustin Laucella, Eric Ortiz, Eyobed Mesfun and Sean Davis finished the race in 45:22 to finish 13th out of 39 complete teams.  Sean Davis had the fastest split of the day running the anchor leg in 8:06.   

The boys JV teams of Alex Ascencio, Derek Seaman, Jontom Phan, D-Klein, and Corey Bentley also impressed with solid runs all under 10:25 for the 1.6 mile loop.  New comer Corey Bentley who just joined the team about 2 weeks ago had the best split for his team running 9:37.

It was also a great day for the team of Samuel Han, Inigo Garcia, Josh Profio, Wilson Ye, and Paul James.  All running in the 11 minute range each runner has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season and is a good sign for the rest of the season.  Samuel Han led his team with an 11:02 clocking for his leg.

The Girls team had another outstanding day finishing 4th over-all.  Jessica Xu started off putting the team in contention running a fabulous 1st leg handing off in 4th place, just seconds behind the leaders.  Karen Mac and Kellianne Connolly kept it close moving the team into third place while Isabel Garcia had a spectacular run of her own picking off one more place to put the Warriors in second place heading into the final leg.  Freshman Ashley Lara pulled anchor duty and ran magnificently.  Battling a Senior from Division 1 school Clovis High, Lara held off a late charge and found herself rubbing elbows in an all-out fight-to-the-finish.  In one of the most exciting finishes of the day Ashley was in the mix fighting for every inch!  When the dust settled the Warriors found themselves 4th over-all and 2nd in the large school division. 

The JV girls also had great runs.  Shannon Luu, Megan Gillespie, Amanda Ernenwein, and Lindsay Folden were running in 2nd place in the JV division but had to stop short of the finish line only having 4 runners.

After the race the team headed to Carmel for some lunch and beach time thanks to the efforts of team parents!  "This was the best race," Derek Seaman said after burying Josh Profio in the sand.  "This is what being on a team is all about."

After the race Coach Lee was happy with the results, the team bonding and the good weather.  "I think we found a new team tradition."

Team Results: CLICK HERE