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The panther is one of the fastest animals in the jungle, and in the Blossom Valley Athletic League cross country finals on Nov. 1 at least one member of the Prospect Panthers certainly lived up to that name.
Prospect didn't run away with a victory, but Beckie Palm ran like the Panthers' namesake on the 2.95-mile Crystal Springs course.
Despite being unable to field a complete team of five runners, the Panthers were impressive thanks to the solid effort by the senior Palm, who finished fourth overall in 19:35.
Along with Palm came junior teammate Jen Kocisko (21:47). Kocisko's time was good enough for 36th-place overall.
The Prospect boys were able to field an entire team, but ended up 18th in the team standings. Leading the pride of Panthers was junior Steve Derending (18:26), who finished 62nd. Following Derending was junior Aj Pala (95th in 19:33), junior Alex Lin (97th in 19:43), junior Alex Duong (104th in 19:53) and sophomore Scott Hines (112th in 20:22).
Junior Jessica Wacker (20:26) led the Westmont charge at the BVAL finals, finishing sixth to lead the Warriors to 16th in the team standings.
Following Wacker was freshman Laura Smith (92nd in 24:31) with Xandra Cirpuz (103rd in 25:26), Michiko Takyu (106th in 25:31) and sophomore Erin Salas (109th in 26:22).
Like Prospect's girls, the Westmont boys were not able to field an entire team of runners. Junior Spencer Wong (19:45) led the attack for the boys of Westmont with a 99th-place finish overall. Seconds later came sophomore Jacob Publicover (101st in 19:49) and senior Edmundas Balcikoni (133rd in 23:17).
Joining the Panthers and the Warriors in the meet were the Dons of Del Mar. Like Westmont and Prospect, it was the girls who had the best outcome in the race. Sophomore Jennifer Dean (20:27) finished eighth overall to lead the Dons to a team 11th.
Following Dean was senior Monica Morman (27th in 21:27), senior Samira Oliva (52nd in 22:31), freshman Jenessa Whipple (66th in 23:13) and freshman Erin Friesen (100th in 25:19).
Like Westmont, the Dons were not able to field a complete boys team. With only four runners finishing the run, they were not able to place as a team.
Junior Angle Gonzalez (17:37) was the first of the Dons to complete the race in 32nd-place overall. Following Gonzalez was junior Mike Hall (79th in 19:01), senior Nathana Whipple (80th in 19:04) and freshman Brian Conte (127th in 21:37).
The top finishers in the BVAL now advance to the Central Coast Section meet set for Nov. 13 at Toro Park in Salinas. For more information on the CCS finals visit www.cifccs.org.
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