Madera runners excel in college
Courtesy of Phill Hess/Embry-Riddle Athletics
Former Madera South cross country runner Nicholas Hernandez crosses the finish line at the Cal Pac Cross Country Championships in second place to help lead Embry-Riddle to its eighth straight conference title Monday at Woodward Park.
Former Madera South runner are enjoying the end of their senior seasons at the conference championships.
Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera (Madera South) took advantage of getting an extra “COVID” year and placed third at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29.
Herrera led the Colorado Buffalos at the beginning of the race and tried to defend his 2020 individual title. In the final kilometer, Herrera couldn’t match a move from Stanford’s Charles Hicks and Oregon’s Cooper Teare. Herrera placed two seconds behind Teare for third place.
However, Herrera helped the Buffalos to the Pac-12 Championship.
Senior Nicholas Hernandez (Madera South) placed second at the Cal Pac Championships to help Embry-Riddle to its eighth straight CalPac Cross Country championships.
Hernandez will next run in the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Washington, on Nov. 19.
It was like a reunion of sorts for Madera South runners at the CalPac championships, which was held at familiar Woodward Park in Fresno.
Adrian Alvarez (Madera South) placed 49th overall, but helped UC Merced to a second place finish in the CalPac championship race.
Jaydah Aguilar (Madera South) placed 24th for UC Merced and also helped the Bobcats to a second place team finish.
Veronia Ortega- Ramirez (Madera South) helped the Fresno Pacific women’s cross country team to a fourth place finish at the PacWest Championships last week. She placed 31st overall.
David Vasquez (Madera South) has played in 13 matches for the Simpson University Red Hawks. He has tallied an assist with six shots on goal.
Yvette Zuniga (Madera) has started 16 matches for the Ursuline College Arrows’ women’s soccer team. The defender has started in every match for the 6-10 Arrows, who begin the conference tournament on Saturday.
Sophomore Mia Alvarez (Madera) started the first six matches of the season for the Notre Dame (Ohio) Falcons. She had two shots on goal, but logged significant minutes in her matches.
Quarterback Jonah Johnson (Madera South) is excelling with New Mexico State in seven games this season. He has thrown for 1,677 yards for 240 yards per game with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has 257 yards rushing with four touchdowns.
Freshman Linda Perez (Madera) earned All-Big West First Team honors with a fourth place run for UC Riverside at the Big West Championships last week.
“Linda obviously had an outstanding All-Big West performance today to lead our women to their best conference finish in several years,” coach Zach Newsom said.
Dariana Miramontes (Madera South) finished 19th overall for Riverside to lead the young Highlanders team to a fifth place finish. The top six Riverside runners are freshmen.
