Denair cross country runner Sal Virgen accomplished something this season that no other Coyote had ever done – he qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Meet. Virgen, a junior, finished 24th out of 76 runners with a time of 19 minutes, 16 seconds on the three-mile course at Willow Hills Reservoir in Folsom.

Denair Coach Matthew Groom was not surprised Virgen broke new ground for the program.

“It is fitting that it would be Sal. He was the first runner I had to break 20 minutes for a 5K, and he did it his freshman year. For the past three years, he has been the standard both on and off the course,” Groom said.

Virgen was the top runner all season for the Coyotes, who captured their first Southern League cross country title. It was a major milestone for a program that has made enormous strides recently.

“Two years ago, we had two runners who competed as individuals,” Groom said. “This year was the first year we had enough runners to score as a team since 2018, and we won our league, and we did it without one senior on the team.  … This team grew a lot in a short period of time.”

Groom expects Virgen to lead a strong group of runners next year.

“While we grew a lot, we have a lot left to do,” he said. “I am expecting the majority of the team to return and I am also expecting us to have enough runners to at least have a few individuals on the JV team.  I would like us to qualify for the Section Meet as a team next year.”