Submitted by Denair High School

It’s fair to say that not only did the runners on the first-ever Denair High School cross country team make some impressive strides this year, so did the program itself.

The Coyotes’ successful debut in the sport was capped off Saturday when two runners — Danielle Tigner (frosh/soph girls) and Seth Martinez (sophomore boys) – earned medals at the Sac-Joaquin Section Meet in Folsom.

Running a 3,300-meter course on grass and gravel at the Willow Creek Reservoir, Tigner finished in 20 minutes, 38.9 seconds – good enough for sixth place.

Martinez, competing on the same course, was timed in 15:51.8. He was 11^th overall, but received a medal as one of the top eight runners not on one of the top teams.

Coach Matthew Groom said he couldn’t be prouder of his two runners or their teammates.

“Both runners worked hard over the season,” he said. “They were able to run faster and better than they did when the season started. Tigner has had some distance-running experience. She has ran 5K’s before this year.  Martinez has never had any distance-running experience.  He did well this year, despite that fact.

“With this year being the first Denair has had cross country, and my first year as a coach in the sport, we all learned a lot about the organization and the sport itself.  We will take the lessons we have learned over the season and improve our team next year.

“I was pleased that not only did we have runners who qualified for Sections, but they both medaled.  I think with the experience that all our runners had, we will be able to qualify more runners next year.”

Submitted by Denair High School

Three of the four Denair High School cross country runners who competed Saturday on a hilly course in Angels Camp qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Meet this week.

Seth Martinez (sophomore boys), Danielle Tigner (frosh/soph girls) and Johnny Ibarra (freshman boys) advanced for the Coyotes to Saturday’s at the Willow Hill course in Folsom, though Ibarra won’t run because of a previous commitment.

They qualified based on their performances at the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet at the Frogtown course near the Calaveras County Fairgrounds. They all were among the top 10 runners who were not part of the six fastest teams.

Martinez completed the two-mile course in 17 minutes, 58.2 seconds, making him 13^th overall and the sixth individual qualifier.

Tigner was 10^th overall in her race, finishing in 20:08.7. And Ibarra was sixth overall and the third individual qualifier with his time of 14:53.0.

A fourth Denair runner, Alex Flores (varsity boys), had his season end after finishing 82^nd out of 159 runners with a time of 22:00.4 over 5 kilometers.

This was the first season for cross country at Denair and Coach Matthew Groom said his runners adapted well to a challenging course.

“The course had three hills for the lower levels and a few more for varsity. These hills were steeper than we have ever seen before,” he said.

Submitted by Denair High School

The inaugural cross country season for Denair High began with 15 runners. After three months of competition, four qualified for spots in Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section Meet at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp.

The Coyotes still competing are:

• Alex Flores (varsity boys)
• Seth Martinez (sophomore boys)
• Danielle Tigner (frosh/soph girls)
• Johnny Ibarra (freshman boys)

Coach Matthew Groom said he is proud of his small team, which has shown “great improvement” in the course of the season.

“Ibarra was one of the last people to finish the JV race in the first league meet, but through hard work, he improved so much that I moved him up to varsity on the league meets as a freshman,” Groom said. “Tigner improved her time by 3 minutes since her last meet.

“Martinez has finished in the top 15 for the JV boys during the last two league meets (including 9th in the last meet). Not only has Flores improved his times, but he continues to show the leadership qualities that are needed for our team.  The other runners follow his lead and he has represented the school well.”

Saturday, Flores will run the 5-kilometer grass, dirt and cement course known as Frogtown. The fairgrounds are the site of the famous Jumping Frog competition each spring, inspired by the famous Mark Twain short story. Martinez, Tigner and Ibarra will compete on the slightly shorter two-mile layout in the foothills.

Denair runs in Division V, which includes all high schools with enrollment of 600 or less.

For varsity, the top 10 teams and the top 10 individuals not on those teams will qualify for the Sac-Joaquin Section race in Folsom next week.  For all other levels, the top six teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will qualify.