Braves - unable to catch soaring Eagles - stand second in league

For anyone doing the appropriate research it would have been a bit of surprise and somewhat of an upset for this year's St. John Bosco cross-country program to finish any better then 3rd in league. Strong returning squads from Mater Dei and Servite high schools respectively were expected to battle for the top spot in the Serra League. Leave it to two tradition rich programs to upend expectations. While the Braves could not fully pull off an upset, they were able to finish a strong second to a vastly improved Santa Margarita team. In fact, the last time the Braves were defeated in league it was by the 1999 Eagle squad. That year the Braves were downed by 3 points in their dual meet but came back six weeks later to pay Santa Margarita back after handing them a 1 point loss to claim the first Serra League title. While the Braves could not retain their status as the #1 team in league for the day, they still took another step forward in their quest for a 12th straight Serra league title coming away from the day with the realization that #12 is in sight. If the Braves were to come away with the win at next months Serra League finals, league rules proclaim that the Braves would stand as the outright champions.

Leading the team effort was once again, junior Victor Bonilla who ran one of the top junior times in school history on the league course to finish second overall in the race. A bit behind Bonilla was a nice pack of Braves that rounded out the top 5 to seal a second place finish. Juniors Justin Martinez and Tim Barreto - 16:45 respectively, senior Jon Batres (16:46) and sophomore Brett McCoy (16:55) all finished in a nice pack to set the tone for the Braves. Rounding out the top seven for the Braves were junior Johnny Wilcox and senior Mike Alvarez.

The young Braves still have a long way to go if they want to retain their "Streak" but they know that if they continue to push each other things just may work out in their favor.