CIF-SS FINALS::

CIF Finals - An End to a Great Season!

The St. John Bosco Cross Country Team ended their season at the CIF Southern Section Finals. Finishing a strong 6th place the Braves failed to meet the required top four placing and the qualifying time in order to advance on to the State Finals. It was a successful, but disappointing run for a team that had high hopes for their season. And while the Braves may not be happy with their showing it can be said that none of them did anything to hurt the reputation of the team as they finished a place higher then their final Southern Section ranking of 7th.

Leading the way for the Braves was 2001 MVP candidate Senior Randy Hills . Hills ran an impressive, if not determined race to finish 13th place and receive All CIF honors. Hills' finish made him the 2nd Brave in as many years to finish with this distinction. Running in the 2nd man spot once again was Junior Anthony Martinez . Martinez had a break through season for the Braves this year and looks to take the lead from a graduating Hills as the head of next year's squad. Rounding out the 3rd, 4th, and 5th man positions were Seniors, Albert Flores , Daniel Estrella , and Patrick Pavelski . Flores, a three year letterman, finished his senior season in strong fashion proving that he can run in the big races. Estrella, also a three year letterman capped out a break through senior season with a commendable effort while running through an early morning cold (and two pre-race bee stings!). Pavelski,coming into his own this year as a top Varsity runner, did not let his team down on his way to a Mt. SAC PR. Rounding out the Varsity squad on this day were Sophomore's Luis Uribe and Mahesh Gandhi . Uribe, duplicating his PR from Prelims, once again ran a strong race and showed that he is ready to fill in the gaps for next year's squad. Gandhi, a two year letterman, ran despite being ill all week, but will be ready to also step up next year for the departed seniors.

This years Running Braves accomplished a lot. While all goals may not have been reached nothing can take away the fact that they set a standard of determination throughout the season and proved to be one of the best teams in Brave Running history! Look over the site as a tribute to them and recap some of their great 2001 accomplishments.