CIF-SS FINALS::

Holidays in Fresno
St. John Bosco earns a trip to the California State Meet

It was a perfect day at the races for this year's CIF Southern Section Finals. So perfect in fact that every team in the Division II boys race stepped up. The 2002 Running Braves made their mark as well, as they recorded the 2nd fastest team time in school history to place fifth in the race. This was the 2nd highest placing by a Bosco team ever at CIF Finals, and the Braves 2nd time advancing to the State Finals in three years. The Braves accomplished this feat without an "elite superstar" runner on their squad which makes their performance even more impressive. Bosco handled the race with a formula of nice pack running as they put their scorers in position.

Leading the way for the Braves was senior captain Anthony Martinez, who was making his last CIF appearance for the Braves. Tony, who placed 19th overall for the Braves, lead his team with a time of 15:41. Running as the Braves #2 man was sophomore Randy Skillens. Finishing in the 21st position, Skillens would miss the sophomore record by a mere 3 seconds to record a time of 15:42. The Junior Trio of Luis Uribe, Mahesh Gandhi, and Ephraim Barrios would finish in 16:03, 16:09, and 16:25 respectively. Once again rounding out the top 7 for the Braves were senior Darby O'neill, and Junior Ruben Flores.

Next up for the Braves will be their two hour trip north to Fresno. Congratulations to the St. John Bosco Cross Country team and to Coach Tim McIntosh on a successful season. One more race to go - make you fans proud.