Traveling to Trans-Valley League newcomer Sonora for the cross country final on Oct. 30, the Escalon squads came back with some personal records.

The JV boys finished third overall as a team, said head coach Arend Jones.

“Jacob Bellinger was among the top 10 individual runners, placing 17th overall with a PR of 13:28,” Jones said. Individual runners are those not on a team that places in the top spot.

“Rylan Eproson had a modest improvement with a PR of 15:03 and Maximilliano Diaz improved his best by over two minutes with a PR of 15:00,” Jones said.

Also Leonardo Martinez improved by more than a minute in setting a new 15:33 PR and Christian T. Cruz also PR’d with a more than a minute improvement with a time of 14:07.

“Xilen Yangose improved his best by over three minutes with a PR of 18:02 and Owen Madsen had the greatest improvement by over four minutes with a PR of 16:05,” Jones said.

It was a third place showing overall for the JV girls as well and their runners in the top 10 individuals were Brooklynn Sparacino, Kali Castellanos and Jaslene Rodriguez.

Sparacino placed 10th overall, with a PR of 16:35; Castellanos placed 16th in 17:29 and Rodriguez was 17 with a PR of 17:42.

“Bailey Schultz had a great run, improving her best by over two minutes with a PR of 18:43,” added Jones.

For the varsity girls, it was a fourth place overall finish. Victoria Calderon paced the Lady Cougars with a time of 23:19.

“Although no PR’s were made on Wednesday at the TVL finals, two days later down in Fresno, at Woodward Park, all varsity girls ran a faster time than Wednesday which is quite impressive, considering the quick turnaround,” said Jones. “And Emma Churchill had a 30 second PR with a time of 25:58.”

The varsity boys followed a track similar to that of the girls. They were sixth overall at the TVL finals and just one runner improved his time, freshman Ethan Young.

“He actually had a spectacular week, receiving a PR at TVL finals with a time of 20:14 and then two days later beat that time as well at Woodward Park with a time of 19:37,” Jones explained. “Two other boys had faster times at Woodward Park too.”

That included a new PR made by Drew Bellinger with a time of 20:33.

The coach also said that the team as a whole has made some strides this season.

“Although the Escalon Cougars did not place as high as we would have liked, it is important to understand that for cross country, the Trans-Valley League is arguably the most competitive D5 league in the state with teams better than many D4 or D3 teams,” Jones summarized. “In addition, the Cougars have a relatively young team despite having 14 seniors. The freshmen and sophomores have shown a lot of potential, filling many of the top spots on the team, and the program will likely improve in the next couple years.”

The runners are scheduled to compete at Subsections on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds.