SALINAS -- Lance Wolfsmith wasn't overly enthused with his 10th-place finish Saturday in the Division II CIF-Central Coast Section championships in Salinas.
Sure, the Sobrato senior qualified for the state finals meet in two weeks -- but it was 10th place.
"When I enter a race, I enter it to win it, whether I do it or not," Wolfsmith said after covering the rugged three-mile Toro Park course in 16 minutes, 35 seconds. "It wasn't the type of race I wanted, but I got to be happy with it. I just wanted to finish on top. I gave it everything I could with what I had."
Wolfsmith, who is still getting back to full speed after injuring his left during a meet in September -- also in Toro Park -- stayed in the front pack for most of the race, keeping close distance with
Mountain View's Robert McLauchlan and Will Greiken of Los Gatos.
"They were all targets for me," Wolfsmith said. "Nothing was impossible today. It just didn't work out the way I wanted it to."
Wolfsmith's return to the Nov. 29 state championships in Fresno's Woodward Park will be a solo trip, as Sobrato failed to place in the top three of Division II -- one of the most challenging classes in California. The Bulldogs placed 11th with 258 points.
Winston Van Keulen was one of the few runners in the field who improved his personal-record time in the high-80 degree temperature.
"For me, it's just knowing that if I do this, I can reel in the next guy," said Van Keulen, who finished 43rd in 17:34. "There's always a teammate I can push."
Sobrato's Mitch Schenkelberg placed 67th in 18:17, Shawn Adair (18:31) took 74th and brothers Kyle (18:36) and Derek (18:37) Deisenroth placed 80th and 81st, respectively.
Racing in place of injured junior Alan Rios, Rowan Newcomb (18:53) rounded out the Bulldog finishers in 92nd.
Junior Garrett Rowe (15:29) won the individual title for Mountain View, which took the team championship with 28 points. Mountain View (36) also won the girl's title, with Leland's Stephanie Barnett (18:36) claiming her third consecutive individual crown.
The Sobrato girl's team, meanwhile, placed 14th with 373 points.
Senior Alex Seda (21:14) led the Lady Bulldogs, finishing 52nd. She made a late pass over freshman teammate Sarah Gilbert (21:40), who placed 60th.
"It was all mental. I knew it was my last race," Seda said. "I just knew I had to push it. Before the race, we were telling everyone to do that."
Sobrato's Rachel Sandberg clocked a near-personal best time of 22:41 to take 81st.
"I just kept track of who was in front of me -- I didn't even know who it was," Sandberg said. "That's all I try to focus on when it's this hot and I'm running a course like this."
Rachel's sister Ashley Sandberg (23:18) followed in 96th, and Courtney Ellenberg (24:23) and Cassandra Valenzuela (24:23) placed 113th and 114th.
Scott J. Adams Scott J. Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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