Paso cross country makes school history, qualifies for Division 2 state championships

The Paso Robles High School boys cross country team made history Saturday CIF-Southern Section cross country finals.

The Bearcats qualified for the CIF State Cross Country Championships for the first time in school history in highly competitive Division 2 with a fifth-place team finish on the 3-mile course in Riverside. Last season, Paso Robles qualified for the state meet in Division 3.

Paso Robles junior and San Luis Obispo County champion Pablo Cortes led the way with a 26th-place finish (15:33). Not far behind were junior Steven Scruggs (15:48, 38th), senior Ian Young (15:50, 40th) and sophomore Damian Gavilan (15:50, 41st).

SLO sophomores secure state bid

A trio of sophomores helped lead SLO High to a sixth-place finish in the Division 4 boys race to secure a spot at the CIF state meet (the top seven teams in each division qualified). SLO High sophomore Duncan Speirs (15:53) finished in 10th place, while classmates Matthew Scurria (16:21) and Justin Hatcher (16:33) finished in 30th and 37th, respectively.

McClish makes it

Morro Bay junior and three-time Los Padres League champion Audrey McClish finished the Division 4 race in eighth place (18:10) to qualify for the CIF state meet as an individual. The Morro Bay girls team missed the top-seven cutoff, finishing in 12th place, just ahead of Atascadero in 13th place.

Luis Jazo advances

The Arroyo Grande boys cross country team missed the cut with a ninth-place finish, but senior Luis Jazo finished eighth (15:12) in the Division 2 race to secure an individual spot at the state meet.

The 2017 CIF State Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday, Nov. 25 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Paso cross country makes school history, qualifies for Division 2 state championships."