Bolger takes second, Paso Robles High third at state cross country meet
County runners put on a show at the CIF-State Cross Country Championships, with San Luis Obispo High’s Callum Bolger finishing second and the Paso Robles boys team taking third in the Division 3 race on a cool, dustless Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Bolger, running as an individual, finished the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 12.3 seconds, behind Brea Olinda’s Austin Tamagno, who won the race in 14:45.9. Tamagno also finished ahead of Bolger at the CIF-Southern Section finals last week.
As a sophomore in 2014, Bolger finished fourth and was part of a San Luis Obispo team that finished fifth.
The Bearcats wrapped up a stellar season with a strong showing at state. The Paso Robles boys team finished third with 133 points, behind Brea Olinda (86) and Baldwin Park (87). Luis Armendariz was the Bearcats’ top finisher, taking 14th in 15:34.7. Teammate Trad Berti was 15th in 15:37.1, Gannon Chamberlain was 27th in 15:53.6, Josh Potter was 39th in 16:03.8 and Taylor Bedrosian was 72nd in 16:44.4.
“They raced very well. All seven had a good, solid race,” Paso Robles coach Ivan Huff said. “There is ton of pressure on the fifth man, and (Bedrosian) passed just enough bodies at the end to move us from fourth to third and put us on the podium.”
The cool conditions helped Armendariz and Berti finish with the two best times at a state meet in school history, Huff said. Paso Robles’ finish was the best by an area team at the state meet since Cabrillo finished in second in 2004.
In the Division 4 girls race, Atascadero was 10th as a team, led by Ellie Nisbet, who finished 41st in 19:23.1. Brittni Frace was 58th in 19:41.1, Claire Livengood was 91st in 20:11.8, Aryana Gonzales was 99th in 20:18.7 and Maria Orozco was 100th in 20:18.8.
In the Division 2 girls race, Arroyo Grande’s Leza Cassidy, running as an individual, was 18th in 18:15.0.
In the Division 3 girls race, Paso Robles had two athletes running as individuals. Ashley Davis was 13th in 18:08.4, and Annie Meeder was 23rd in 18:26.8. The two finished with the two best times at a state meet in Paso Robles history, according to Huff.
“Those girls really did a good job coming on strong at the end of the year,” Huff said. “It has been an exciting and fun year for me and the athletes and we were sad to see it end today.”
In the Division 4 boys race, Morro Bay’s Andrew Stafford, running as an individual, was 27th in 16:08.1.
James Sever of Coastal Christian, running as an individual, took 25th in the Division 5 boys race, finishing in 16:27.9.
This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Bolger takes second, Paso Robles High third at state cross country meet."