Ambriz leads Merced to third consecutive CCC cross country championship

Daniel Ambriz thrives on competition. The Merced High School senior feels he’s at his best when he’s forced to dig deep.

That’s why Ambriz can’t wait for the coming weeks, as the cross country events get bigger and bigger.

Ambriz was basically racing against himself Wednesday as he ran away with the individual title in the final Central California Conference Cluster Meet at Atwater High. Ambriz and teammate Julian Johnson, who finished second, helped the Bears edge Atwater 41-46 to clinch Merced’s third consecutive conference title.

Ambriz shattered the 3-mile course record at Atwater in winning the 12th annual Merced County Cross Country Championships with a time of 15 minutes, 3 seconds on Oct. 17.

He broke his record by crossing the finish line in 15:01 on Wednesday.

In the girls race, Turlock narrowly defeated Atwater 47-55 to win the team championship. Merced sophomore Ciara Colon won the individual title with a time of 18:09.

“It means a lot; it’s my last year,” Ambriz said. “Especially with my new teammates. We have two freshmen (Ramon Tristan and David Granados) who both have a lot ahead of them.”

The Bears (14-1 CCC) came into the race tied with Atwater (13-2) at 9-1 in the CCC after each picked up a win in the first two cluster meets in Merced and Turlock.

Powered by Ambriz, Johnson (15:32), John Hagerman (seventh, 16:18) and freshmen Tristan (13th, 16:27) and Granados (18th, 16:57), the Bears were able to win the championship with only five runners.

“We were both even coming in,” Merced coach Tim Hagerman said. “We were bothered a lot by injuries this season, especially with my son, John. He’s usually up there with Julian and Daniel. We only have five guys on the team, and two of them are freshmen. Pulling them up and asking them to run varsity is a tough thing to ask, but they did it.”

The Falcons received strong performances from third-place finisher Alex Vargas (15:54) and fourth-place Ozzy Nava (15:58).

Golden Valley’s Immanuel Wright (16:04) placed fifth and teammate Guillermo Rivas (16:07) finished sixth.

The star was Ambriz, who started fast and ran away from the competition, finishing 31 seconds ahead.

“I was thinking of breaking 15 (minutes), but it’s hard without competition,” Ambriz said. “I was hoping to take it out early. I think I was 4:50 for the first mile. Overall, I’m pretty happy. I’m happy for my team. I feel I’m ready to run with the top guys. I’m looking forward to sections.”

Unlike Ambriz, Colon had somebody to run the course with in teammate Quinn Hagerman, who finished second in 18:32.

Colon didn’t break away from Hagerman until late.

“I tried to push myself, but my teammate Quinn pushed me,” Colon said. “She’s helped get me this far.”

Colon felt she could have posted a better time, but the heat made it a little tougher. The sophomore is hoping for a better finish to the season. Last year, a hip injury slowed her at the Sac-Joaquin Section Subsection Meet.

“I’m really nervous,” she said. “I’m just going to push myself as much as I can.”

The CCC title was up for grabs with Atwater and Turlock tied at 9-1 in the conference. The Bulldogs (14-1) received strong performances from Hope Salsig (fourth, 19:34), Maria Varela (fifth, 19:43) and Adelae Fredeen (ninth, 19:54).

“It means too much to win the title because we worked so hard as a team,” Salsig said. “We were all about making each other better. That’s what we did.”

The Falcons (13-2) were led by Clara Harman (sixth, 19:47), Callie Norton (seventh, 19:48) and Kelsey Valencia (eighth, 19:49).

Seven of the top eight were underclassmen, including Golden Valley freshman Josette Vigil, who finished third at 19:12.

The postseason begins Nov. 7 with the subsection meet at Frogtown in Angels Camp.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Ambriz leads Merced to third consecutive CCC cross country championship."