Warrior boys dominate Vista in cross-country league opener

Fallbrook High School’s boys cross-country team opened league dual meet competition September 30 against Vista and took nine of the top ten places.

A cross-country team’s score consists of combined positions of the first five finishers, and while the sixth and seventh finishers from a team are not scored they can add to an opponent’s score. The Warriors defeated the Panthers 19-44 at the meet in Fallbrook.

“They went on, raced pretty hard, and made a statement,” said Fallbrook head coach Marco Arias.

Michael Froboese was the first runner across the finish line, taking 16:09 to complete the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course. The course record is 16:00, which was set by Fallbrook’s Jason Martin in 1986 and matched by Bret Hasvold in 2007.

“He’s making a push,” Arias said of Froboese finishing within ten seconds of the course record. “I think he’s got a shot at it.”

Arias noted that Froboese posted his time despite the lack of any competition from either school. “It’s tough racing when you’re the lead guy and there’s nobody challenging you,” Arias said.

Tyler Lavenuta of Vista placed second with a time of 16:44, but the rest of the top ten runners wore Fallbrook jerseys. Nick Johnson had a time of 16:59, Ramona Villagomez completed the course in 17:16, Andrew Donnelly took 17:19, Justin Jones ran with a cold but still only required 17:20, Caleb Ashbrook took 17:26, Enrique Rivera crossed the finish line 17:34 after the starter’s gun, Joel Rivera finished at 17:56, and Connor Froboese posted a time of 18:02.

“It was very gratifying to see that,” Arias said of having nine of the first ten finishes. “The guys keep working hard, and their efforts are showing.”

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