Tough meet for Aztecs XC

APPLE VALLEY • After doing well at their season-opening meet agaisnt Hesperia last week, the Barstow cross country teams took part in the High Desert Cross-League Clash at Granite Hills High School on Wednesday.

This time, things didn’t go as well, as the Aztecs finished last among the eight teams that took part.

The meet was comprised of schools from the Desert Sky and Mojave River leagues.

Serrano was first in both races, with 37 points in the boys race, and 28 points in the girls’. Among the boys, Granite Hills was second (69), followed by Apple Valley (98), Burroughs (116), Silverado (150), Sultana (160), Hesperia (165), Oak Hills (186), and Barstow (215). For the girls, Granite Hills was second at 43, with Sultana (91) in third, Oak Hills (102) fourth, Apple Valley (122) fifth, Burroughs (157) sixth, Hesperia (176) seventh, and Barstow (221) eighth.

Aztecs coach Mike Pitassi was pleased last week when his team got off to a good start in its first meet, considering what a young squad he has. With only one senior on his roster, the coach was expecting some growing pains, and on Wednesday, he found himself dealing with that situation.

“Our youth was definitely a factor,” said Pitassi. “It was a real wake-up call for us.”

Taking first place in the boys race, and overall, was Jim Kniss of Serrano, with a time of 16:24. Serrano also sported the top girls runner, Melissa Fairchild, who finsihed in 18:48.

Although it was a tough meet, Pitassi views it as a learning experience.

“It was the first large meet for most of our runners and our inexperience showed,” said the coach. “We learned a few things about ourselves, weaknesses that we need to work on, such as how to finish a race.”

On Wednesday, the Aztecs will get another shot at Serrano, as the Diamondbacks come to town for a 3:15 start.