McFarland 9th at CIF section meet, qualifies for state race

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Bonsall High School senior Ethan McFarland will be closing out his high school cross country career at the CIF state meet Nov. 27 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

McFarland finished ninth among Division V boys at the CIF San Diego Section meet Nov. 20 at Morley Field in San Diego. The three teams with the best finish qualified for the state meet as teams, as did the five fastest runners whose team did not qualify. McFarland was the fourth finisher among harriers whose school did not qualify as a team.

"I'm just glad. I put a lot of work, a lot of effort into it, and I'm glad I'm getting something back," McFarland said.

"We were hoping that Ethan was going to have a strong showing. He's been working hard since his middle school years at Sullivan," said Bonsall High Athletic Director Andrea Breuninger, who coached the Legionnaires in the absence of cross country coach Michelle Verdugo. "We're super proud of him and all the hard work he's put into his running career."

A minimum of five runners are needed to qualify for a team score. Bonsall had four boys and two girls at the CIF section meet.

Francis Parker won as a team, and Francis Parker senior Kenan Pala was the individual first finisher with a time of 14:22.3 on the 2.96-mile course. Santa Fe Christian had both the second-place team finish and the second-place individual finish which took senior Mark Trammell 15:00.0.

The eighth-place runner, Santa Fe Christian senior Thomas Brown, crossed the finish line 16:15.6 after the start of the race. McFarland's ninth-place time was 16:30.8.

"I'm happy about that," McFarland said of ninth place. "Sure it's ninth and not first, but you can't wish for everything."

Santa Fe Christian junior Hudson Kim became the 10th finisher 16:33.7 after the start of the race. The fifth individual qualifier, Holtville junior Julian Reyna, was 13th overall and had a time of 16:45.9.

"I think it went well," McFarland said of how he raced. "I got out pretty fast and I kind of found my pack right away."

An individual state qualifier must finish among the top 14 overall, so McFarland had to achieve at least that position as well as not finishing behind too many runners. Team scores are based on the positions of a school's first five finishers, and enough runners were behind McFarland that he was uncertain which teams would be the state qualifiers.

"I was kind of counting the places I was in, too," he said. "I think I was always in the top 14."

That doesn't include the start when McFarland was near the front but covers the majority of the race after the runners began to sort out.

"I wanted to be in the top 10, though, to really lock a spot in the individual rankings," McFarland said. "That was kind of my goal, the top 10."

He was 11th before passing a competitor about 400 yards from the finish line. He gained his final position just before the finish tape. "There was a guy in front of me and I could sense that he was tired," McFarland said.

"He had a really exciting race," Breuninger said.

"I'm just happy with my performance," McFarland said.

"It's nice to have that pressure off and know I'm going to state," McFarland said. "For the most part I'm just considering Fresno like a victory lap."

The second Bonsall finisher and the 111th overall finisher, sophomore Jeffrey Lee, had a time of 21:07.4. "We also had a really strong showing from Jeffrey Lee," Breuninger said.

The Tamimi brothers were Bonsall's other two boys runners; freshman Gabriel Tamimi completed the course in 21:25.7 for 116th place and senior Adam Tamimi posted a time of 24:19.5 which made him the 139th finisher.

Santa Fe Christian junior Revere Schmidt won the Division V girls race in 17:51.4. Both of Bonsall's girls are freshmen; Mary Ramirez had the 78th-place time of 27:46.5 and Samantha Kylestewa completed the course in 32:21.6 for 87th place.

"They got some experience for the years to come," Breuninger said.

"We're looking to expand the program next year and get even more Bonsall High School students excited about running cross country," Breuninger said. "I'm really excited to see what the future holds for the cross country team at Bonsall."

The future includes this year's state race. "I'm feeling confident about Fresno. I feel like I am ready," McFarland said.