SWARM takes over CHS!

The 54th annual cross-country invitational hosted over 800 athletes from 27 school. Our photo gallery showcases highlights from the day.

Juan Pablo Aceves, Sienna Sotelo, and Elias Velasquez • September 4, 2023

Juan Pablo Aceves

The Colton High Cross-Country team enjoys their outstanding day at SWARM. The team had three top 15 finishers. The junior girls took second place overall in their race. And all the new runners finished their first official 3.1 mile race.

In her first race as a Yellowjacket, freshman Janessa Villagomez barely missed making the top 10 with her time of 23:58.9. She was exhausted after the race, but stoked by her performance. We’ll be hearing her name a lot in the years to come. (J. Dollins)

Pepper Bough editor and journalist Natalie Solis finds Janessa Villagomez after her first run to do a post-run interview. “She just did that!” Solis said after handing Villagomez her medal. “That’s our own school!” (J. Dollins)

In one of the first nail biting moments of the day, Oak Hills freshman Saddie Sherrodd showed off her sprinting speed as she passed Serrano High’s Rose Conner in route to a second place finish. Sherrod finished with a time of 21:02.6 behind her teammate Milagros Martinez (20:59.2). (J. Dollins)

Another strong finish in the frosh boys race as Sultana’s Christian Castellanos passes up Arroyo Valley’s Micheal Miller. (Elias Velasquez)

Sophomore Angelica Gallardo enjoys her first run of the season at SWARM as she passes by the boys locker room area on the track. (Elias Velasquez)

The SWARM is on us. The sophomores take off from the starting block, with Serrano’s Eduardo Cendejas leading the way. He would finish third in the race with a time of 16:47.1. To his right you’ll see the race’s top finisher Tritan Sievers from Burroughs Ridgecrest. Sievers crushed the course with a time of 16:26.3. (Elias Velasquez)

Logan Martinez is back for his second year on the cross-country team. He showed significant improvement on his times from last year, shaving off just over two minutes from his best time last year to come in at 20:29.0. (Elias Velasquez)

Grand Terrace High’s Santiago De Los Santos found the SWARM course to his liking. He took 15th place in the sophomore boys race with a time of 18:30.1. (Elias Velasquez)

The CHS girls are ready to run! The team of juniors took 2nd place overall as a team in their event. Featured from left: Regina Flores Chumacero, Aubrey Rodriguez, Layla Flores, Jazmin Castillo, Yara Vera, Brianna Jimenez, Diana Ruvalcaba, and Janessa Villagomez. (Juan Pablo Aceves)

Carlos Mazariegos pushes through and sprints his way home with a 21:42.8 finish according to the clock. The official record from Finished Results has his time as 21:43.0. We will give him the two-tenths of a second. (Juan Pablo Aceves)

This was Regina Flores Chumacero’s first race as a member of the cross-country team, but you wouldn’t know it from her powerful start. (Elias Velasquez)

Bloomington junior Victoria Loyo shows her running skill as she exits the Yellowjacket bridge. She took 5th overall in the junior girls event with a time of 21:11.9. (Elias Velasquez)

Christopher Acero continued his strong showcase of running talent at this year’s SWARM. The junior shaved five seconds off his best time from last year, coming in at 18:04.7. He’ll be CIF bound this year. (Elias Velasquez)

Brianna Jimenez continued to show why she is the best runner on the girls team. The talented runner paced herself throughout the race for a dramatic, strong finish. She took eighth place overall with a time of 21:52.9. Teammate Diana Ruvalcaba nipped at her heels the entire way, coming in ninth with a time of 21:54.3. They are quite the dynamic duo! (Elias Velasquez)

And their off! But before you begin thinking that Cross-Country isn’t dangerous, if you look deep into the field, you’ll see the runners stumbling over one another and falling. Thankfully no serious injuries happened. (Juan Pablo Aceves)

Pushing through the final burn, senior Daniel Velasco turns the final corner on his way to a big finish. This was his first time racing in a cross-country event, and he led the CHS senior boys with a time of 23:23.4. (J. Dollins)

Marcus Perez, returning for another year on the cross-country team, makes his final push towards the finish line. He finished with a time of 23:50.0. (J. Dollins)

Senior Daniel Velasco shows incredible sportsmanship as he congratulates Riverside Prep’s John Ford on his finish. Daniel finished his race in 72nd of 96 runners with a time of 23:23.4. Ford came in 73rd at 23:27.1. (Juan Pablo Aceves)

Colton High School Times

Janessa Villagomez	Colton	9	23:58.9	11/41
Carolina Belman	Colton	10	32:20.4	52/58
Angelica Gallardo	Colton	10	37:57.3	57/58
Logan Martinez	Colton	10	20:29.0	41/78
Brianna Jimenez	Colton	11	21:52.9	8/71
Diana Ruvalcaba	Colton	11	21:54.3	9/71
Yara Vera	Colton	11	25:32.0	34/71
Layla Flores	Colton	11	30:40.1	56/71
Aubrey Rodriguez	Colton	11	33:54.0	65/71
Jazmin Castillo	Colton	11	35:38.0	68/71
Regina Flores Chumacero	Colton	11	DNF	DNF
Christopher Acero	Colton	11	18:04.7	17/96
Joel Lemus	Colton	11	20:00.7	37/96
Carlos Mazariegos	Colton	11	21:43.0	59/96
Anthony Davalos	Colton	11	25:23.2	82/96
Philip Mugica	Colton	11	27:43.6	90/96
Sara Lopez-Lopez	Colton	12	28:42.3	40/62
Dominic Rodriguez	Colton	12	26:10.2	89/95
Marcus Perez	Colton	12	23:50.0	78/95
Daniel Velasco	Colton	12	23:23.4	72/95

Top Finishers

Senior Girls – 3.1 miles

Angela Torres	Carter	12	21:37.1	1
Liliana Wilson	Arroyo Valley	12	22:55.9	2
Brianna Machuca	Rialto	12	22:57.2	3
Stephanie Mendoza	Serrano	12	23:14.8	4
Jayden Paz	Desert Hot Springs	12	23:16.1	5
Cielo Gomez	San Gorgonio	12	23:18.1	6
Adrianna Garcia	Hemet	12	23:22.0	7
Jazmine Morales Diego	Fontana	12	23:26.8	8
Audrey Figueroa	Grand Terrace	12	23:35.4	9
Nai Rodriguez	Jurupa Hills	12	23:38.0	10

Senior Boys – 3.1 miles

Micah Watson	Fontana	12	15:47.4	1
Elijah Lovett	Academy for Academic Excellence	12	16:23.5	2
Nicolas Juarez Cuahutle	Fontana	12	16:27.7	3
Javier Torres-Reyes	San Gorgonio	12	17:18.7	4
Hector De Dios-Perez	Fontana	12	17:26.0	5
Aaron Hardy	Burroughs Ridgecrest	12	17:40.3	6
Octavio De La Cruz	Rialto	12	17:42.3	7
Diego Sanchez	Notre Dame – Riverside	12	17:52.5	8
Matthew Romero	Eisenhower	12	17:53.2	9
Manuel Perez	Eisenhower	12	17:53.2	10

Junior Girls – 3.1 miles

Renee Mathewson-Martinez	Burroughs Ridgecrest	11	20:16.5	1
Isabella Lipinska-Hunt	Burroughs Ridgecrest	11	20:19.1	2
Savannah Flores	Arroyo Valley	11	20:26.4	3
Victoria Jimenez	Grand Terrace	11	20:47.6	4
Victoria Loyo	Bloomington	11	21:11.9	5
Maria Montes	Desert Hot Springs	11	21:17.4	6
Gabriela Rodriguez	Rialto	11	21:19.4	7
Brianna Jimenez	Colton	11	21:52.9	8
Diana Ruvalcaba	Colton	11	21:54.3	9
Dianet Ramos	Pacific	11	22:00.4	10

Junior Boys – 3.1 miles

Zion Ortiz	Burroughs Ridgecrest	11	15:43.8	1
Owen Teague	Hemet	11	16:04.7	2
Ryan Morrison	Burroughs Ridgecrest	11	16:28.2	3
Matthew Garcia	Oak Hills	11	17:02.6	4
Matthew Barrera	Fontana	11	17:07.0	5
Alejandro Medina	San Gorgonio	11	17:07.3	6
James Winder	Burroughs Ridgecrest	11	17:13.8	7
Gauge Thompson	Serrano	11	17:16.1	8
Aiden Ramirez	Oak Hills	11	17:19.3	9
Logan Hernandez	Sultana	11	17:21.3	10

Sophomore Girls – 3.1 miles

Eve Washburn	Burroughs Ridgecrest	10	18:53.7	1
Gabriella Loza	Hemet	10	19:33.3	2
Jaelynn Alvarado	Serrano	10	19:47.6	3
Abigail Fisher	Serrano	10	20:22.2	4
Bernice Juarez	Arroyo Valley	10	20:31.6	5
Kaydence Stewart	Burroughs Ridgecrest	10	21:02.3	6
Alexzia Sahagun	Arroyo Valley	10	21:39.2	7
Yamilet Lopez	Bloomington	10	21:44.7	8
Ruby Hernandez	Oak Hills	10	21:46.0	9
Brooke Lorz	Academy for Academic Excellence	10	22:27.6	10

Sophomore Boys – 3.1 miles

Tristan Sievers	Burroughs Ridgecrest	10	16:26.3	1
Silas Aberer	Burroughs Ridgecrest	10	16:39.2	2
Eduardo Cendejas	Serrano	10	16:47.1	3
Xavier Cendejas	Serrano	10	17:18.9	4
Ayden Valle	Rancho Verde	10	17:29.5	5
Roberto Torres	Carter	10	17:30.8	6
Eudier Leano	San Gorgonio	10	17:32.7	7
Cole Connor	Serrano	10	17:35.8	8
Chase Rogers	Burroughs Ridgecrest	10	17:45.3	9
John Mark Reyes	Rialto	10	17:54.0	10

Frosh Girls – 3.1 miles

Milagros Martinez	Oak Hills	9	20:59.2	1
Saddie Sherrodd	Oak Hills	9	21:02.6	2
Rose Connor	Serrano	9	21:07.3	3
Ella Cedeno	Serrano	9	21:44.2	4
Candice Sanchez	Oak Hills	9	21:46.0	5
Annabelle Winder	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	22:49.7	6
Sophia Lopez	San Gorgonio	9	23:01.5	7
Alexis Zwierzchowski	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	23:33.6	8
Myla Rocha	Serrano	9	23:40.1	9
Mila Schmidt	Hemet	9	23:55.1	10

Frosh Boys – 3.1 miles

Oscar Moreno	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	17:34.8	1
Sean Maldonado	Fontana	9	17:46.4	2
Quan Laskey	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	18:02.4	3
Cade Buckhoff	Oak Hills	9	18:32.6	4
Jacob Jeong	Oak Hills	9	18:53.6	5
Morrissey De La Rosa	Arroyo Valley	9	18:58.6	6
Joshua Harris	Academy for Academic Excellence	9	19:19.9	7
Isaac Pendergast	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	19:32.8	8
Noah Montoya	Burroughs Ridgecrest	9	19:38.2	9
Jacoby LaChappa	Hemet	9	19:43.9	10

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About the Contributor

Sienna Sotelo, Staff Writer

Sienna Sotelo