Baber leads Lions to 2nd

Hannah Baber knew qualifying for the state cross country meet was going to be difficult.

The Faith Christian High runner was fighting a cold and 20 seconds between she and the runner she was chasing from last week’s subsection race.

While Baber could not overcome the odds, she still managed a very respectable ninth-place finish, one spot out of state, in the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. V race held at Folsom’s Willow Hills course on Saturday.

Baber cover the 3.1-mile run in 25:16, leading the Faith girls to a second-place finish as a team. Jim Elliott Christian won the race and qualified for the state meet.

Kynsie Lovell was 10th (28:03), followed by Faith Phillip (12th, 26:59), Larissa May (16th, 29:55) and Adelaide Baber (17th, 31:33).

The Faith boys were fourth as team, paced by Joshua Dunham’s 17th-place finish (21:20). He was followed by Bobby Lovell (18th, 21:27), Josh Betts (23rd, 22:59), Rob Murphy (25th, 23:39), David Feyh (28th, 25:08), Justin Spence (26:17) and Kent Pond (31st, 27:38).

DIVISION II

Yuba City High’s Cristobal Pinedo was 44th (18:19) at the Sac-Joaquin Section race in Folsom.

Olivia Jacques was seventh in the 2.1-mile sophomore race.