J.J. Jimenez sprints to first place finish

ROYAL CITY - J.J. Jimenez shocked South Central A Conference cross country with the race of his life to win the individual title at the district meet last Thursday at Highland and lead Royal's boys to their sixth straight team crown.

The Royal girls finished second overall in their team race, Following closely the pace set by champion Zillah. Royal girls took four of the top eight places (Kay Lester 3rd, Meghan Mianecki 5th, Gracelyn Miller 6th, Caitlin Diaz 8th).

The girls will advance to the state meet next weekend in Pasco

In All-league honors announced after the meet, Kay Lester, Meghan Mianecki and Gracelyn Miller made the first team. The second team includes Caitlin Diaz and Anahi Gomez, and Sam Eilers made honorable mention.

In the boys race, Jimenez surprised everyone, including teammate Riley Lefler, who finished second. The best he had done all year was second place on the team in any meet.

"This was the first time this year that J.J. ran as our number 1 finisher," coach Lyndsy Roberts said. "Previously he had finished anywhere from 2nd to 4th on our team, let alone to the rest of the district runners."

On the other hand, Roberts noted, Jimenez is a senior runner who knows how to run the second half of the race tough. He has put in a lot of hard work over the years.

"It was very rewarding to see him achieve a district title," Roberts said.

Jimenez's winning time of 16:32 was a personal best for a 3-mile course.

"In the case of Riley, he showed incredible strength and desire to earn his second place victory," Roberts said.

With about a half mile to go, Lefler was running in 5th place. Rather than settle, he put together a late rally and passed three runners in the final portion of the race.

Lefler passed the last one with just one stride remaining. His effort secured Royal's first 1-2 SCAC District finish since the twins (Rigoberto and Humberto Jimenez) accomplished the feat in 2007.

It was Lefler's personal best finish at districts.

With Jimenez and Lefler at the top, Royal's boys ran away with the team race. The Knights' first six runners finished in the top 15. They would have qualified for state individually.

The boys team will compete in the state meet at Pasco this Saturday.