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MODESTO — As teammates on the varsity soccer team, Jose Cortez and Eduardo Chin are used to working together toward a common goal.

In a slightly different athletic venue, the runners brought out each other’s competitive side Saturday as Cortez edged Chin for 34th place among 270 runners in the varsity 3.1-mile boys race at the Sierra Invitational.

Cortez and Chin had identical times of 18 minutes, 23 seconds, but Cortez finished just ahead of Chin in a virtual photo finish.

“I thought I’d have him beat by a lot, but Eduardo is a good runner,” said Cortez, who finished second in the Apricot Fiesta 10-kilometer run in June. “I’m not in good shape. I think I’m out of conditioning.”

Cortez’s 2-mile time of 11:28 was 12 seconds faster than Chin’s, but Chin closed the gap enough to challenge Cortez down the stretch.

“I didn’t think I’d beat him,” Chin said. “I thought he would beat me by a lot. Soccer helps a lot with conditioning.”

Patterson cross country coach Dave Klein said he hoped for better times from both Cortez and Chin and the rest of his runners.

“I didn’t like our times for the final mile,” Klein said. “The fastest third mile we had was Eduardo’s 6:43 mile. They’re running against the district’s best. We got to get the third-mile time down. The more you run, the better you’re going to get.”

Other runners included Jorge Vasquez, with a 3.1-mile time of 19:22 for 62nd place; Lance Michael, 20:52, 119th; Roger Cuestas, 21:13, 133rd; Art Hoxie, 21:14, 136th; and Nick Santillan, 24:42, 219th.

On the girls side, Amanda Moreno made a name for herself with a 15th-place finish among 180 varsity contestants. She completed the 3.1-mile course in 22:11, with a two-mile time of 14:00.

“My goal was to run under 25 minutes, because it’s the first race,” Moreno said. “I finished it — that’s what I wanted. My time was about a minute slower than my best times before. I knew I wouldn’t PR (personal record). I just thought I did my best.”

Teammate Melissa Vega wasn’t far behind with a mark of 23:38, which placed her 36th. Vanessa Lazcano rounded out Patterson’s trio of girl runners with a 25:29 time.

“If we’re to place high at subsection, we have to get our times down,” Klein said. “Nobody tried to have a bad time. They all did their best. They just need to log miles.”

In the two-mile JV boys race, Jack Relva’s time of 12: 22 ranked him 38th among 194 runners, while Rafael Martinez finished with a time of 13:44.

Patterson will travel to Orestimba on Sept. 19 for its next Western Athletic Conference cross country meet.

To reach Play Editor Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
mike@pattersonirrigator.com