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The Miner Cross Country State Team are from left: Marco Salas, James Duarte, Patrick Lopez, Juan Ortega, Andrea Castaneda, Carlos Salas and Jared Gonzlaes. Not pictured Colton Stratton.
Maria Lopez | SMHS
San Manuel Miner
The San Manuel boys’ cross-country team competed at last weekend’s 2014 Division IV Cross Country State Championships. A total of 25 boys’ teams qualified for the state meet which took place at Cave Creek Golf Course on Nov. 8.
Junior Patrick Lopez was the top Miner runner, finishing with a time of 19:39. Two of his teammates – Juan Ortega and James Duarte – were less than one second behind.
Ortega crossed the finish line with an official time of 19:39. Duarte was next at 19:40.
Four other Miner runners, including Colton Stratton, Jared Gonzalez, Carlos Salas, and Marcos Salas also represented the Miners boys’ cross-country team at the meet.
Andrea Castaneda made her second consecutive appearance at the State Championships last weekend. Unfortunately, individual results were not available at press time. The Miner will publish final individual results as soon as they are made available.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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