Sierra’s Mikayla Bueno won the Valley Oak League girls varsity race Thursday, and Manteca’s Oscar Angel placed fourth in the boys varsity race and broke a 30-year old Buffaloes record on the 5,000 meter course at Mistlin Park.

Bueno’s first-place time was 19 minutes, 53.0 seconds.

“I came into this race thinking about keeping contact with (Oakdale’s Bradie) Evans,” Bueno said. “I came in second to her all the other VOL races and today was the day where I wanted to push myself past my limit. I let her pace me throughout the whole race. She started gagging with about 200 to 300 meters to go and once I heard that I knew she was breaking down and it was time for me to open up my stride and get myself to the finish line as quick as I could.

“This feels amazing. I have never won a cross country race before and this is really a breakthrough for me.”

Evans finished second (20:05.08), but Oakdale squeezed out a 26-30 win over the Timberwolves, giving the two teams a piece of the overall league championship.

“We are now co-champs with Oakdale,” Sierra coach Mike Rosendin said. “I am so happy for Mikayla (Bueno). To be the individual VOL champion is a great achievement for her. She is a relative newcomer, she works hard and has a great attitude. You could not ask for a better young lady.”

Bueno’s teammate Monse Saavedra finished third (20:22.5).

“Today was a hard day,” Saavedra said. “We knew we had to push it to place really well.

“Everyone was yelling at each other for encouragement, and it was a good race and I am really proud of my team and everyone who participated.”

Angel ran out of course as he was gaining on the top-three Oakdale runners Omar Alsaidi, Mason Oliveira and Jackson Oliveira running side by side at the end of the race, finishing fourth in 15:53.7 to Alsaidi’s first in 15:52.2.

“I knew Sierra and Kimball were going to be hard to beat, but I wanted to place in the Top 5,” Angel said. “I went for the school record and I got it.

“Overall it was a good race. I kept on pushing the leaders.”

This was just one more distance record for Angel.

“The old record was 15:59 from 1993 by Hector Ceija and Angel ran a 15:53.7,” Buffaloes coach Paul Lyons said. “He now has the 4,000 from the Hughson Super Run and the three-mile, so he has all our major distance records.

“A lot of our kids had PRs. Victor Espinoza dropped about 20 second, Isaiah Arechiga also dropped about 20 seconds – across the board, every kid has done well. They have taken times off of their best every meet we have had and we are aiming in the right direction.”

Arechiga finished 19th (17:38.8) and Espinoza finished 30th (18:39.5).

Sierra’s Christian Gonzales was sixth in the boys varsity race (16:03.6).

“I think today went pretty good,” Gonzales said. “I fell off a little because I started cramping. That’s not an excuse, that’s just something you have to push through.

“Overall I think I did pretty well. I think I PR’d so I guess it was a success.”

The Sierra boys finished second with 54 points to Oakdale’s 25. The Timberwolves edged Kimball which finished third with 58 points. Manteca was fourth (105) and East Union sixth (149).

“In the boys we wanted to make progress toward Kimball as that’s the team we have to be ahead of at sections,” Rosendin said. “And I think we did that today.

“For boys it is all about sections and we are trying to get that third team slot for state.”

Other local Top-10 finishers for the girls were Sierra’s Haley Hill (seventh, 20:54.9) and Kiana Kutch (ninth, 21:01.7).

Sierra’s Ernesto Pacheco finished 10th in the boys race (16:23.6).

Oakdale won the junior varsity boys on a two-mile course with 22 points and Sierra was second with 41. Sierra’s Anthony Bueno was third (11:47.9), Xavier Hardiman sixth (11:53.8), Rudy Gutierrez eighth (11:59.8), Troy Calara ninth (12:10.2) and Manteca’s Eliyas Reyes 10th (12:12.6).

The Oakdale girls finished first with 23 points and Sierra was second with 32. Sierra’s Alyssa Rodriguez was second (14:21.1), Abigail Fraser fifth (14:24.2), Haley Gama eighth (15:11.8) Mackenzie Dorstad ninth (15:18.0), River Islands’ Octavia Orndoff seventh (15:08.8) and Manteca’s Makenzie Forsberg 10th (15:27.2).