Yet, for the third straight year, the Panthers men's team found themselves finishing fifth overall at Saturday's Community College State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.
"We're good at making the program,'' Hartnell coach Chris Zepeda said. "We're just not taking home the trophy. But we're doing a good job with our local kids.''
And the Panthers brought home another All-American when Ricky Esqueda finished 12th overall to earn that status.
"I went out and pushed it,'' Esqueda said. "I had an aggressive first mile. I was relaxed and riding it. I just tried to hang on.''
The San Benito graduate was sitting in third place until the final mile when it became a sprint. Eight runners were within two seconds of each other over the final 400 meters.
"All the kickers got him,'' Zepeda said. "Ricky distributed his energy a little differently to get into the top three for three miles. But he doesn't have that type of speed.''
Esqueda, the Coast Conference and Northern California champion this season, covered the four mile loop in 20:40,.
"No regrets,'' Esqueda said. "I was talking to my teammates. A year ago, I could not have imagined being here. To be an All-American, I feel so blessed.''
Esqueda, who hadn't run competitively in four years after attending a four year college, decided in April to enroll at Hartnell and run again.
"I had friends that were having a lot of success here,'' Esqueda said. "It seemed like they were getting better and having fun. I wanted to be a part of it. I kind of figure my life out.''
Following Esqueda for the Northern California champion Panthers was Sergio Coronel, Christian Aldape, Patrick Olson, Jaime Garcia, Jonathan Saldana and Luis Perez.
For Aldape, he ran a career best. The North Salinas graduate was one of five freshmen among the Panthers top seven.
The times Hartnell recorded this year would have put them in the top three last year.
"It's a brand new crew that didn't run last year,'' Zepeda said. "We hoped for a little more. A couple of guys didn't run as fast as they did in September. But that goes with experience.''
Mt. Sac, who was cleared of a violation on Wednesday and allowed to run, won the men's team title, followed by Riverside.
"You have to convince yourself you're in the top 10 or 12 percent,'' Zepeda said. "That's not easy. It gets in your head can I really run with these guys? Someone always rises to the occasion. I have to learn how to get five to do it at once.''
Hartnell was top 10 finisher in the women's division with a freshmen dominated team, placing ninth as a unit behind Lauryn Orozco's 30th place finish.
"We had hoped to have a few more runners in the top 30,'' Zepeda said. "Those that ran now have the experience to build on. Now they have to determine how good they want to be as a team.''
Orozco, who prepped at Soledad High, went under 20 minutes, covering the 3.1 mile loop in a career best 19:31.
"She did what I told her would be the key to being successful,'' Zepeda said. "She's a smart racer. She didn't care if she had to run as hard as she possibility could. She put it all together.''
So did sophomore Jocelyn Cervantes, who ran 69 seconds faster on this course than she did last year to break 20 minutes for the first time, finishing 46th overall.
Ironically, Cervantes didn't learn that she would be a part of the crew of seven until Wednesday.
"She was a last second choice to run as our seventh person,'' Zepeda said. "She ended up being our second runner. She certainly made the most of the opportunity.''
Also helping the Panthers to a top 10 finish were Monica Ruelas, Maria Aceves, Arlene Diaz Leal and Olivia Jimenez.
"I see potential and bring them to together,'' Zepeda said. "These kids aren't household names in high school. But they make sacrifices. We're trying to close the gap.''
Former King City distance ace Roman Munoz finished 42nd overall for MPC in 21:21. Jeanette Cruz ran a personal best of 20:26 over three miles for the Lobos in the women's division.
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