Illnesses and injuries did not keep three Vaquero cross-country runners from qualifying for State Championship in Fresno on Nov. 20.

Erika Schaeffer improved her time by 20 seconds from last year’s event with a 19 minute and 51 second run. Sarah O’Connor ran with flu-like symptoms but still logged a time of 21 minutes and 49 seconds.

Coach Scott Fickerson said Erika and Sarah gutted out last weekends performance on days they weren’t at their best.

“Neither Erika nor Sarah felt particularly strong today,” Fickerson said. “They grinded it out, and did what they had to do to move on to the state championships.” 

Garrett Edwards crossed a major hurdle as he fought through a cold during the week. Edwards finished at 22 minutes and 5 seconds. The sophomore’s time was 10 seconds slower than last years meet. 

Fickerson said that dealing with an illness and grinding out midterms show Garrett’s tenacity as strong finisher.

“Feeling as bad as he did and running only 10 seconds slower than our last visit to this course is a great sign of what he can do when he’s feeling good again,” Fickerson said.

State Championships are held at Woodward Park in Fresno Nov. 20 at 10 a.m.