Santa Rosa Press Democrat // News for California's North Bay and Redwood Empire

Low-tech edition (About)
By STEVE BRAND
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

FRESNO — They gave it some thought and then both decided the 
same thing. 
Brian Cole of St. Helena and Britney Escamilla of El Molina would not have 
changed a thing after their performances in the California State Cross 
Country Championships yesterday at Woodward Park. 
And for good reason. 
Cole, making his move a little farther out than he would have liked, came 
within a second of running down Robbie Knorr of Dublin Valley Christian in 
the Division V race, placing second in 15 minutes, 50 seconds. 
Escamilla was almost as successful, finishing third in the girls Division 
IV race, clocking a time of 18:29 over the fairly flat but challenging 
3.1-mile course. 
On a day when Maria Carrillo’s girls celebrated a third place finish in the 
Division III team race behind Leanne Fogg, who placed eighth, and Casa 
Grande freshman Jacque Taylor raced to a fifth place in Division II, Cole 
and Escamilla made a lot of noise of their own. 
Cole normally is close enough to run down his opponents but with 600 
meters remaining, he knew he had to make his charge or give up any hope of 
winning. 
“I tried to jump them, but I didn’t have quite enough,” said Cole, a 
senior. “I was tired, I was exhausted at the finish, I don’t think I could 
have been another second faster. 
“A second place here is bigger than winning the section meet. I’ve read 
about Knorr and Handa for years, so I knew I better make my move if I 
wanted to win.” 
He caught Fall River’s Handa but missed by a tick of the clock of capturing 
the gold medal in the closest race of the day. 
The difference, said Cole, who carries a glittering 4.1 GPA, was clear as 
he stood next to Knorr in the awards area. 
At 6-foot-4, Knorr possesses a long, yardage-eating stride while the 5-10 
Cole has a much shorter gait. 
“He didn’t have to work as hard,” said Cole with a smile. “I felt it with 
100 meters to go because I started my kick so early. My arms were flailing 
but I couldn’t close the gap any more. 
“I went out conservatively like I wanted and I had nothing left at the end, 
so I’m very pleased.” 
Ditto, Escamilla, running just her first year of cross country after 
previously focusing on soccer. 
Only she made her move even earlier — with more than a mile to run — 
finishing just five seconds behind Los Angeles Marlborough’s Kate Grace. 
“On the downhill, I decided to go for it rather than wait and see if they’d 
slow down,” said the El Molino senior who came to Fresno with her father on 
Wednesday to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and get a few training runs 
in over the course. 
“Although I love the hills, I like this course because it’s fast.” 
Taylor was far from disappointed with her run even though after setting a 
course record last week in the section championships she was considered by 
many to be a gold medal candidate. 
“All I wanted was the top 5, and I got it,” said Taylor, who posted the 
fastest time of the day by a freshman.
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