SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

2006 Fall Sports
Metro Conference
Cross Country

Metro Conference Championship Meet (in dividual results and team scores)

California state cross country finals:
Moments in time arrive for Avila, Apgar

Posted Nov. 30, 2006
Calvary Christian Academy sophomore Elizabeth Apgar has two more years to go after a state cross country championship — something that has proven elusive for even the best San Diego Section runners.
Bonita Vista senior Eric Avila can simply call himself one of the section’s best runners of all time.

Apgar finished second in the Division V girls race and Avila finished third in the Division I boys race at last Saturday’s state cross country championship meet in Fresno to help highlight performances by the section’s top runners.

Apgar, who finished fourth at last year’s state finals, turned in a time of 18:36 to place runner-up to defending national champion Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep. Hasay timed a phenomenal 17:15 on the 5,000-meter course at Woodward Park to clock the fastest time of the day, inclusive of all 938 finishers in the five divisions.

Apgar’s time would have placed her seventh in the Division IV girls race, in a tie for fifth in the Division III girls field, in a tie for 22nd in the Division II girls race and 17th in the Division I girls field. She notched the 49th fastest time of all runners on the day (top five percent) and finished in a tie for the fourth-fastest time among the 110 San Diego Section runners at this year’s state meet.

University City junior Sarah Vitug finished 11th in the Division II race with a time of 18:11 while Rancho Buena Vista junior Ellie Keene placed 12th in the Division I race in 18:20.

La Costa Canyon junior Katy Andrews had timed a section-best 17:41 with an initial third-place finish in the Division I race before being disqualified when it was ruled she impeded the progress of another runner on the course. Ironically, the runner she was determined to have impeded — Serrano junior Kauren Traver — finished second in the race in 17:40. Andrews’ time was just one second off the identical 17:40 posted by state champion Elizabeth Coe, a junior from Fountain.

The top three finishers in the Division I girls race were all juniors, leaving next year to decide who will earn senior bragging rights.

With Hasay in the same division, Apgar has a lot of time to make up over the next two years. The South County runner shaved 32 seconds off last year’s fourth-place debut showing when Hasay won the division with a time of 17:11 and the second-place finisher timed 18:49.

Apgar finished four seconds ahead of Woodcrest freshman Amber Collier, who finished third this year.

Apgar’s second-place individual finish was the highlight for Calvary Christian, which finished 19th out of 20 teams in the division. The Royal Knight did make up some ground in consolation by topping Division V section champion Julian by three points in the standings at the state meet.

For Calvary Christian, senior Nicole Diaz (24:56) finished 151st, sophomore Monica Jimenez (24:57) finished 152nd, juniors Viviana Garcia (31:21) and Sheri Fayal (32:08) finished 164th and 166th, respectively, in the field of 166 runners.

As for Avila? Well, what else can be said? He began his high school career as a freshman as an amazing runner and, fighting through injuries and illness along the way, remains an amazing runner.

For the record, the charismatic Avila finished seven seconds off the winning time posted by this year’s Division I state champion, Royal senior Michael Cybulski, and six seconds behind Trabuco Hills senior J.T. Sullivan.

Cybulski timed 15:04 while Sullvian finished one second back. Avila edged La Sierra senior Dylan Knight for third place as both runners clocked identical 15:11 marks.

Cybulski’s time was the best out of all 960 male runners in the five enrollment divisions while Avila’s time ranked fifth best, placing him among the top one-half percent of competitors at this year’s state finals.

The top six finishers in the Division I boys race were all seniors, as were nine of the top 10 placers in the elite field.
Eastlake senior Austin Jett finished ninth in 15:23 to earn all-state honors. Jett’s time was the 15th best out of all divisions.
Avila had charted a course to win this year’s state title — and was right there with the state leaders in high profile invitational encounters during the regular season.

He was right on target this year, as it turned out. Avila’s 15:11 time was the fastest time of any San Diego Section runner at this year’s state finals and the fourth-fastest time ever run by a section runner in the history of the state meet.

In fact, Avila’s 15:11 would have won last year’s Division I state championship, besting the time of 15:15 posted by El Camino’s A.J. Acosta, last year’s Footlocker national champion.

BV coach Julie Phair noted that approximately 18,000 boys have competed in the state championship meet over the past 20 years. Avila’s time ranks among the top 50 fastest times during that span.

Pretty elite company, period.

Avila next will tackle the course at Mt. San Antonio College in this weekend’s western regional championship meet or the right to advance to the 2006 Footlocker Nationals Dec. 9 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
Avila won the Division I boys race the last time his feet touched the Morley Field course at the section finals two weekends ago.

Jett’s time, meanwhile, becomes the bench mark for all Eastlake runners to follow. He was one of four Metro qualifiers in the Division I boys race. Otay Ranch junior Brandon Velasquez finished 56th in 16:12 while Bonita Vista senior Mathew Seat placed 107th in 16:36 in a highly competitive field of 201 runners.

A total of seven individual qualifiers represented the South County at this year’s state finals. Mar Vista junior Edgar Lopez (16:29) finished 57th (out of 185 runners) in the Division II boys race while Castle Park junior Julia Hernandez (19:59) was 93rd (out of 190 runners) in the Division II girls race.

Marian Catholic freshman Johanna Rhein placed 96th (out of 191 runners) in the Division IV girls race in 21:16.
Calvary Christian Academy’s boys team also qualified for the state championship meet after winning the division title at the section meet. The Royal Knights finished 17th out of 22 teams in Fresno.

For Calvary Christian Academy, sophomore Jacob Barlow (18:18) finished 97th, senior John Amman (18:29) finished 100th, junior Jorge Ibarra (18:45) finished 114th, sophomores David Cruz (18:51) and Josh Howard (18:52) finished 119th and 121st, respectively, while freshman Luke Reynolds (20:22) was 154th and junior Matthew Chaney (22:22) was 170th in the field of 177 runners.

Section roundup
Torrey Pines girls team was the highest team section placer at second in the Division I race. A total of 10 section runners recorded top 10 finishes. Joining Calvary Christian Academy’ Apgar, Bonita Vista’s Avila and Eastlake’s Jett were Monte Vista senior Muluken Beressa (second, Division II boys), University City sophomore Mac Fleet (ninth, Division II boys), Our Lady of Peace sophomore Sammy Silva (fifth, Division III girls), La Jolla sophomore Nihal Kayali (10th, Division III girls), La Jolla Country Day senior Lauren Pischel (eighth, Division IV girls), Westview senior Travis Kuhlman (fourth, Division II boys) and Valley Center senior Alex Avilez (sixth, Division III boys.

South County State Championship Finals Qualifiers
Division I Boys
•Eric Avila (Bonita Vista), first, individuals
•Austin Jett (Eastlake), second, individuals
•Mathew Seat (Bonita Vista), fifth, individuals
•Brandon Velasquez (Otay Ranch), eighth, individuals

Division II Boys
•Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista), eighth, individuals

Division II Girls
•Julia Hernandez (Castle Park), seventh, individuals

Division IV Girls
•Johanna Rhein (Marian Catholic), 10th, individuals
Division V Boys
•Calvary Christian Academy (first, team qualifiers): Jorge Ibarra, John Amman, Jacob Barlow, Josh Howard, David Cruz, Luke Reynolds, Matthew Chaney

Division V Grls
Calvary Christian Academy (second, team qualifiers): Elizabeth Apgar, Isabel Lagoz, Monica Jimenez, Nicole Diaz, Sheri Fayal, Viviana Garcia, Erika Batiz

San Diego Section cross country finals:
South County’s finest day on the course

Metro nets seven individual qualifiers; Calvary Christian Academy sends 14 to state

BV’s Avila kicks it into gear

Posted Nov. 22, 2006
Second out of 545 finishers — not a bad number at all to place on one’s college recruiting resume.
Bonita Vista senior Eric Avila lived the defining moment accorded to celebrities after winning the Division I boys race at last Saturday’s San Diego Section championships at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

“Hey, I just got interviewed on the radio!” Avila excitedly told his mother after friends, family and teammates gathered for post-race well wishes at the Barons’ shade encampment on the sprawling course.

For a time, Avila owned the best time on the day — 15:58 on the 3.04-mile hill course — until Monte Vista senior Muluken Beressa broke it with a clocking of 15:51 en route to winning the Division II boys race.

Anything under 16:00 is considered an amazing feat on the legendary Morley Field course. Only Beressa and Avila were able to accomplish that this year.

Westview senior Travis Kuhlman recorded the third-best time of the day at 16:10 in finishing second to Beressa in the Division II race.

After running in the shadow of upperclassmen the past two years, Avila finally experienced his breakthrough moment as a senior — one that he fully appreciated.

“It means a lot to me,” said Avila, who recorded a 16-second victory against Eastlake senior Austin Jett in the Division I race. “A.J. (former El Camino standout and 2005 Footlocker national champion A.J. Acosta) was in the way for a couple years. I knew in the back of my mind that I could do it. This is my first CIF championship. I hope to get another one in track (in the spring).”

Avila and Jett — who finished with the fourth-fastest time on the day in 16:14 — are two of seven Metro Conference individuals who qualified to compete in Saturday’s state championship meet. The top three teams in both the Division I and Division II races advanced, with the top five individuals among the top 14 finishers not on one of the qualifying teams also advancing.

Bonita Vista, which finished third at last year’s Division I section finals to run at the state meet in Fresno, finished fourth this year, leaving Avila and BV senior teammate Mathew Seat on their own in an attempt to return to the fabled course at Woodward Park.

In an impressive showing, Avila, Jett and Seat all finished among the top five finishers in the race. The standout trio will be joined in Fresno by Otay Ranch junior Brandon Velasquez, who finished eighth to secure the fifth and final individual qualifying berth.

Of those five precious individual qualifying berths, four were snared by Metro runners. That is a statement for the ages.
It could have been more. Otay Ranch senior Mike Denman went out as the early leader but failed to finish the race after succumbing to the fast pace dictated by the lead pack on a very warm day.

As a result, the Mustangs (who entered the finals ranked 10th among all boys teams in the section) finished seventh in the final team scores. Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming estimated his team would have finished 50 points higher — right behind the Barons.

Bonita Vista finished fourth with 117 points — 17 points behind third place Fallbrook and 20 points behind second place Vista. Rancho Buena Vista won the team title with a meet-low 64 points.

Sweetwater finished fifth with 184 points, followed by Torrey Pines in sixth with 186 points and Otay Ranch in seventh with 192 points. Eastlake, missing two starters because of injuries, placed 11th with 278 points.

With four of the top eight finishers and two of the top five teams, it was clearly the South County’s shining moment in what is traditionally regarded as the section’s most competitive divisional race.

The spotlight clearly belonged to Avila and Jett, who entered the race as its top two ranked individuals.
Avila called his victory “very strategic.”

“The pack went out super slow,” said the BV runner, who cautiously chose to lay back in the early stages of the race. “It’s possible to win if you can lead from the gun. It’s hard with a good field. I went out really easy — 5:12 for the first mile.

Compare that to 4:39 and 4:40 that I ran in the competitive races this year (elite midseason invitationals). The 5:12 was almost like jogging. My decision was to stay with the leaders and with a mile to go, I would go. It turned out to be the last half-mile.”
After Denman’s opening burst, the lead at the one-mile mark went to Seat, who admitted to a bit of surprise at being the early front-runner in the race. “I didn’t have a strategy. I just wanted to make sure I was an individual to make it to state,” the Baron runner said. “After the first hill, I wasn’t expecting (to lead). I surged up the hill. That put me in first.”

The duel for the lead eventually came down to a matchup between Avila and Jett — a duel between South County runners that most spectators are not used to witnessing.

“Austin and I were shoulder to shoulder,” Avila said. “We were bumping. We were right there. Once we got to the last hill, I took a look at his face and knew it was time to take off. Coming down the hill, I knew I had it. I closed really fast.”

Avila easily eclipsed his sixth-place time of 16:21 from last year while Jett (who finished fourth in 16:12 last year) came in two seconds slower.

“I thought the race was great,” Eastlake coach Joe Stubbs said. “Austin held the lead and set the pace. Eric ran a great race. It was great seeing three of the top five from South Bay.”

Avila, Jett and Seat are all making return trips to the state finals (Jett competed for Bonita Vista last year before transferring to Eastlake). Avila led the group in Fresno last year with a meteoric seventh-place finish, followed by Jett (24th) and since graduated senior Daniel Garcia (85th). As a team, Bonita Vista placed eighth.

But the trio will write a new chapter in history this year. “It’s a big accomplishment,” said Seat, who looks to markedly improve on his 87th-place finish at last year’s state finals. “I wasn’t thinking I’d be on a team this good as a freshman. I never expected for us to have accomplished what we did. It’s been a great four years.”

Regardless of what happens at the state meet, Avila is guaranteed to continue with his season at the Western Regional championship meet at Mt. San Antonio. He is ranked third overall in the region and could qualify for the Footlocker national championship meet in early December at Morley Field.

But there were other heroes.

Velasquez experienced his defining moment as well as Otay Ranch’s first individual state qualifier (the Mustangs went as a team in 2003). “He obviously ran a very good race,” Cumming said. “He’s been very consistent all season. He stepped it up late in the season. We wanted to go as a team. We can change that next year.”

Despite its 11th-place finish at this year’s Division I section finals, this year’s Titan team clearly set the standard for others to follow. “If we had those two runners we missed (Jeff Welch and Gabe Garcia) and had a healthy Scott Walling (who was hit by an automobile while on a practice run early in the season), we would have been right there with the big guys,” Stubbs said.
Two of the Metro’s remaining three individual qualifiers came in the Division II boys and girls races as Castle Park junior Julia Hernandez finished seventh in the girls field and Mar Vista junior Edgar Lopez finished eighth in the boys field. Both finished as South Bay League individual champions this year.

Hernandez earned her second trip to the state meet (the first came as a freshman) after timing 17:32 for 2.75 miles. She finished 40 seconds behind race winner Sarah Vitug (16:52) of team champion University City and placed 31 seconds ahead of her nearest Metro challenger, Hilltop sophomore Tanya Valenzuela (17th, 18:03). The CP runner was third among the five individual qualifiers, trailing Oceanside senior Jessica Sandoval (second, 17:10) and San Pasqual junior Alicia Park (fifth, 17:29).

Mt. Carmel finished second in the team standings, followed by West Hills.

Lopez timed 16:59 to make the final state cut by six seconds over Orange Glen senior Miguel Vega (17:05). Lopez was three seconds behind No. 4 individual qualifier Dean Manley, a junior from Ramona, and one second ahead of San Pasqual junior Rus Mundae.

San Pasqual qualified as the team champion, followed by Monte Vista (second) and University City (third).

Marian Catholic freshman Johanna Rhein made history as an individual qualifier with her 10th-place finish in the Division IV girls race. The top two qualifying team berths went to Bishop’s (first) and La Jolla Country Day (second). Fortunately for Rhein, those two teams clogged the top 10 finishers with five individuals, leaving five open spots up for the individual qualifiers.

Rhein finished 11 seconds ahead of Christian freshman Taryn Dutton to sew up that final individual qualifying berth.
LJCD senior Lauren Pischel emerged as the Division IV girls individual champion with a time of 17:12.

CIF notepad
•Sweetwater’s boys team was led by Division I boys top 25 placers (in a field of 159 finishers) junior Alan Gudino (18th, 17:02) and senior Martin Macias (24th, 17:18).

•Hilltop seniors Lisa Lane (24th, 18:28) and Karl Atencio (29th, 18:45) both managed top 20 finishes in the 143-deep Division II girls race. The Lancers finished sixth as a team.

•South Bay League co-champions Castle Park and Montgomery finished 13th and 14th, respectively, in the Division II boys team standings.

•Chula Vista finished ninth among Division I girls teams while Bonita Vista was 14th, followed by Mesa League champion Eastlake (15th), Otay Ranch (18th) and Sweetwater (20th). CV junior Elizabeth Arias was the Mesa League’s top finisher in the race with a time of 18:10 in 30th place (out of 153 finishers).

•La Costa Canyon junior Katy Andrews had the fastest girls time on the day (all five divisions) at 16:23 in winning the Division I race.

Calvary Christian Academy's Apgar is ‘running for Jesus’

The first chapter in the short history of Calvary Christian Academy’s cross country program was written last year by Elizabeth Apgar. The then freshman not only won the Division V girls race at the San Diego Section championship meet but went on to earn all-state honors by placing fourth in the division at the ensuing state finals in Fresno.

The second chapter will be again written at this weekend’s state championship meet but this time Apgar will be joined by company — 13 other teammates — after the Royal Knights qualified both their boys and girls teams for the elite event.
Apgar will be attending the Fresno meet basking in the glow of her second consecutive individual Division V section title.

If the name Calvary Christian seems unfamiliar, it might be due to the relative newness of the Royal Knights’ program. The small private school, which is located in Otay Ranch, has a limited enrollment of 89 students (according to records maintained by the San Diego Section office). Upon its admission to the San Diego Section, Calvary Christian competed on a freelance basis. However, the school has since joined the 10-member Citrus League and competes in dual meets against other small schools across the county.

The Royal Knights began their push to the state finals by competing at this year’s Citrus League championship meet Nov. 10 at Chollas Lake (designated as a central location for the circuit’s far-flung members in every part of the county). The meet was the first stand-alone finals for the Citrus League, which previously had held simultaneous competition with the Coastal League.
Calvary Christian athletes placed second in the boys race (with two all-league finishers) and fourth in the girls race (with one all-league finisher).

Sophomore Jacob Barlow (19:54) and junior Jorge Ibarra (20:18) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, on the hilly and isolated 3.13-mile course that notoriously promotes slow times as the Royal Knights collected 47 points to finish behind race-winner Mountain Empire (41 points). Guajome Park Academy’s Jesus Romo successfully defended his Citrus League championship with a time of 18:01 to best challenger Ryan Vilas of Calvary Christian-Vista (18:02). Vilas had led by as much as 30 meters with 400 meters to go but Romo — the defending Division IV champion — had better closing speed and caught Vilas just a few steps before the end in a dramatic finish.

In the girls race, Apgar (21:28) led from start to finish, turning in almost a two-minute victory against runner-up Olivia Tidd (23:14) from Calvary Christian-Vista.

Julian, with five all-league finishers, won the team title with 33 points. Guajome Park Academy finished second with 53 points, followed by Mountain Empire with 62 points and Calvary Christian-Chula Vista with 80 points.

The Royal Knights finished second overall (to Mountain Empire) in the final Citrus League championship standings (dual meet record and league finals placement combined). The order of finish in the girls championship standings featured Julian, Mountain Empire and Guajome Park Academy in that order.

The Citrus League is comprised of schools in both Division IV and Division V enrollment levels. The section finals, however, are conducted strictly by enrollment and the Royal Knights had a chance to compete head-to-head against teams from similar-size enrollment schools.

That great equalizing factor allowed Calvary Christian Academy’s talent to shine.

With Mountain Empire (enrollment of 479 students) competing in the Division IV finals at the section championships, that promoted Calvary Christian-Chula Vista to the No. 1 pre-race favorite to capture the Division V boys team title — and a trip to Fresno.

The Royal Knights did not disappoint their fans as they finished 2-3-5-7-8 in the team scoring column and sixth, seventh, ninth, 12th, 14th, 15th and 24th among individuals. Calvary Christian-Chula Vista finished with 25 team points — well ahead of runner-up Julian (43 points).

Ibarra timed 19:11 as the Royal Knights’ leader on the 3.04-mile hill course, followed by senior John Amman (19:41), Barlow (19:50), sophomores Josh Howard (20:20) and David Cruz (20:38), freshman Luke Reynolds (21:27) and junior Matthew Chaney (24:10).

“We came in expecting to go — we had five strong boys running all season,” Calvary Christian coach Jeff Hall said. “The goal was successful.”

The Children’s Creative and Performing Arts Academy, based in North Park, finished third in the team standings with 72 points, followed by East County-based Foothills Christian in fourth place with 92 points. However, only the top two teams in Division V advanced to the state championship meet.

Vilas won the individual title with a time of 17:17, with Calvary Christian-Vista senior classmate Jon Keller finishing second in 17:30. None of the other 38 entrants could break 18:00, with Julian senior Noah Sloan finishing third in 18:04.

The Division V girls race was another story as Apgar firmly established herself in a league of her own with a time of 17:57 on the 2.75-mile course. She won even more decisively than at the preceding league finals as Tidd finished in 19:53 on a very warm day.

A total of 23 runners competed in the girls race, with six Julian runners finishing among the top 10 placers (seven among the top 11 finishers). Runners also competed from Borrego Springs, Calvin Christian, Tri-City Christian and Foothills Christian, as well as Calvary Christian-Vista, but none of those squads fielded complete teams.

That left Calvary Christian-Chula Vista in second place in the team standings with 43 points (trailing team champion Julian with 20 points).

The Royal Knights finished 1-9-10-11-12 in team scoring. Following Apgar’s lead were freshman Isabel Lagoz (13th, 23:08), sophomore Monica Jimenez (14th, 23:30), senior Nicole Diaz (16th, 23:51), juniors Sheri Fayal (18th, 27:01) and Viviana Garcia (20th, 28:33) and freshman Erika Batiz (22nd, 29:52).

Hall called Apgar, whose time placed her 42nd out of 479 finishers in all five divisions combined, just an “absolutely outstanding runner.”

“She’s faithful to the core,” Hall said. “I guess you could say that she’s running for Jesus.”

The only problem with the Royal Knights qualifying both their boys and girls teams for the state finals— and it’s one most coaches would like to have — is that the suddenness of the success left the team without any hotel accommodations. Hall told parents the team would be staying with private individuals in the area to compensate for the lack of hotel space.

With so many talented underclassmen on the team, Calvary Christian Academy officials might be advised to start making advance reservations in coming years.

Metro Conference Parade of Champions
Mesa League
Boys: Bonita Vista Barons
Girls: Eastlake Titans

South Bay League
Boys: Castle Park Trojans, Montgomery Aztecs (co-champions)
Girls: Hilltop Lancers

Individual champions
Mesa League
Boys varsity: Austin Jett (Eastlake)
Girls varsity: Jacqueline Villa (Chula Vista)
Boys JV: Christian Villasana (Sweetwater)
Girls JV: Diamond Anderson (Eastlake)

South Bay League
Boys varsity: Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista)
Girls varsity: Julia Hernandez (Castle Park)
Boys JV: Jesus Valdez (Montgomery)
Girls JV: Natalie Elias (Hilltop)

Dual meet standings
Mesa League
Boys: Bonita Vista 5-0, Otay Ranch 4-1, Eastlake 3-2, Sweetwater 2-3, Chula Vista 1-4, San Ysidro 0-5
Girls: Eastlake 5-0, Otay Ranch 4-1, Chula Vista 3-2, Bonita Vista 2-3, Sweetwater 0-4, San Ysidro 0-4 (dual scored not reported)

South Bay League
Boys: Castle Park 5-0, Montgomery 4-1, Hilltop 3-2, Mar Vista 2-3, Marian Catholic 1-4, Southwest 0-5
Girls: Hilltop 5-0, Montgomery 4-1, Mar Vista 3-2, Marian Catholic 2-3, Castle Park 0-4, Southwest 0-4

Metro Conference Finals
Boys varsity: Bonita Vista 40, Otay Ranch 42, Sweetwater 69, Eastlake 70, Chula Vista 135
Girls varsity: Chula Vista 26, Eastlake 49, Otay Ranch 75, Bonita Vista 93, Sweetwater 127

Fleet feet:
Thrills and spills write signature ending to Metro Conference finals

Posted Nov. 17, 2006
Last Friday’s Metro Conference cross country championship meet at Rohr Park produced its annual share of drama, perhaps this year more than others. Consider this:

•Hilltop’s girls team won its fifth consecutive league title by recording a perfect score of 15.

•Chula Vista’s girls team showed just what dominance looks like on the course by running past regular season dual meet leaders Eastlake and Otay Ranch.

•Montgomery’s boys team rebounded from a one-point dual meet loss to Castle Park to sweep to a co-championship.
•Eastlake’s Austin Jett ended the two-year championship reign of Bonita Vista’s Eric Avila.

•Otay Ranch’s boys team narrowly missed a co-championship with Bonita Vista, finishing two points behind the 2005 state meet qualifiers.

The thrills and spills — and heroics — started in the first race of the day, the boys varsity field, as Jett and Otay Ranch senior Mike Denman finished ahead of Avila, the seventh-place finisher at last year’s Division I state finals.

Jett timed 15:47 on the 5K course (the top time in the combined conference field) to finish 14 seconds ahead of Denman (16:01) and 20 seconds ahead of Avila (16:07). Bonita Vista’s Mathew Seat timed 16:09 to round out the conference’s field of four top senior runners.

The Barons and Mustangs each finished with three top 10 finishers while Eastlake and Sweetwater each finished with two all-league runners.

Bonita Vista (3-4-10-11-12) finished with a low score of 40 points and a five-man spread of 49 seconds. Otay Ranch (2-5-8-13-14) was right behind the defending champions with 42 points and a five-man spread of 1:04.

Sweetwater finished in third place with 69 points, followed by Eastlake in fourth place with 70 points and Chula Vista in fifth place with 135 points.

The boys varsity race expected to be a duel between former teammates Jett and Avila. It would have lived up to its billing had not Avila been ill.

Ironically, Jett was battling illness when the two were projected to meet head-to-head in the teams’ Oct. 27 dual meet at Discovery Park.

Sparks could fly, however, at this Saturday’s section finals at Balboa Park’s Morley Field if both are healthy. Jett and Avila are the top two ranked runners in the Division I race.

Jett bested Avila by nine seconds at last year’s section meet after finishing 30 seconds behind Avila at the preceding league finals.

This year, Jett found a new challenger in Denman.

Avila, who began feeling ill on Wednesday and was feeling its full effects the day before the race, held the lead until the halfway mark. At that point, Jett assumed the lead.

“We went back and forth for the next half-mile,” said Jett, who pulled away from the pack over the last mile of the race to win by a comfortable margin.

Denman passed Avila at the top of the last hill and jaws began to drop as the order of runners emerged over the last 400 meters of the race.

Pain was clearly etched on several faces, Avila’s included.

Eastlake senior Jeff Welch fell at the bottom of that last hill. He was projected for a top seven individual finish in the race and the spill likely cost the Titans third place in the team standings. In a show of courage, Welch got up on his own power but barely finished the race, placing 21st in 17:40.

Ditto for Avila, who vomited after the race.

“Wednesday I had a 103 fever. Thursday I tried to push myself. Friday morning my voice was kinda gone,” said Avila, who set the standard on the Discovery Park course this year at 15:44. “My coach wanted me to run for the team. We won by two points. If I hadn’t run, we would have lost. The first mile was OK. After that, my lungs closed down.”

The next five finishers, after BV’s Seat, included Otay Ranch junior Brandon Velasquez (fifth, 16:18), Sweetwater junior Alan Gudino (sixth, 16:28) Eastlake junior Eric Fujikawa (seventh, 16:44), Otay Ranch freshman Jacob Roach (eighth, 16:45), Sweetwater junior Joe Corona (ninth, 16:50) and Bonita Vista senior Chris Close (10th, 16:51).

The top 10 finishers constitute the all-league team, though the top 15 finishers receive medals. Medalists also included Bonita Vista sophomore David Garcia (11th, 16:53), Bonita Vista junior Derek Groom (12th, 16:56), Otay Ranch sophomore Jon Limon (13th, 16:59), Otay Ranch senior Jesse Matias (14th, 17:05) and Sweetwater senior Martin Macias (15th, 17:07).

The Barons eked out the narrow win by placing their fifth scorer ahead of Otay Ranch’s fourth man as Groom edged Limon by three seconds.

Had Avila not completed and the order of finish remained the same, the Mustangs would have prevailed 38-44 and finished the season in a co-championship with Bonita Vista.

(Championship points are equally divided between dual meet finish and league finals finish.)

The South Bay League boys varsity championship did end in a co-championship as Montgomery avenged its one-point dual meet loss to Castle Park with an 11-point finals victory, 29-40.

The Aztecs finished the race with six medalists and four all-league runners despite fielding a team beset by late season injuries. Credit, coaches Juan Gonzalez and Ruben Ledesma said, has to go to those who persevered through the season.

Mar Vista junior Edgar Lopez, as expected by many observers, won this year’s South Bay League individual championship with a time of 16:51 (placing 11th in the combined conference field). Montgomery pushed across the next two runners: juniors Alejandro Medina (second, 16:56) and Juan Vieyra (third, 17:01). Castle Park then had the next two finishers: senior twins Eli Ledezma (fourth, 17:28) and Samuel Ledezma (fifth, 17:39). Montgomery followed suit with the next two placers: sophomore Christian Kaeg (sixth, 17:53) and junior Enrique Robles (seventh, 17:54).

Castle Park followed with the next two finishers as the teams continued to alternate tandems: senior Edwin Aguilar (eighth, 18:07) and junior Arturo Gomez (ninth, 18:24).

Montgomery’s fifth and sixth runners came in 11th and 12th in the South Bay League field following Hilltop senior Richard Evans’ 10th-place finish in 18:24. For the Aztecs, senior Rafael Morales was 11th in 18:24 while senior teammate Cesar Rico was 12th in 18:37.

Castle Park’s fifth scorer — junior Juan Lozano — finished 14th in 18:40. The Trojans totaled five medalists and four all-league runners.

Montgomery finished 2-3-6-7-11 in the scoring column while Castle Park finished 4-5-8-9-14.

Mar Vista had three medalists among the top 15 finishers, with junior Sal Armenta Jr. (18:39) finishing 13th and sophomore Sean Waters (19:07) finishing 15th.

Mar Vista was third in the finals team finish with 74 points, followed by Hilltop in fourth place with 99 points and Marian Catholic in fifth place with 121 points.

As has been custom for most of the last two decades, veteran coach Ian Cumming (now at Otay Ranch) presided over the awards ceremony. His words overflowed with nothing but compliments for the performance by the Hilltop varsity girls team at this year’s finals meet.

“To score 15 points in a dual meet is amazing but to score 15 points in a league finals is phenomenal,” Cumming said.

Castle Park junior Julia Hernandez won the 4,400-yard South Bay League girls race (as well as finishing first in the combined conference field) in 15:55. Hilltop had the next three runners in sophomore Tanya Valenzuela (second, 16:19) and seniors Lisa Lane (third, 16:41) and Karla Atencio (fourth, 16:45). Marian Catholic freshman Johanna Rhein was fifth in 16:55, followed by three more Hilltop runners: senior Marga Crain (sixth, 17:04), freshman Michelle Lane (seventh, 17:08) and junior Jessica Torres (eighth, 17:45).

Castle Park and Marian Catholic did not field complete teams and thus did not figure in the team scoring, allowing the Lancers to record their perfect score. Hilltop thus finished 1-2-3-4-5 (and 6!) in team scoring.

Montgomery, which finished in second place in the dual meet standings, placed second in the finals teams scores with 51 points. The Aztecs had four medalists and one all-league runner: senior Judith Arredondo (10th, 18:01), freshman Elena Soler (11th, 1802), senior Carolina Solis (12th, 18:57) and sophomore Brianna Codallos (13th, 19:05).

Mar Vista, led by sophomore Nethania Penrod’s ninth-place all-league finish in 17:47, placed second in the team scores with 72 points.

Castle Park junior Carolina Estrada (14th, 19:11) and Mar Vista junior Shantall Armenta (15th, 19:13) rounded out this year’s South Bay League medalists.

Hilltop’s power-packed finish prompted one coach to call the Lancers one of “the best kept secrets” in the county.
Power-packed might be too soft a word to describe the performance turned in by Chula Vista’s girls team. The Spartans finished the highly competitive Mesa League race with the top two finishers and four of the top five placers. Considering the talent in the field, that’s a phenomenal effort.

Sophomore Jacqueline Villa bested junior teammate Elizabeth Arias by 20 seconds to win in 16:00 (second among conference runners to CP’s Hernandez). Otay Ranch senior Jazmin Schoonmaker was third in 16:22 but Chula Vista essentially sewed up first place honors with the race’s next two finishers: sophomore Jessica Mendoza (fourth, 16:25) and senior Angelica Larios (fifth, 16:33).

Bonita Vista sophomore Julia Aguilar was sixth in 16:48 but Eastlake could only squeeze in three all-league finishers among the top 10 runners. For the Titans, senior Sam Bankston was seventh in 16:55 and junior Heather Voigt was eighth in 17:07. Sweetwater freshman Aylin Mejia finished ninth in 17:09, with Eastlake senior Tania Andrade finishing 10th in 17:10.

Titan freshman Michelle Walling just missed earning all-league accolades with an 11th-place finish in 17:11.

But the race clearly belonged to the Spartans, who were out to make a statement after finishing third in the dual meet season to both Eastlake and Otay Ranch.

Chula Vista (1-2-4-5-14) paced the 39-deep league field with six medalists (and almost finished with a seventh medalist). Eastlake (7-8-10-11-13) had five medalists while Otay Ranch (3-12-18-20-22) had two medalists. The Spartans totaled a meet-low 26 points while Eastlake finished with 49 points and Otay Ranch had 75 points.

Joining Walling as medalists were Otay Ranch senior Ashley Abshier (12th, 17:15), Eastlake freshman Andrea Voigt (13th, 17:16), Chula Vista junior Kimiko Fleming (14th, 17:20) and Chula Vista sophomore Christel Freeman (15th, 17:21). For good measure, Spartan freshman Danele Conlon was 16th in 17:27.

Had three Chula Vista runners not been disqualified for taking the wrong turn in the season opening dual meet against Eastlake, this year’s Mesa League championship title might have been shared between both the Spartans and the Titans.

But it wasn’t.

Eastlake prevailed on the strength of its first-place dual meet record and second-place league finals finish, recording 11 out of a possible 12 points. Chula Vista finished with nine points to officially place second in the championship standings, followed by Otay Ranch with eight points to finish third in the championship standings.

The league title was the first for the Titans in Mesa League competition after departing the South Bay League with a co-championship with Mar Vista in 2001.

“It’s a first,” Eastlake coach Joe Stubbs said. “Never have we gotten a championship since coming into this league. Today, (the girls) really fought through.”

As with many runners feeling the effects of on-coming winter illnesses, one of the Titans’ top runners — sophomore Itzel NuÒo — had a sub-par race. She finished 17th in 17:34. Stubbs estimated she finished anywhere from 10 to 15 places lower than she would have had she been healthy.

With the rest of the team rising to the occasion to make up for that shortcoming, Stubbs was elated with the second-place finals finish, thus assuring his team of this year’s league championship.

“We probably ran our best race of the year,” the Eastlake coach said.

Bonita Vista (93 points) finished fourth at last Friday’s Mesa League finals; Sweetwater (127 points) finished fifth.

Junior varsity
A total of 91 runners competed in the boys junior varsity Mesa League race and 45 runners in the South Bay League boys JV race. Otay Ranch claimed the first-place score among the Mesa League teams with 25 points, followed by Bonita Vista with 49 points, Chula Vista with 90 points, Sweetwater with 100 points and Eastlake with 123 points. Montgomery finished first among South Bay League teams with 18 points, followed by Castle Par with 50 points, Mar Vista with 83 points and Olympian with 88 points.

Sweetwater freshman Christian Villasana captured the Mesa League individual title in 17:33 while Montgomery sophomore Jesus Valdez was the South Bay League champion in 18:17.

Joining Villasana as all-league runners (top 10 finishers) in the Mesa League were Otay Ranch juniors Leon Medina (second, 17:43) and Cory Meza (third, 17:50), Bonita Vista sophomore Steven Stubner (fourth, 18:04), Otay Ranch junior Abraham Castillo (fifth, 18:08), Bonita Vista sophomore Juan Garcia (sixth, 18:10), Otay Ranch sophomore Alfred Haslerig (seventh, 18:25), Otay Ranch senior Ruben Castaneda (eighth, 18:25), Otay Ranch sophomore Ryan Perry (ninth, 18:27) and Eastlake freshman Kurtis Ibarra-Dosio (10th, 18:39).

Otay Ranch finished the race with six all-league runners.

Joining Valdez as all-league runners in the South Bay League were Montgomery junior Daniel Codallos (second, 18:29), Castle Park junior David Meza (third, 18:36), Montgomery freshman Alvin Garcia (fourth, 18:48), Montgomery junior Adrian Dominguez (fifth, 18:51), Montgomery freshman Hernan Naranjo (sixth, 18:55), Castle Park freshman Wint Lamar (seventh, 19:09), Montgomery senior Juan Miranda (eighth, 19:12), Montgomery freshman Eric Godinez (ninth, 19:34) and Castle Park senior Antonio Estrada (10th, 19:52).

Montgomery finished with seven placers among the top 10 finishers.

Eastlake sophomore Diamond Anderson won the Mesa League girls JV title while Hilltop freshman Natalie Elias won the South Bay League girls JV title. The Titans finished second in the team standings with two all-league runners as Maria Lisa Crimi posted a seventh-place individual finish.

Bonita Vista, with four all-league runners, emerged as the Mesa League girls JV team champion while Hilltop, with seven all-league runners, won the South Bay League girls JV team title. A total of 83 runners competed in the girls JV race — 52 in the Mesa League.

Mesa League, South Bay League titles on the line at finals

Posted Nov. 9, 2006
Championship races across the board in the Metro Conference will reach fever pitch Friday afternoon (Nov. 10) at Rohr Park in Chula Vista as runners step off in the Mesa League and South Bay League cross country finals.

Action gets under way at 2 p.m. with the boys varsity race, followed at 2:30 p.m. by the girls varsity race, 3 p.m. by the boys junior varsity race and 3:30 p.m. by the girls junior varsity race.

Bonita Vista (Mesa League boys), Castle Park (South Bay League boys), Eastlake (Mesa League girls) and Hilltop (South Bay League girls) enter Friday’s league finals with undefeated 5-0 dual meet records. All look to be challenged to retain their top flight status, however, in a championship format that weighs 50 percent of performance during the dual meet season and 50 percent of performance at the league finals.

In other words, co-championships could be in the offing — or in the case of the Mesa League girls race, a tri-championship between Eastlake, Otay Ranch and Chula Vista.

Eastlake enters Friday’s climactic finale as the leader among the three teams after running past host Otay Ranch, 24-33, last Friday. The Titans placed six of the first 10 runners and placed their top seven runners in front of the Mustangs’ fifth runner.
Jazmin Schoonmaker of the host school set a new course record of 16:13 on the 4,330-yard girls course. The next three runners were all from Eastlake, however, as were four of the next five to give the visitors an early numerical edge.

Rachel Naranjo finished second in 16:22, followed by Titan teammates Sam Bankston in 16:26 and Heather Voigt in 16:27. Otay Ranch’s Ashley Abshier was fifth in 16:27, followed by Eastlake’s Tania Andrade in 16:30. The Mustangs pushed across the next two runners to give each school four placers among the top eight finishers. Tina Poole placed seventh in 16:35 while Sofia Danielson was eighth in 16:40 — the same time registered by Eastlake’s Michelle Walling (ninth). For the victorious Titans, Andrea Voigt rounded out the top 10 finishers with a time of 16:54.

The talented field proved to be an exceptionally competitive one with so much on the line. The race was fast, with the top nine runners breaking the previous course record of 16:42 — five for Eastlake and four for Otay Ranch.

The Titans prevailed based on their 2-3-4-6-9-10 finish. The Mustangs finished 1-5-7-8-12.

Of particular note, Eastlake’s top four finishers ran with an amazing eight-second spread. The Titans five-person spread was 32 seconds. Otay Ranch’s five-person spread was 1:02, though the Mustangs’ second and fourth scorers were separated by just 13 seconds.

“It was a heck of a race,” Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming said.

Cumming noted that one of his top runners, Elizabeth Fausto, was ill that day and ran about 50 seconds off her pace. She finished 13th in 17:34. Her previous time of 16:44 on the course would have placed her 10th — thus narrowing the gap between the two teams.

In fact, one second separated Otay Ranch’s Abshier from finishing third instead of fifth — thus making the score even closer.
Because some of the top times were close, Cumming, indicated that anything could happen in a rematch, especially where displacements might come into play while running against an equally strong team such as Chula Vista.

The Mustangs edged the Spartans by one point, 27-28, in their regular season dual meet. Had three Chula Vista runners not been disqualified for taking the wrong turn at the last tree on the course at Discovery Park, Eastlake’s 17-43 dual meet win might have been placed in doubt.

“All three teams are very evenly matched,” said Cumming, whose team placed seventh in its team sweepstakes race at this year’s prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational where Schoonmaker finished eighth in the 134-person field.

Bonita Vista’s boys team enters Friday’s Mesa League finals ranked seventh in the San Diego Section — fifth among Division I teams. The Barons are hoping to peak at the right time of the season in a bid to make a successful return to the state championship meet. Bonita Vista finished third at last year’s Division I finals en route to placing eighth at the state finals in Fresno.

Baron senior Eric Avila was seventh among individuals at last year’s state championship meet and is considered a probable qualifier for the upcoming Western Regional championships — and possibly the national championship meet.

BV’s Mathew Seat also has established himself as one of the conference’s elite runners and could be a state hopeful.

The same goes for Eastlake senior Austin Jett — the conference’s top finisher at last year’s Division I finals at Morley Field — and several Otay Ranch harriers, most notably Brandon Velasquez and Mike Denman.

Otay Ranch, which entered the week ranked 10th in the section (seventh among Division I teams) scored a narrow 27-30 dual victory against visiting Eastlake last Friday in the battle for second place in the Mesa League standings.

The Mustangs placed four of the top seven runners and six of the top 10 finishers. Jett and Velasquez eclipsed the previous course record of 16:00 (set earlier this season by Avila on the 5,280-yard layout) with times of 15:40 and 15:47, respectively, with Denman (16:07) just missing beating the old record. The Titans had the next two finishers: Jeff Welch (fourth, 16:26) and Eric Fujikawa (fifth, 16:27). The Mustangs responded with the next two runners: Jacob Roach (sixth, 16:39) and Jesse Matias (seventh, 16:40).

Eastlake received a boost from Che Nevarez’ eight-place finish in 16:46 but Otay Ranch pushed across the next two finishers: Jon Limon (ninth, 16:55) and Ivan Dallet (10th, 17:01).

Cumming said last Friday’s meet had to be very exciting from a spectator’s point of view because of what he termed the “ebb and flow” among the competitors.

“It was a competition between two strong teams in which both teams ran very well,” Cumming said. “I am very proud of our student-athletes as I am sure (Eastlake) coach (Joe) Stubbs is of his athletes.”

Welch and Fujikawa also can be considered state meet hopefuls if they run their best races.

Sweetwater’s Alan Gudino also could be placed in that elite class of local runners.

South Bay League
Top runners among South Bay League boys include Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez and Castle Park’s Eli Ledezma, along with a host of Montgomery Aztecs.

Lopez entered the 2006 campaign as the preseason favorite to win this year’s individual league title and has done little to dispel that throughout the course of regular season competition.

The team race will be between Castle Park and Montgomery. The Trojans edged the Aztecs by a single point, 27-28, in their recent dual encounter. However, the rematch could go either way.

Hilltop defeated Montgomery, 15-46, last Friday in a battle of unbeaten South Bay League girls teams. The defending champion Lancers are led by returning standouts Tanya Valenzuela (a sophomore) and Lisa Lane (a senior), the top two finishers at last year’s league finals. Valenzuela captured the top time of 16:45 on the 2.5-mile Rohr Park course last Friday.

Top returners for Hilltop, besides Valenzuela and Lane, include seniors Karla Atencio and Marga Crain, both all-league runners last season, and junior Jessica Torres. Impact newcomers, according to coach Mark Hedderson, include freshman Michelle Lane (Lisa’s younger sister) and sophomore Senjace Hernandez.

The Lancers finished eighth at last year’s CIF divisional finals and while Hedderson has indicated that this year’s team looks to be stronger, finishing in the top three positions to earn a team state qualifying berth will be a challenge, he said.

Hilltop’s boys team is paced by top returner Jorge Garcia, a junior, and impact newcomers Louis Pina, Andy Torres, Conner Gallaher, Ben Potter, Luis Garcia, all freshmen, and rookie senior Richard Evans.

Pina is currently the top runner on the team, followed by Torres and Jorge Garcia. “This is basically a freshman team — five of our seven varsity runners are ninth graders,” Hedderson said. “We have beaten Mar Vista, but lost to Castle Park. A third place finish in league this year would be a good beginning for this group."

Wonder woman
Castle Park’s Julia Hernandez finished South Bay League dual meet competition undefeated after recording the top time of 16:23 (for 2.3 miles) in last Friday’s dual meet against Southwest at Luckie Waller Park.

Hernandez defeated Hilltop’s top tandem of Valenzuela and Lane and will be looking to remain unbeaten on Friday. Last year, expectations were equally high but an ill-timed illness negated a championship run.

Bonita Vista’s Eric Avila: man on the run

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 3, 2006 -- After setting the best time this year — 15:44 — on the 3.0-mile Discovery Park hill course last Friday, it was time for Bonita Vista senior Eric Avila to take a short breather before heading off on the more important assignment of the day: a five-mile run. Such is the training regimen of the reigning two-time Metro Conference champion whose goal this season is to win the Division I boys state cross country title.

“I want to win state,” said Avila, who finished seventh at last year’s state finals as a junior.

Currently, the Baron front-runner is ranked among the top five runners in the western region and has set a goal of qualifying for the season-ending Footlocker Nationals. The field is limited to about the top 15 runners in the nation.

His times are comparable to last year’s state and Footlocker Nationals champion A. J. Acosta from El Camino.

Avila has already raced the top-ranked runner in the state — Royal senior Mike Cybulski — twice this season, losing to him by one second at the Woodbridge Invitational and by eight seconds at the Clovis Invitational (which was held on the same course as the upcoming state championship meet).

“He’s not far off,” Avila said of Cybulski. "To win state is the goal. It’s do-able. I’m running A.J.’s times from last year.”
Avila timed 15:15 at the Clovis Invitational. Acosta timed 15:15 to win last year’s state title (on the same course). Avila finished seventh in 15:31 last year.

His big test came recently at the Mt. SAC Invitational when he and his Baron teammates competed in the super sweepstakes race — definitely rarefied air in the prep ranks. The BV runner was in first place after 1.5 miles but a difficult training regimen (a doubling in roadwork) precluded him from winning the race. At the two-mile mark, his legs (as predicted) began to feel like rubber and each step became more arduous to complete. Despite the leg drain, he finished eighth in 15:07.

The heroic effort earned him State Athlete of the Week honors as posted on the DyeStatCal.com Web site.

Cybulski finished second in 14:45 behind race-winner Chad Hall of Big Bear. Hall timed 14:35.
Cybulski entered the race ranked second in the nation.

“I did OK (considering the circumstances),” the BV standout said sheepishly.

Avila said he has already received a “drawer full” of letters from colleges wishing to recruit his services next fall. One estimate put the mound of mail at 1,000 pieces.

His feet have obviously done the talking for him.

Avila said he narrowed the list of colleges to 50 and, then based primarily on geography, has further pared the list to 10. He expects to have the list narrowed even further to five by March.

His wish list includes such schools as UCLA, Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Colorado, Chico, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and Iona (in Manhattan). “I’d like to stay close to home. That’s why most of the schools I’m considering are either in California or Arizona,” he said.

Avila did not take part in the Southern California Invitational Oct. 14 at Guajome Park in Oceanside because of SAT testing. In his place, senior teammate Mathew Seat ran in the race reserved for No. 1 runners, finishing fifth on the 3.22-mile course in 16:32 (Westview’s Travis Kuhlman won in 15:42, followed by Valley Center’s Alex Avilez in 16:02).

Seat was 27th in the super sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC. “It was fast. It was fun,” Seat said of competing against the elite runners from across the nation.

The Barons had four runners place among the top 10 finishers in their respective races at the Southern California Invitational. Senior Chris Close finished ninth in the boys No. 2 race with a time of 17:23 while junior Derek Groom was ninth in the boys No. 3 race with a time of 17:30. Sophomore David Garcia was fifth in the boys Nos. 4-5 race in 17:32, followed by teammate Sophomore Eric Osuna in 10th place in 17:48. Freshman Freddie Rodriguez was 13th in the boys Nos. 6-7 race in 18:01.

Bonita Vista finished 14th among the 16 teams entered in the Mt. SAC super sweepstakes field but the opportunity to race against some of the best runners in the nation was beyond expectation. The race featured 101 elite runners. Both Avila (15:07) and Seat (15:43) finished among the top third of the field while Close (16:42) was 78th, Garcia (16:56) was 86th, Groom (17:22) was 95th, Rodriguez (17:41) was 98th and Osuna (19:36) was 101st.

Bonita Vista coach Julie Phair said she did not request the Barons be placed in the ultra chic division. “That was not requested on our part. The Mt. SAC officials did that,” she said. “They felt our team was worthy to be included in such a prestigious group.”

Hope remains that Avila will not be the lone Baron competing in Fresno on Thanksgiving weekend. The top three teams in the Division I section finals qualify to compete at the state meet. The Barons entered this week ranked seven in the section — fifth among Division I teams. Ahead in the Division I rankings were Rancho Buena Vista (first), Fallbrook (second), Vista (third) and Torrey Pines (fourth).

Bonita Vista finished third at last year’s Division I finals before going on to place eighth at the state championships.
Seat said the game plan for success is simple: “Everybody has to run their best.”

Phair has been caught up in the entire whirlwind as her team chases its goal of returning to the state finals. She said the team needs to keep working toward that goal — that the best motivation comes from self-motivation.

“They’re training well. They’re focused. They know what they want,” she said.

Clash of the Titans
Last Friday’s anticipated marquee head-to-head dual between Avila and Eastlake senior Austin Jett did not materialize because Jett was battling an illness. Still, the Titan front runner competed, placing second in 16:39 (30 seconds below his best this season on the course).

Eastlake actually placed three of the top five runners in the race but overall depth belonged to the defending champion Barons, who prevailed by a 25-34 score to remain undefeated in Mesa League competition. BV’s Seat followed in third place in 16:43. Two Titans followed in Seat’s tracks: Jeff Welch (fourth, 16:57) and Eric Fujikawa (fifth, 17:19).The next five runners all hailed from Bonita Vista: Close (sixth, 17:22), Garcia (seventh, 17:31), Groom (eighth, 17:35), Rodriguez (ninth, 17:55) and Osuna (10th, 17:57). Overall, the Barons placed seven of the top 10 finishers.

Led by Juan Garcia (18:48), Bonita Vista captured the boys JV dual, 17-47. score as the Barons placed the top four runners.

Elite company
Top boys teams to watch at the section finals include Rancho Buena Vista, Fallbrook, Vista, San Pasqual, Torrey Pines, University City, Bonita Vista, Rancho Bernardo, Valley Center, Otay Ranch, Eastlake, Ramona, Monte Vista and Steele Canyon.
Top girls team to watch include Torrey Pines, University City, Vista, La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Mt. Carmel, El Camino, Our Lady of Peace Academy, Valley Center, West Hills, El Capitan and Rancho Buena Vista.

Trojans, Aztecs heat up South Bay League title chase

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 3, 2006 -- Quality not quantity. Those are the words Castle Park High School cross country coach Hector Hernandez likes to use when describing this year’s Trojan team. The label definitely fits in regard to the boys squad, which placed itself in position to wrap up an undefeated league dual meet campaign with a tenuous 27-28 victory last Friday against preseason favorite Montgomery at Luckie Waller Park.

Castle Park improved to 4-0 with the victory. The Trojans began the season with six team members — one over the minimum number to score in a dual meet.

Hernandez called the matchup a “historic race that will be remembered for many years to come.”

“Even by mile two, as I was counting, they still were ahead of us, but we ran very hard on the last mile,” the CP coach said.
Castle Park’s Eli Ledezma won the 3.1-mile race in 17:34. However, it was the ability of the Trojans to place their fourth and fifth runners in front of the Aztecs’ fifth runner over the last 400 meters of the race that made the difference in the team scoring.

“The Montgomery boys were by far the heavy favorites since they beat us twice this year — first in an early invitational and two weeks ago when we went against Hilltop and they went against Mar Vista in a quadruple meet where Castle Park and Hilltop and Montgomery and Mar Vista were scored separately.”

Hernandez said the heroic victory was based on two things: healthy bodies and hard work.

“First of all, all my boys were healthy and the hard work we have done throughout the season is finally paying off,” Hernandez said. “We should be stronger by league finals and peaking at the right time by league finals and CIF finals.”

If the Aztecs return the favor with an inspirational win at the South Bay League finals on Nov. 10, Hernandez said the outcome would not necessarily be disappointing for his team.

“If we lose to them, the worst scenario is co-champions and that’s not bad at all,” the Trojan coach said. “The reason I say that is because there is a big gap between us two (and the rest of the league). Castle Park and Montgomery are very close and it can go either way by league finals. It all depends on who wants it more.”

Castle Park ends the dual meet season with a Nov. 3 matchup against Southwest while Montgomery meets Hilltop in a climactic showdown between undefeated girls teams.

“We just have to stay focused, train smart and stay healthy by league finals,” Hernandez said.

Ledezma finished third at last year’s league finals behind graduated teammate Edgar Medina (the 2004 and 2005 champion) and Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez (second place). Lopez recorded the top time of 18:25 in the teams’ Sept. 29 dual meet encounter at the Imperial Beach pier — a 25-32 CP victory — and owns the top time this year of 17:20 on the Luckie Waller course.

“My boys are hungry for a title, especially my top four returners,” Hernandez said.

Those four returners include seniors Eli Ledezma, Samuel Ledezma, Edwin Aguilar and junior Arturo Gomez. The quartet was part of the Trojan unit that finished runner-up by two points to Otay Ranch at last year’s league finals.

Castle Park and Otay Ranch shared the 2004 league championship banner after the Trojans recorded an upset win at the league finals.

The Trojans finished 1-3-6-8-9 in team scoring against Montgomery (2-4-5-7-10). Samuel Ledezma was third in 17:55, followed by Gomez (sixth, 18:16), Aguilar (eighth, 18:51) and Carlos Navarro (ninth, 18:58).

The Aztecs pushed across three of the top five finishers in the race and four of the top seven placers but the teams were even at four runners apiece through the top eight individuals. Navarro held on for a six-second lead against Montgomery’s fifth runner.

Hernandez complimented Aztec coach Rueben Ledesma and the entire Montgomery team for a great race. “It doesn’t get any closer than that,” the former Mar Vista state qualifier said. “They got the best out of us. They deserved to win, too. It could have gone either way. I know they will come back by league finals ready to run against us, because those boys are tough and coach Ledesma is doing a fine job with them. I am looking forward to Friday, Nov. 10, at Rohr Park.”

The boys JV team title could also be closely contested. Montgomery defeated Castle Park 26-31 but displacements by other teams at the league finals could prove decisive in the final team standings. Castle Park’s Francisco Diaz finished first in the JV race against Montgomery in 19:27.

Hernandez is not counting out the impact, in particular, of top runners from some of the weaker South Bay League teams in playing a role in which team wins this year’s league title.

“Last year we lost to Otay Ranch at league finals and Mar Vista played a big role on that one because two Mar Vista runners passed my fifth runner with 50 meters to go and we end up losing by two points,” Hernandez said. “But that’s cross country and that’s why we run races — to see who’s got the best team at the end of the season when it counts.”

Elite showdown
Castle Park’s Julian Hernandez and Hilltop’s Tanya Valenzuela met head-to-head in dual meet competition Oct. 11 in a preview of the upcoming league championship meet. The duel at Luckie Waller Park did not disappoint in terms of drama. Both went 5:49 for the first mile, which included a hill at the end of the one-mile mark. Hernandez then began to pull away, timing just under 12:00 for two miles and finishing the 2.3-mile course in a school record time of 14:41. The time posted by Hernandez is believed to be the fourth-fastest ever in course history. Valenzuela then battled teammate Lisa Lane for second place, with Lane finishing runner-up in 15:48 and Valenzuela third in 15:57.

Valenzuela and Lane finished first and second at last year’s league finals; Hernandez finished second at the league championship meet two years ago. The CP standout remains undefeated in South Bay League dual competition this season. At the prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational Oct. 21, Hernandez recorded a personal record time of 19:14 on the arduously hilly 3.0-mile course — an improvement of 24 seconds from the previous year and good for eighth in her race.

Mustangs, Titans step off in Mesa League showdown dual

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 3, 2006 -- Perhaps the most hotly contested Mesa League cross country dual meet in quite some time is shaping up to take place Friday afternoon at Otay Ranch High School when the host Mustangs entertain the Eastlake Titans. While the meet itself will not produce an outright champion, it will go a long way to help decide which teams enter the Metro Conference finals Nov. 10 at Rohr Park with a high probability of securing a championship title.

The girls meet, which is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start, pits a pair of undefeated teams. Otay Ranch and Eastlake both sport perfect 4-0 dual meet records — each with a victory against last year’s champion, the Chula Vista Spartans.

The outcome of the boys meet will determine second place in the league dual meet standings and expects to be just as close as the girls meet.

The real estate covered Friday at Otay Ranch High School will be priceless to the winning teams.

Girls preview
Otay Ranch edged Chula Vista, 27-28, on Oct. 13 as Jazmin Schoonmaker navigated top honors on the 2.5-mile Rohr Park course in 16:33.

Eastlake topped Chula Vista, 17-43, in the season opener on Sept. 29. However, the score is misleading in that four runners — three of them Spartans — were disqualified because they took a wrong turn on the course. Without the disqualifications, Titan coach Joe Stubbs had the score between the teams virtually dead even.

“That will be a biggie,” Stubbs said in an understatement in regard to Friday’s impending showdown between Eastlake and Otay Ranch.

“We’ve been training all year for these last few weeks of the season with league finals, the CIF finals and the state championship meet all coming together,” Stubbs said. “It’s nice that such an important meet as that against Otay Ranch falls on the last meet of the year. If you’re an objective observer, it will be a great race to watch. If you’re a coach, you’ll be biting your nails.”

Stubbs expects an incalculably close race between the teams. “Against Otay Ranch it will come down to a couple places. Two runners will be within 10 feet of each other. It will come down to will power,” the Eastlake coach said. “I’d be surprised if the score was more than four points apart.”

The Titans turned up for Friday’s challenge by defeating Bonita Vista, 19-47, last Friday at Discovery Park. Eastlake pushed across six of the top eight finishers in the 2.25-mile race, eight of the top 10 placers and 10 of the top 12 runners to cross the finish line.

The Titans’ Itzel Nuno earned medalist honors with a time of 15:24, followed in second place by Bonita Vista’s Julia Aguilar (15:27). Four Eastlake runners followed in succession to sew up low scoring honors: Heather Voigt (15:34), Tania Andrade (15:56), Ranchel Naranjo (16:00) and Sam Bankston (16:00). Bonita Vista’s Amanda Schoepflin was seventh in 16:01. However, three more Titans quickly followed: Andrea Voigt (16:02), Diamond Anderson (16:25) and Maria Lisa Crimi (16:29).

Otay Ranch recorded a perfect 15-50 score against San Ysidro last Friday as Sofia Danielson took top-finishing honors in the competition at the Imperial Beach pier with a time of 16:15 on the 2.2-mile sand course.

Boys preview
In most other leagues across the county, Friday’s boys meet would likely be worthy of a championship encounter because of the talent assembled. But in the newly-aligned and improved Mesa League, it will likely determine second place in league dual competition. Otay Ranch and Eastlake have lost only to defending league champion Bonita Vista this year.

Race time is 3 p.m.

At 3-1, the Titans have already set a record for wins since joining the Mesa League several years ago. At 3-1, the Mustangs are enjoying a highly successful season in their first Mesa League campaign.

Otay Ranch lost 25-30 to Bonita Vista on Oct. 4; Eastlake dropped a 25-34 decision to the Barons last Friday.

Both the Titans and Mustangs are coming off strong performances at this year’s national-draw Mt. SAC Invitational Oct. 20-21 in Walnut — an annual barometer for success at the state and regional levels.

More than 24,000 runners competed in this year’s event, with 122 races comprising athletes from elementary school to college.

Eastlake finished third in its race, meaning that all seven runners received medals. Austin Jett, the Metro’s top individual finisher at last year’s Division I section finals, finished second overall among individuals in the 32-team division (200 runners). He bounded out to such a big lead — 80 yards — that he had to stop for traffic, thus allowing the other runners to catch up. By the time he got going again, four other runners had caught up and the chase was on to the finish. Jett timed 15:52. Wilson’s Edwin Rodriguez won in 15:43.

Jeff Welch was sixth overall in 16:17, followed by Fujikawa (16th, 16:43), Che Nevarez (73rd, 17:42), Gabriel Garcia (99th, 18:08), Cesar Rodriguez (112th, 18:25) and Kurtis Ibarra-Dosio (114th, 18:28). Race day conditions (97-degree heat) did not favor record-breaking efforts.

Otay Ranch also finished third in its division, finishing behind Clovis West and Fallbrook in a morning race when conditions were not as hot. Brandon Velasquez was the Mustangs’ top finisher in 15th place with a time of 15:50. Following were teammates Mike Denman (21st, 16:00), Jon Limon (43rd, 16:53), Ivan Dallet (48th, 16:59), Daniel Juarez (56th, 17:05), Leon Medina (65th, 17:22) and Jesse Matias (72nd, 17:35).

The Titans have been racing in dual competition without the services of Scott Walling, who was hit by a car early in the season while on a run. However, Walling could be fit enough to compete Friday against Otay Ranch, thus providing an extra element of drama in the team scoring outcome between the two neighboring schools.

Walling placed fifth in last Friday’s JV race in 19:13 at Discovery Park.

Mesa League notepad
The Eastlake girls finished sixth out of 36 teams in their race division at Mt. SAC, though no one managed to crack the top 15 individual medalists.

Top runners starting to separate from the pack

The best in the San Diego Section will gather at Morley Field in Balboa Park on Saturday, Nov. 18, to determine the top teams and individuals who will advance to the state meet the following Saturday in Fresno.

The Division V boys race steps off the competition at 8:30 a.m. The meet concludes with the Division III girls race at 1:20 p.m.

South County runners expect to be especially competitive once again if the results of this year’s Jaguar/Road Runner Sports Invitational are any indicator.

Sweetwater, Chula Vista and Montgomery competed in the Oct. 14 countywide event draw at Kit Carson Park. Montgomery senior Jehovahnni Sandez finished fourth among individuals in the boys varsity small schools division race while Sweetwater senior Martin Macias finished sixth among individuals in the boys varsity large schools division race.

Macias timed 17:23 on the 3.0-mile course, trailing race-winner Travis Kuhlman from Westview (15:55) and runner-up Muluken Baressa from Monte Vista (16:13), both seniors.

The Red Devils had two runners placed among the top 10 finishers in the boys varsity large schools race as junior Alan Gudino finished eighth in 17:35. Junior Joe Corona was 25th in 17:58 while senior Oscar Suarez was 35th in 18:17 and sophomore Alejandro Aparicio was 42nd in 18:28 among the 83 finishers.

In the small schools race, Sandez timed 17:46 to finish behind Clairemont senior Bernardo Bahena (first, 17:03), Calvary Christian senior Ryan Vilas (second, 17:10) and San Dieguito Academy junior Travis Pederson (third, 17:19).

Montgomery junior Juan Vieryra was 10th in 18:13, followed by Aztec senior Jonathan Alcala (17th, 18:39) and junior teammate Alejandro Medina (23rd, 18:51) in the 118-runner field.

On the girls side, Chula Vista junior Elizabeth Arias was 28th in the varsity large schools race with a time of 17:13 for 2.5 miles, followed by teammates Jacqueline Villa (44th, 17:32) and Angelica Larios (45th, 17:34) in the 102-strong field of runners.

In the boys junior varsity large schools race, Chula Vista sophomore Juan Vasquez finished 13th in 19:04 while classmates Adrian Lagman (17th, 19:11) and Jesus Martinez (18th, 19:12) followed. A total of 205 runners finished the race.

Montgomery junior Enrique Robles won the boys JV small schools race in 19:07, followed by teammates Jesus Valdez (12th, 20:25), Victor Torres (15th, 20:36), Eric Godinez (17th, 20:43), Juan Miranda (18th, 20:44), Alvin Garcia (20th, 20:48) and Jesus Zapata (21st, 20:49). The race featured 188 finishers.

In the girls junior varsity small schools race, Montgomery had four runners among the top 20 finishers: sophomore Crystal Delgado (seventh, 20:41), junior Paulina Melesio (eighth, 20:42), junior Angela Vazquez (13th, 21:16) and senior Karina Contreras (16th, 21:42).

By the numbers
Sweetwater’s Macias finished 11th among No. 2 boys runners at the Southern California Invitational Oct. 14 at Guajome Park in Oceanside. Marcias timed 17:31 on the 3.22-mile course. Red Devil teammate Luis Maela was 15th among Nos. 4-5 boys runners in 18:02.

Sweetwater’s Aylin Mejia was 14th among No. 1 girls runners in 17:17 (2.46 miles) while Red Devil teammate Bianca Maela was 15th among No. 2 girls runners in 18:17.

Notepad
As a general rule, the top three teams in each division at the section finals advance to the state meet.

Top boys teams to watch at the section finals include Rancho Buena Vista, Fallbrook, Vista, San Pasqual, Torrey Pines, University City, Bonita Vista, Rancho Bernardo, Valley Center, Otay Ranch, Eastlake and Ramona.

Top girls team to watch include Torrey Pines, University City, Vista, La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Mt. Carmel, El Camino, Our Lady of Peace Academy, Valley Center and Rancho Buena Vista.

Austin Jett navigates the hill at Discovery Park on Oct. 6.

Breaking news:
Titans poised to make history in Mesa League

CHULA VISTA, Friday, Oct. 6 -- The Eastlake High School cross country team has opened Mesa League dual meet competition with a 2-0 record after defeating Chula Vista and Sweetwater high schools in back-to-back fashion. For the Titans, it marked the first time since Eastlake moved up from the South Bay League to the Mesa League that the team had defeated either the Spartans or Red Devils in boys competition. The victory against Chula Vista was the first for the Titan girls team after several narrow near-misses the past two years.

Eastlake kept its record perfect in dual competition with Friday’s 24-31 victory against Sweetwater in the boys meet and a 15-48 win in the girls meet. The Titans placed the top six girls, led by Itzel Nuno (15:36, 2.25 miles). She raised her arms in victory as she crossed the finish line.

Austin Jett captured the boys meet with a runaway time of 16:09 on the 5K course.

Following Nuno across the finish line in the girls meet were Heather Voigt (15:42), Rachel Naranjo (15:44), Samantha Bankston (15:46), Tania Andrade (15:53) and Michelle Walling (16:00).

Andrade earned medalist honors with a 15:46 time in Eastlake’s 17-43 dual victory against Chula Vista on Sept. 29. In that meet, four runners were disqualified after one girl took the wrong turn and three runners followed. Three of the four disqualified runners were from Chula Vista.

“One person made the wrong turn and three followed. Unfortunately, it had a big impact in the outcome of the meet,” Titan head coach Joe Stubbs said.

Jett posted the top time of 16:31 in the boys team’s 17-38 win against the Spartans.

“Chula Vista graduated six of their top seven on the boys team. It was a pretty hard graduating class to build on but our guys ran well,” Stubbs said.

Eastlake finished 1-2-3 against the Spartans, totaling four of the top five finishers and five of the top six.

Eric Fujikawa placed second in 17:05, followed by teammates Jeff Welch (third, 17:15), Che Nevarez (fifth, 17:55) and Gabriel Garcia (sixth, 18:39).

In Friday’s meet, Sweetwater’s Alan Gudino followed Jett across the finish line in second place in 16:36 but three of the top four finishers and five of the top nine placers wore blue singlets.

See how they run: Barons, Mustangs split key varsity dual meet

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 4, 2006 -- With three of the top five runners crossing the finish line in Wednesday’s Mesa League cross country dual meet, the host Otay Ranch Mustangs boys team looked in good shape to continue its early season surge in what was undoubtedly its toughest assignment of the season.

But cross country dual meets are not won in the top five, unless it is a clean sweep by one team. Bonita Vista’s ability to pack its third through six runners ultimately proved the difference as the defending league champion Barons walked off the course with a 25-30 victory against the Mustangs, who were making their Mesa League debut after winning shares or outright possession of three consecutive South Bay League titles.

“Otay Ranch was a very tough opponent,” Bonita Vista head coach Julie Phair said. “But our boys had been working hard and focusing on this as a step toward reaching our goal of winning the Mesa League championship. They focused and got the job done.”

“It was a great cross country dual meet,” Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming summed up.

Eric Avila, the Metro Conference’s two-time defending champion, roared across the finish line in 16:00 as Bonita Vista’s first runner to complete the 3.0-mile on-campus course.

Mike Denman, who has walked tall so far this season for the Mustangs in invitational competition, was the next runner to finish in 16:15, followed by Bonita Vista’s Mathew Seat in 16:36. Otay Ranch pushed across the next two finishers: Brandon Velasquez (fourth, 16:43) and Jon Limon (fifth, 16:47).

Bonita Vista’s Chris Close was sixth in 16:57, giving the Barons a 10-12 scoring edge through three of the top five finishers for both teams.

The Mustangs placed two more runners among the top 10 placers — but not in the right combination to record the win.

Bonita Vista — obviously running its best local competition thus far this season — captured the highly-prized dual encounter by placing its five scorers ahead of Otay Ranch’s fourth man. Derek Groom placed seventh overall in 17:02, followed almost immediately by teammate David Garcia in eighth place in 17:03.

For the Mustangs, Leon Medina finished ninth in 17:20 while Ivan Dallet was 10th in 17:22.

Each team had five runners among the top 10 finishers. However, it was the Barons’ six-second spread among its No. 3 through No. 5 runners that outdid Otay Ranch’s best effort. The Mustangs’ five-man spread totaled 1:07.

Inclusive of Avila’s winning margin of 15 seconds, Bonita Vista produced a five-man spread of 1:03.

The Barons raised eyebrows by running in inverted order at the South Bay Invitational, with Avila (78th place) running alongside a teammate more accustomed to finishing deeper in the pack. Seat, the team’s No. 2 runner, finished 30th alongside Eric Osuna (31st).

“Both teams ran very well, so I can’t complain the way the kids ran,” said Cumming, whose team had placed second at the South Bay Invitational after capturing its division title at the Mustang/Movin Shoes Invitational, both held at Rohr Park “Bonita ran its best meet of the year. If you lose, you want to run well and lose to a classy team. Bonita is a classy team in every respect. Our kids ran well. We just came up a little short this time.”

The teams will rematch at the Mesa League championship meet in November, with the Mustangs getting the chance to avenge Wednesday’s loss in a bid for a co-championship. “They (the Barons) did a great job of bringing up their third through fifth guys,” Cumming said. “We’ll see what we can do.”

Otay Ranch — turning in a 24-second five-person spread — defeated Bonita Vista, 18-43, in the girls side of Wednesday’s dual meet. The Mustangs flooded the finish line with six of the top seven placers on the 2.48-mile course, led by Jazmine Schoonmaker (first, 16:42) and Elizabeth Fausto (second, 16:44).

Julia Aguilar was third for the Bonita Vista in 16:49, followed by a contingent of four Otay Ranch runners: Tina Poole (fourth, 17:06), Amanda Tinsley (fifth, 17:06), Ashley Abshier (sixth, 17:06) and Sofia Danielson (seventh, 17:17).

Britni King, finishing as the Barons’ No. 2 runner, finally broke up the Mustangs talented pack with an eighth-place finish in 17:32.

Evelyn Gutierrez’s 10th-place time of 17:38 gave Otay Ranch seven of the top 10 finishers in the race. Stephanie Naystatt followed for the Mustangs in 11th place.
The Mustangs captured the boys junior varsity race by a 19-42 score as Cory Meza (17:25), A.J. Castillo (17:42) and Ruben Castaneda (18:22) led the way for Otay Ranch with top three finishes.

Invitational notepad
Bonita Vista’s Avila finished fifth in last weekend’s Stanford Invitational with a time of 15:12 (5K) while Seat was 37th in 15:57. He will compete in this weekend’s Clovis West Invitational in Fresno on the site of the state championship course. The Barons entry in this weekend’s elite meet was the reason Wednesday’s dual was moved up from Friday’s original date.

Boys Dual Summary
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Bonita Vista 25, Otay Ranch 30
1. Eric Avila (BV) 16:00; 2. Mike Denman (OR) 16:15; 3. Mathew Seat (BV) 16:36; 4. Brandon Velasquez (OR) 16:43; 5. Jon Limon (OR) 16:47; 6. Chris Close (BV) 16:57; 7. Derek Groom (BV) 17:02; 8. David Garcia (BV) 17:03; 9. Leon Medina (OR) 17:20; 10. Ivan Dallet (OR) 17:22; 11. Daniel Juarez (OR) 17:29; 12. Eric Osuna (BV) 17:29; 13. Alfredo Rodriguez (BV) 17:54; 14. Jacob Roach (OR) 18:12; 15. Jesse Matias (OR) 18:31

Girls Dual Summary
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Otay Ranch 18, Bonita Vista 43
1. Jazmine Schoonmaker (OR) 16:42; 2. Elizabeth Fausto (OR) 16:44; 3. Julia Aguilar (BV) 16:49; 4. Tina Poole (OR) 17:06; 5. Amanda Tinsley (OR) 17:06; 6. Ashley Abshier (OR) 17:06; 7. Sofia Danielson (OR) 17:17; 8. Brinti King (BV) 17:32; 9. Griselda Quintero (BV) 17:36; 10. Evelyn Gutierrez (OR) 17:38; 11. Stephanie Nastatt (OR) 17:50; 12. Cassandra Luna (BV) 17:53; 13. Amanda Schoephlin (BV) 18:01; 14. Vivi Martinez (OR) 18:07

Boys JV Dual Summary
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Otay Ranch 19, Bonita Vista 42
1. Cory Meza (OR) 17:25; 2. A.J. Castillo (OR) 17:42; 3. Ruben Castaneda (OR) 18:22; 4. Bobby Torres (BV) 18;25; 5. Jason Finn (BV) 18:35

Mustang runners step off season at furious pace

CHULA VISTA, Sept. 25, 2006 -- The early season invitationals are over. The Otay Ranch High School cross country team has made its mark. But the season is not over. In many ways, it is just beginning as the Mustangs begin to navigate their toughest part of the 2006 schedule: the Mesa League dual meet season.

Otay Ranch is set to begin its first season in the Mesa League as the team with seemingly all the momentum. The Mustangs entered this year’s South Bay Invitational on Sept. 22 ranked third in the San Diego Section among boys teams. The Mustangs did nothing to disgrace that lofty ranking after finishing second to San Pasqual.

Eastlake entered the week ranked sixth among boys teams. Bonita Vista, the defending league champion and 2005 state meet qualifier, was unranked.

Otay Ranch hosts Bonita Vista on Oct. 4 and Eastlake on Nov. 3.

Early season results place the Mesa League among the most challenging leagues in the section this season, especially on the boys side.

The Mustangs, however, have excelled on the course from the opening gun.

Mustang/Movin Shoes Invitational
The boys Blue Division race was a showcase for the new and improved Mesa League. With two runners among the top 10 finishers, four runners in the top 20 and five scorers in the top 38, Otay Ranch won the Blue Division title with 88 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Bonita Vista (99 points), University City (102 points) and fourth-place Eastlake (111 points) and fifth-place Sweetwater (160 points).

University City had initially won low scoring honors in the Sept. 7 race — one point ahead of the Mustangs — but later had its fifth runner disqualified because of ineligibility, leaving Otay Ranch on top.

The Mustangs were deserving champions despite the late scoring change. Head coach Ian Cumming said the team was “excited to win a big school race in a great field.”

Mike Denman led Otay Ranch on the 3.0-mile Rohr Park course with a meteoric fourth-place finish in 15:57, followed by teammate Brandon Velasquez (eighth, 16:19. Jon Limon (18th, 16:49, Jesse Matias (19th, 16:56) and Leon Medina (38th, 17:24) rounded out Otay Ranch’s five scorers, with Jacob Roach (42nd, 17:27) and Abraham Castillo (66th, 18:14) completing the team’s seven runners in the 86-person field.

Bonita Vista had four top 30 finishers in the race and placed all five scorers among the top 40 finishers. Eastlake had three runners among the top 12 finishers and four in the top 25 while Sweetwater had three runners in the top 30.
The initial matchup of the league’s top three superpowers only seemed to whet the appetite of the league’s hard-core runners and fans.

Eastlake finished fourth in the girls Blue Division field, followed by Otay Ranch in fifth place, Bonita Vista (12th) and Sweetwater (13th). Otay Ranch’s Jazmine Schoonmaker (17th, 14:15) and Eastlake’s Heather Voigt (18th, 14:16) were the top two Metro finishers.

Following Schoonmaker were Otay Ranch teammates Elizabeth Fausto (24th, 14:20), Tina Poole (27th, 14:32), Amanda Tinsley (41st, 14:48) , Ashley Abshier (49th, 15:05), Viviana Martinez (56th, 15:12) and Sofia Danielson (68th, 15:29).
Otay Ranch won the boys Blue Division junior varsity team title while the Mustangs finished third in the girls JV field. Daniel Juarez keyed Otay Ranch with a second-place individual finish in the boys JV race (200 entrants). Juarez timed 11:43 for 2.2 miles.

Sierra Nevada Invitational
Otay Ranch continued to put its collective best foot forward to start the 2006 season by excelling at the Sierra Vista Invitational in Las Vegas. The Mustangs won the boys varsity and junior varsity races while placing second in the girls varsity race.
Denman led the parade of three top 10 Otay Ranch finishers in the boys varsity race with a third-place finish in 13:19 on the 2.5-mile course. Velasquez finished fifth in 13:32 followed by Limon in seventh place in 13:39. Juarez (13th, 13:51) and Matias (14th, 13:52) rounded out the team’s top five scorers.

The Mustangs out-distanced runner-up Silverado, 40-57, in the team scoring race, with Cimarron placing third with 121 points.
In nothing short of a show of force, Otay Ranch took the top five scoring positions in the boys JV race. Ivan Dallet led the pack with a time of 14:27, followed by Cory Meza (14:46), Ruben Castaneda (14:50), A.J. Castillo (14:53) and Daniel Castro (15:05).

The Mustangs finished with a meet low 15 points, followed by Southern Nevada (65 points) and Durango (85 points).
On the girls side, Schoonmaker finished ninth among individuals with a time of 17:11. Four of Otay Ranch’s five scorers recorded top 25 finishes, with Poole finishing 14th in 17:24, followed by Tinsley (19th, 17:39), Abshier (23rd, 18:05) and Fausto (27th, 18:08).

Stepahnie Naystatt (first, 18:20), Kim Rodriguez (third, 18:37) and Jeannette Mangilit (sixth, 19:14) excelled in the girls junior varsity race, though the Mustangs did not score as a team.

South Bay Invitational
The Mustangs finished 13 points behind San Pasqual in the single division (3.1-mile) boys varsity race, once again led by Denman (third, 16:10). Otay Ranch finished 11 points ahead of third-place Monte Vista and 17 points ahead of El Capitan, the two superpowers in the Grossmont Conference.

Velasquez managed to crack the top 10 finishers list in another impressive performance, timing 16:53. The Mustangs had four runners among the top 17 and placed all five of their scorers among the top 37 and had six runners finish in the top 40.
Limon was 16th, Juarez was 17th. Medina was 37th while Dallet was 40th.

The girls team finished sixth in both varsity and junior varsity competition. In a key scoring development, Otay Ranch finished 56 points ahead of defending varsity league champion Chula Vista (eighth). Schoonmaker led all Mustang runners across the finish line in 16:59 for 2.5 miles. Tinsley was next for Otay Ranch in 28th in 17:22 while chasing a pair of Chula Vista runners and Bonita Vista’s Julia Aguilar (26th, 17:18).

Otay Ranch claimed the boys JV team title with 36 points — 54 points ahead of runner-up San Pasqual. The Mustangs had three of the race’s top four finishers, including champion Meza and Castaneda (third) and Castillo (fourth).

“We are running well in the early stage of the season and we believe we will be in the battle for both the boys and girls Mesa League championships,” Cumming said. “Everyone is 0-0 at this point with some very good teams in our league. On the girls side, Eastlake has looked good and Chula Vista will be good also. Sweetwater and Bonita Vista are solid teams with San Ysidro having very good young runners, who can surprise people. We feel like we will continue to improve throughout the season with a solid and hard working young team.

“On the boys side, we have run well and should continue to improve throughout the season just as our girls will. Bonita Vista had the best year last year. Chula Vista and Sweetwater always have tough competitors who are helped by strong coaching. Eastlake has looked very good early. Things are going to be very interesting with some very close meets for both boys and girls in one of the strongest leagues in the county. It’s going to be an outstanding season.”

South Bay Invitational notepad
The single-division format allowed for a better gauge of strength across the board.

Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez, who tied for top finishing honors at the Vaquero Stampede on Sept. 2, finished seventh in 16:43. Sweetwater’s Alan Gudino was 10th in 16:53.

Chula Vista’s Jackie Villa led all Metro runners across the finish line in 16:57. The Spartans also had runners finish in 21st and 23rd positions. However, the Mustangs placed enough runners in front of Chula Vista’s contingent to win the scoring battle between the two teams.

A slight reordering of the initial San Diego Section coaches rankings seemed in order after the last runners crossed the finish line in this year’s South Bay Invitational.

El Capitan entered the gathering of teams from around the section ranked ninth among the section’s boys teams and finished fourth deep in a field that included San Pasqual (first, 69 points), Otay Ranch (second, 82 points) and Monte Vista (third, 93 points). El Capitan finished with 99 points — well ahead of fifth place Valley Center (142 points).

Prior to the encounter, Rancho Buena Vista had been ranked first in the section, Fallbrook ranked second, followed by Otay Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, University City, Eastlake, Torrey Pines, San Pasqual, El Capitan and Ramona. Monte Vista and Steele Canyon had been considered among “others.”

The Monarchs are the defending Grossmont South League champions and return quite a bit of the firepower that led them to a second-place finish at last year’s II championship meet. Monte Vista, paced by race-winner Muluken Beressa, placed its remaining rive scorers 12th, 13th, 33rd and 34th in the 147-deep race to petition for moving up the next coaches poll.

Beressa (16:03), Valley Center’s Alexander Avilez (16:08) and Otay Ranch’s Denman all timed ahead of El Capitan’s Kyle Phipps (16:38). Rounding out the top 10 boys varsity finishers were San Pasqual’s Rus Mundae (fifth) and Ryan Baird (sixth), both with 16:42 times, and another unidentified Golden Eagles runner (name tags fell off during the race and some runners were not able to be identified on the leader boards).

Among Metro teams, Sweetwater (151 points) finished sixth, followed by Montgomery (198 points) and Bonita Vista (eighth, 210 points). Baron runners stayed well back in the pack, running with a teammate to foster a “pack element” for future key races. Two-time defending conference champion Eric Avila finished 78th in 18:50.

On the girls side, West Hills (93 points) finished first ahead of Our Lady of Peace (111 points) and third place El Capitan (122 points). Steele Canyon finished fifth in the field with 141 points, trailing fourth place San Pasqual (133 points).

All three East County teams finished ahead of Valley Center (seventh, 188 points), which had entered the meet ranked seventh among girls teams in the section. Torrey Pines topped the section’s girls rankings, followed by University City (second), La Costa Canyon (third), Vista (fourth), Rancho Bernardo (fifth), Fallbrook (sixth), Valley Center (seventh), Mt. Carmel (eighth), La Jolla (ninth) and Rancho Buena Vista (10th). Besides West Hills, other teams to watch included Escondido, Coronado and Mission Hills.

East County runners dominated the South Bay Invitational with four of the top five finishers and seven of the top 11 finishers.
El Capitan’s Stephanie Cook won the 2.5-mile race in 15:56, followed by San Pasqual’s Alicia Park in 16:00, El Capitan’s Katie Martin in 16:34 and Monte Vista’s Heather Mayer in 16:35.

West Hills ran as a pack with a 36-second spread among its top five runners). Samantha Espindola led that pack with an eighth-place finish in 16:50, followed by teammates Carrie Saccone (14th, 16:58), Jordan Thomas (17th, 17:01), Nicole Anderson (25th, 17:14) and Samantha Timanus (29th, 17:26). The Wolf Pack placed its top five scorers among the top 30 runners.

Bonita Vista finished ninth in the girls varsity team standings with 265 points and was the top Metro team in the girls JV race with 167 points — three points ahead of fifth-place Chula Vista and 47 points ahead of sixth-place Otay Ranch.

Chula Vista finished second in the boys frosh/soph race with 88 points to trail team champion Torrey Pines. The Spartans placed their top two runners eighth and ninth overall and had four runners among the top 21 finishers. Bonita Vista’s Freddie Rodriguez won the 2.5-mile race in 17:50.

In the boys JV race, Bonita Vista’s Bobby Torres was seventh while Otay Ranch’s Daniel Castro was 10th. Montgomery had a pair of top 20 placers in Victor Torres (17th) and Juan Miranda (19th).

Metro Conference Dual Meet Schedule
Friday, Sept. 29
At Rohr Park: Otay Ranch vs. Sweetwater (Mesa League); Montgomery vs. Marian Catholic (South Bay League)

At Discovery Park: Eastlake vs. Chula Vista (Mesa League)

At Luckie Waller Park: Hilltop vs. Southwest (South Bay League)

At Imperial Beach pier: Mar Vista vs. Castle Park (South Bay League); Bonita Vista vs. San Ysidro (Mesa League)

Note: Boys varsity races at 3 p.m., followed by girls varsity races at 3:30 p.m. and boys junior varsity races at 4 p.m.

Things could be looking up for Bonita Vista cross country team

CHULA VISTA, Sept. 21, 2006 -- The Bonita Vista High School cross country team heads into the 2006 season with a combination of returning talent and many new faces, according to head coach Julie Phair, who feels the team should strive toward the goals she has set for the team this year. Those goals include a return trip to the state meet for the boys team and a resurgence up the Mesa League standings for the girls team.

“Our goal, of course, is to keep our Mesa League title (for the boys team),” Phair said. “The boys want to return to the state meet. They’ve set their team goal high to do that. The girls would love to reclaim the Mesa League. It’s a strong league. It will be quite hard to do that.”

Last year’s Bonita Vista boys team had nothing short of a fantastic season, Phair said. The Barons won the Mesa League championship, placed third at the San Diego Section Division I finals, and was the top San Diego area Division I team at the ensuing state meet with an eighth-place finish. Among individuals, Eric Avila was seventh.

Avila recorded a lifetime-best mark of 14:25 at last weekend’s elite Woodbridge Invitational, placing behind Big Bear’s Chad Hall (a record-setting 14:00) and two-time defending state 3,200-meter champion Michael Cybulski (14:24).

Phair said that while many other coaches in the county ranked the Barons high in preseason polls, the team remains cautiously optimistic about its fortunes this year.

“Our three seniors, Eric Avila, Chris Close and Mathew Seat, are as good as any top three runners on any team in the county,” Phair said. “Avila is the two-time defending Mesa League champion and Matt Seat was all-league last year. Chris Close is a returner from our state meet team, as are junior Derek Groom and sophomore David Garcia.”

“We have a strong scoring top five, if everyone stays healthy,” BV assistant coach Abram Garcia said.

However, the Barons may not be at full strength until toward the end of the season.

According to the team’s coaching staff, Avila is coming off an injury that hampered him all last track season while other unforeseen events have dealt the team a slower than expected start.

Bonita Vista finished runner-up to Otay Ranch at the Mustang Invitational Sept. 8 while missing two key runners.

“Our alternate on last year’s state meet team was injured in an off-road vehicle accident over the summer and is lost for the season,” Garcia said. “Sophomore David Garcia has a knee injury, and may not be at full strength until late in the season. Sophomore Eric Osuna also is battling an injury that caused him to miss the Mustang Invitational.”

“We were counting on last year’s No. 2 JV Mesa League finisher, Steven Stubner, to step up to varsity this year, but he has been injured all summer and may not get a doctor’s clearance to start training for several weeks,” Phair said. “We are bringing Eric Avila back from last year’s injury very slowly, and with all the other injuries, we may not be at full strength for some time. In the interim, we will be relying heavily on sophomores Jason Finn and Juan Garcia to step up. Talented freshmen Freddie Rodriguez and Marco Gutierrez could be wild cards for us this year,” Phair said.

Phair continued: “Eastlake and Otay Ranch have large and talented teams this year, and Sweetwater ran well at the Mustang Invitational. So, the boys Mesa League championship is wide open. Our boys team has a great deal of talent and set a goal of returning to the state meet. But we may not be at full strength until the end of the season, and are in a very competitive league. So, we’ll have our work cut out for us just defending our Mesa League title.”

Phair indicated the girls team appears ready to start its climb toward reclaiming its former preeminent stature in South County running circles.

“Our girls team has six returning varsity runners from last year, as well as many returning JV runners who should be strong competitors this season,” Phair said.

Leading the girls team are senior Brittni King (All-Mesa League last year), sophomore Julia Aguilar (also all-league), seniors Topacio Palomino, Melissa Lopez and Caitlin Purkey and junior Megan Wymer.

Phair said the team is also counting on positive contributions from sophomores Sarah Close, Griselda Quintero, Amanda Schoepflin, Jazmine Jurado, Sarah Rivera and Nicole Gilbert.

“We have a couple of very talented freshmen girls, Cassandra Luna and Katelyn Tatar, who have the potential to run varsity as the year progresses,” Phair said. “We have many young runners on the team. But our Lady Barons train very hard, and we expect to compete well to go after a Mesa League championship this year.”

Woodbridge Invitational
Records fell in both the boys and girls fields in one of the most competitive invitationals in the event’s 26-year history. Avila clearly turned in one of the more monstrous performances (10th-best all-time) among the elite finishers in the 24-team, 183-runner field. Hall, who finished second at last year’s Division IV state finals, broke away from the small pack of lead runners at the two-mile mark en route to shattering the course record by 13 seconds. Cybulski’s defending Division I state champion Royal Highlanders, however, ran to a new team-time record of 73:49, averaging 14:44 per runner on the three-mile course. Trabuco Hills finished second ahead of third place Arcadia and fourth place El Toro.

University City’s Mac Fleet (the boys varsity Gold Division champion at this year’s Mustang Invitational) set a new sophomore boys course record of 14:47, eclipsing Woodbridge alum Michael Haddan’s record by eight seconds.

Mustang runners corral competition in Las Vegas
The Otay Ranch High School cross country team continued to put its collective right foot forward to start the 2006 season by excelling at last weekend’s Sierra Vista Invitational in Las Vegas. The Mustangs won the boys varsity and junior varsity races while placing second in the girls varsity race.

Mike Denman led the parade of three top 10 Otay Ranch finishers in the boys varsity race with a third-place finish in 13:19 on the 2.5-mile course. Brandon Velasquez finished fifth in 13:32 followed by Jon Limon in seventh place in 13:39. Daniel Juarez (13th, 13:51) and Jesse Matias (14th, 13:52) rounded out the team’s top five scorers.

The Mustangs out-distanced runner-up Silverado, 40-57, in the team scoring race, with Cimarron placing third with 121 points.
In nothing short of a show of force, Otay Ranch took the top five scoring positions in the boys JV race. Ivan Dallet led the pack with a time of 14:27, followed by Cory Meza (14:46), Ruben Castaneda (14:50), A.J. Castillo (14:53) and Daniel Castro (15:05).

The Mustangs finished with a meet low 15 points, followed by Southern Nevada (65 points) and Durango (85 points).

On the girls side, Jazmine Schoonmaker finished ninth among individuals with a time of 17:11. Four of Otay Ranch’s five scorers recorded top 25 finishes, with Tina Poole finishing 14th in 17:24, followed by Amanda Tinsley (19th, 17:39), Ashley Abshier (23rd, 18:05) and Elizabeth Fausto (27th, 18:08).

Stepahnie Naystatt (first, 18:20), Kim Rodriguez (third, 18:37) and Jeannette Mangilit (sixth, 19:14) excelled in the girls junior varsity race, though the Mustangs did not score in the meet.

Friday’s South Bay Invitational at Rohr Park (Sept. 22) is next up. The race schedule steps off at 4 p.m.

“We are running well in the early stage of the season and we believe we will be in the battle for both the boys and girls Mesa League championships,” Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming said. “Everyone is 0-0 at this point with some very good teams in our league. On the girls side, Eastlake has looked good and Chula Vista will be good also. Sweetwater and Bonita Vista are solid teams with San Ysidro having very good young runners, who can surprise people. We feel like we will continue to improve throughout the season with a solid and hard working young team.

“On the boys side, we have run well and should continue to improve throughout the season just as our girls will. Bonita Vista had the best year last year and Eric Avila had an outstanding race at Woodbridge on Saturday. Chula Vista and Sweetwater always have tough competitors who are helped by strong coaching. Eastlake has looked very good early. Things are going to be very interesting with some very close meets for both boys and girls in one of the strongest leagues in the county.”

Got runners? Mesa League does
Otay Ranch wins Mustang Invitational Boys Blue Division

CHULA VISTA, Sept. 8, 2006 -- Judging by their performances at Friday’s 11th annual Mustang/Movin Shoes Invitational at Rohr Park, Eastlake’s Austin Jett and Bonita Vista’s Eric Avila once again will be dominant forces this cross country season. They also, it appears, will have some unexpected competition this season as the top runners in the San Diego Section compete for berths in November’s state championship meet.

Jett, who opened the season by winning his division at the Vaquero Stampede Sept. 2 at Lindo Lake, held the lead throughout the early and mid portions of the boys varsity Blue Division race on the 3.0-mile Rohr Park course. Avila, who gave up the lead to Jett at the midpoint of their Vaquero Stampede encounter, hovered behind the tall red-haired runner, alternating between second and third place with University City super sophomore Mac Fleet. Otay Ranch’s Mike Denman was the fourth member of the lead pack.

Heading down the hill, Jett held a slight lead on Fleet, with Avila in third. Heading into the final stretch, Jett was still in front, with Avila, Denman and Fleet, in that order, close behind.

As the distance to the finish line shortened, Jett noticed someone pull alongside him. Without turning his head to look, he assumed it was Avila. But the body size didn’t fit. His challenger was tall like he was.

“I was surprised that someone came up on me,” the Eastlake runner said. “I thought that it was Eric. But it was another tall guy. It was like, where did he come from?”

The mystery man turned out to be Fleet, who kept going to the finish line, winning in 15:38. Jett took second place with a time of 15:41, followed by Avila (third, 15:42) and Denman (fourth, 15:57).

That the top three placers all finished within four seconds of one another made the race one of the most memorable in the history of the event.

UC’s Alex Scherling (fifth, 16:03), Bonita Vista’s Mathew Seat (sixth, 16:08), Granite Hills’ Alex Guaderrama (seventh, 16:09), Otay Ranch’s Brandon Velasquez (eighth, 16:19), Helix’s Josh Vargas (ninth, 16:23) and Eastlake’s Eric Fujikawa (10th, 16:28) rounded out the race’s top 10 finishers.

Ironically, Fleet may have owed his win to his Metro challengers.

“He was drafting on me the whole time,” Avila said. “At mile 1.75, he was starting to fall back, so I told him to draft off me. I like running with someone because it makes it more competitive. He’s going to be a great runner.”

Fleet, who finished as the Centurions’ fourth runner at last year’s Division II finals as a freshman, acknowledged he appreciated the conversion among the front-runners.

“It was a good race,” said Fleet, who won the boys Division II freshman/sophomore race at the preceding Vaquero Stampede by a whopping 30-second margin. “Austin almost got away from us.”

All three front-runners are looking to improve on their times for the rest of the season. Fleet hopes to lead a revamped UC team (third at last year’s divisional section finals) back to the state meet. “We have a lot of underclassmen coming up. We lost our three top runners last year basically. But they’re coming up and taking their spots. We’re coming along nicely,” he said.
Sportsmanship aside, the race was a showcase for the new and improved Mesa League. With two runners among the top 10 finishers, four runners in the top 20 and five scorers in the top 38, Otay Ranch won the Blue Division title with 88 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Bonita Vista (99 points), University City (102 points) and fourth-place Eastlake (111 points) and fifth-place Sweetwater (160 points).

University City had initially won low scoring honors in the race — one point ahead of the Mustangs — but later had its fifth runner disqualified because of ineligibility, leaving Otay Ranch on top.

The Mustangs were deserving champions despite the late scoring change.

“Obviously, we’re excited to win a big school race in a great field,” Mustang head coach Ian Cumming said. “But we obviously know we’ve got more work to do. We’re not going to sneak in against anyone.”

Jonathon Limon (18th, 16:49, Jesse Matias (19th, 16:56) and Leon Medina (38th, 17:24) rounded out Otay Ranch’s five scorers, with Jacob Roach (42nd, 17:27) and Abraham Castillo (66th, 18:14) completing the team’s seven runners in the 86-person field.

Bonita Vista had four top 30 finishers in the race and placed all five scorers among the top 40 finishers. Following Avila and Seat across the finish line were Chris Close (22nd, 17:00), David Garcia (29th, 17:12), Derek Groom (39th, 17:26), Jason Finn (75th, 18:52) and Juan Garcia (76th, 18:55).

Avila presented Seat with the team trophy afterward as the team’s most improved runner. Seat finished 12th in last year’s race, moving up six spots this season with more than a minute drop in time.

Fleet was 18th at last year’s invitational.

The top 30 individual finishers in each race received medals. There were 1,100 entrants.

Eastlake had three runners among the top 12 finishers and four in the top 25. Jeff Welch, who was the team’s No. 2 man at the Vaquero Stampede, followed Jett and Fujikawa across the finish line, in 12th place with a 16:33 time. Scott Walling (34th, 17:20), Gabriel Garcia (52nd, 17:44) and Che Nevarez (57th, 17:49) rounded out the Titans’ six runners.

Sweetwater had three runners in the top 30, led by Alan Gudino (14th, 16:39), Oscar Suarez (26th, 17:06), Martin Macias (30th, 17:14), Luis Maela (32nd, 17:18) and Joe Corona (56nd, 17:49). Jose Martinez (85th, 20:02) rounded out the Red Devils’ six-man contingent.

“It’s going to be an outstanding season,” Otay Ranch’s Cumming said of the impending Mesa League dual clashes between the aforementioned four teams, plus Chula Vista (which did not compete at this year’s invitational). “These are great teams. We almost stacked four in a row. We already know there are four very strong teams (in the league) and maybe Chula. I’m going to say we have the second toughest league in the county (behind the Palomar League) and maybe the toughest.”

Sweetwater coach Tim Latham echoed Cumming’s assessment of the strength of the Mesa League. “This is the strongest it’s been in a while. It looks to stay that way for at least a couple years. That can only help everyone concerned,” Latham said.
“It shows that South County has more prestige,” BV’s Avila said from a runner’s perspective. “Maybe North County can fear us now. It’s more comforting to have more people at state from your area.”

Cumming had to laud his own runners on their outstanding performance, however. “For early in the season, we ran real well. We knew we were in very good shape (with off-season conditioning) but how would that translate to competition, we weren’t as sure about,” he said. “Nothing is won or lost at this point of the season. But the competition will get better as well.”
The challenge is obviously on.

Silver Division Boys
Montgomery, with four runners in the top 11 and all five scorers in the top 21 of the 81-man field, placed second to Steele Canyon in the boys varsity race. Keying the Aztecs on the course were Christian Kaeg (sixth, 17:06), Jonathan Alcala (seventh, 17:06), Jehovahnni Sandez (10th, 17:26), Alejandro Medina (11th, 17:26), Enrique Robles (21st, 18:12), Rafael Morales (28th, 18:34) and Adrian Domin-guez (47th, 19:34).

Steele Canyon flooded the top nine placers with four finishers, led by Kyle Fox (second, 16:39) and Adrian Sherrod (third, 16:41) behind race winner Edgar Lopez of Mar Vista. Lopez timed 16:23.

Former Bonita Vista runner Devan Caddell finished as Steele Canyon’s seventh runner, timing 17:41 in 17th place
Castle Park was seventh in the team standings, followed by Hilltop in eighth place.

Silver Division Girls
Hilltop finished third in the girls varsity race, trailing first place La Jolla and second place Our Lady of Peace. Tanya Valenzuela keyed the Lancers with a fifth-place individual finish in 13:26 on the 2.22-mile course. Following were Lisa Lane (19th, 14:20, Karla Atencio (22nd, 14:24), Marga Crain (24th, 14:56), Michelle Lane (25th, 14:57) and Jessica Torres (38th, 16:02. Sixty-five runners competed in the race.

Montgomery, paced by Judith Arredondo’s 26th-place finish (15:04), was sixth as a team.

Castle Park junior Julia Hernandez, competing while under the weather, placed 18th in 14:17.

Blue Division Girls
Eastlake finished fourth in the field, followed by Otay Ranch in fifth place, Bonita Vista (12th) and Sweetwater (13th). Otay Ranch’s Jazmine Schoonmaker (17th, 14:15) and Eastlake’s Heather Voigt (18th, 14:16) were the top two Metro finishers.
Julia Aguilar paced Bonita Vista with a 21st individual finish in 14:17 in the field of 86 runners.

Rachel Naranjo (28th, 14:33), Itzel Nuno (29th, 14:35), Sam Bankston (30th, 14:36), Tania Andrade (33rd, 14:37), Andrea Voigt (47th, 15:00) and Michelle Walling (62nd, 15:20) rounded out Eastlake’s race contingent.

Following Schoonmaker were Otay Ranch teammates Elizabeth Fausto (24th, 14:20), Tina Poole (27th, 14:32), Amanda Tinsley (41st, 14:48) , Ashley Abshier (49th, 15:05), Viviana Martinez (56th, 15:12) and Sofia Danielson (68th, 15:29).

Junior varsity
•Otay Ranch won the boys Blue Division junior varsity team title while the Mustangs finished third in the girls JV field. Daniel Juarez keyed Otay Ranch with a second-place individual finish in the boys JV race (200 entrants). Juarez timed 11:43 for 2.2 miles.

•Montgomery, paced by race-winner Samuel Vevik, was third in the boys Silver Division JV team standings (136 entrants). Vevik timed 12:00 for 2.22 miles.

11th Mustang/Movin Shoes Invitational
Rohr Park at Friday, Sept. 8, 2006

Boys Varsity Silver Division
Top individuals (3.0 miles): 1. Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista) 16:23; 2. Kyle Fox (Steele Canyon) 16:39; 3. Adrian Sherrod (Steele Canyon) 16:41; 4. Noah Sloan (Julian) 16:59; 5. Ben Enowitz (Coronado) 17:00; 6. Christian Kaeg (Montgomery) 17:06; 7. Jonathan Alcala (Montgomery) 17:06; 8. Tim Buckmaster (Steele Canyon) 17:15; 9. Matt Corey (Steele Canyon) 17:25; 10. Jehovahnni Sandez (Montgomery) 17:26; 11. Alejando Medina (Montgomery) 17:26; 12. Trevor Dorne (La Jolla) 17:28; 13. Michael Davies (Coronado) 17:32; 14. Anup Patel (Steele Canyon) 17:35; 15. Edgar Taqueda (St. Augustine) 17:35; 16. Evan Anderson (Steele Canyon) 17:39; 17. Devan Caddell (Steele Canyon) 17:41; 18. Jonathon Westman (La Jolla) 17:46; 19. Joe Binder (La Jolla) 17:54; 20. Name unavailable (Hilltop) 17:58.
Team standings: 1. Steele Canyon 28; 2. Montgomery 45; 3. La Jolla 89; 4. Coronado 108; 5. St. Augustine 135; 6. Christian 169; 7. Castle Park 206; 8. Hilltop 240; 9. Brawley 240; 10. Mountain Empire 241; 11. Point Loma 303.

Boys Varsity Blue Division
Top individuals (3.0 miles): Top individuals: 1. Mac Fleet (UC) 15:38; 2. Austin Jett (EL) 15:41; 3. Eric Avila (BV) 15:42; 4. Mike Denman (OR) 15:57; 5. Alex Scherling (UC) 16:03; 6. Mathew Seat (BV) 16:08; 7. Alex Guaderrama (Granite Hills) 16:09; 8. Brandon Velasquez (OR) 16:19; 9. Josh Vargas (Helix) 16:23; 10. Eric Fujikawa (EL) 16:28; 11. Chase Roberts (Helix) 16:29; 12. Jeff Welch (EL) 16:33; 13. Joshi Ankyr (Indio) 16:38; 14. Alan Gudino (Sweetwater) 16:39; 15. Brian Randlett (Valhalla) 16:40; 16. David Morningstar (Valley Center) 16:40; 17. Juan Hernandez (Indio) 16:49; 18. Jonathon Limon (Otay Ranch) 16:49; 19. Jesse Matias (Otay Ranch) 16:56; 20. John Mahon (Escondido) 16:57.
Team standings:1. Otay Ranch 88; 2. Bonita Vista 100; 3. University City 102, 4. Eastlake 111; 5. Sweetwater 160; 6. Helix 168; 7. Scripps Ranch 181; 8. Indio 189; 9. Escondido 190; 10. Valley Center 230; 11. Valhalla 240; 12. Mission Hills 258; 13. Granite Hills 286.

Girls Varsity Silver Division
Top individuals (2.22 miles): 1. Sallie Privett (Coronado) 12:35; 2. Sammy Silva (Our Lady of Peace) 12:48; 3. Nihal Kayali (La Jolla) 13:16; 4. 13:26; 5. Margot Hedlin (La Jolla) 13:23; 5. Tanya Valenzuela (Hilltop)13:26; 6. Tess Plant-Thomas (La Jolla) 13:27; 7. Courtney Avvampato (La Jolla) 13:30; 8. Maya Gamble (La Jolla) 13:34; 9. Megan Meyer (Steele Canyon) 13:37; 10. Maria Barrett (Our Lady of Peace) 13:43.
Team standings: 1. La Jolla 23; 2. Our Lady of Peace 52; 3. Hilltop 86; 4. Steele Canyon 95; 5. Point Loma 148; 6. Montgomery 168; 7. Christian 184; 8. Julian 204; 9. Brawley 244.

Girls Varsity Blue Division
Top individuals (2.22 miles): 1. Sarah Vitug (University City) 12:31; 2. Aisha Coons (Mission Hills) 12:50; 3. Tiffany Duffy (Escondido) 13:04; 4. Sheree Shea (University City) 13:22; 5. Name unavailable #1332 (Mission Hills) 13:36; 6. Katie Sanger (Valley Center) 13:38; 7. Dayna Anderson (University City) 13:47; 8. Amber Throop (Valley Center) 13:48; 9. Rochelle Coulson (University City) 13:48; 10. Christina Buckley (University City) 13:53.
Team standings: 1. University City 31; 2. Escondido 88; 3. Mission Hills 100; 4. Eastlake 138; 5. Otay Ranch 158; 6. Valley Center 175; 7. Scripps Ranch 207; 8. Valhalla 219; 9. Indio 225; 10. Helix 229; 11. Granite Hills 234.

JV Girls Silver Division
Team standings: 1. Steele Canyon 32; 2. La Jolla 33; 3. Our Lady of Peace 67; 4. Montgomery 123; 5. Point Loma 141; 6. Hilltop 199; 7. Holtville 201; 8. Brawley 226.

JV Girls Blue Division
Team standings: 1. Scripps Ranch 77; 2. University City 84; 3. Otay Ranch 99; 4. Mission Hills 105; 5. Valhalla 106; 6. Granite Hills 156; 7. Escondido 174; 8. Bonita Vista 188; 9. Eastlake 191; 10. Helix 260; 11. Valley Center 303; 12. Sweetwater 348; 13. Indio 374.

JV Boys Silver Division
Team standings: 1. Steele Canyon 30; 2. St. Augustine 57; 3. Montgomery 60; 4. La Jolla 79; 5. Coronado 154; 6. Christian 182; 7. Olympian 197; 8. Foothills Christian 237.

JV Boys Blue Division
Team standings: 1. Otay Ranch 41; 2. Scripps Ranch 66; 3. University City 71; 4. Valhalla 93; 5. Escondido 146; 6. Helix 199; 7. Valley Center 212; 8. Eastlake 222; 9. Bonita Vista 269; 10. Granite Hills 284; 11. Mission Hills 288; 12. Sweetwater 289.

Silver Division
Brawley, Castle Park, Christian, Clairemont, Coronado, Holtville, Julian, La Jolla, Mar Vista, Montgomery, Mountain Empire, Mount Miguel, Olympian (JV only), Our Lady of Peace (girls), Point Loma, St. Augustine (boys), Southwest, Steele Canyon, Valhalla.

Blue Division
Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Escondido, Granite Hills, Helix, Hilltop, Indio, Mission Hills, Monte Vista, Morse, Otay Ranch, Scripps Ranch, Sweetwater, Valley Center.

Race Schedule
•Boys junior varsity Silver Division, 3:05 p.m. (2.2 miles)
•Girls varsity Silver Division, 3:30 p.m. (2.2 miles)
•Girls varsity Blue Division, 3:55 p.m. (2.2 miles)
•Boys varsity Silver Division, 4:20 p.m. (3.1 miles)
•Boys varsity Blue Division, 4:45 p.m. (3.1 miles)
•Girls junior varsity Silver Division, 5:10 p.m. (1.65 miles)
•Girls junior varsity Blue Division, 5:30 p.m. (1.65 miles)
•Boys junior varsity Blue Division, 5:50 p.m. (2.2 miles)
•Coaches/parents race, 6:15 p.m. (1.65 and 2.2 miles)

Titans could be in the running for league cross country title
CHULA VISTA, Sept. 7, 2006 -- The Eastlake High School girls cross country team could be in for something special this season: a league championship.
“Two years ago the girls got close. Last year, it was almost a tie it was so close. This year the girls feel confident they belong with anybody in the league,” said Joe Stubbs, who is entering his third year as the Titans head coach.

This year’s girls team is comprised of seniors Tania Andrade, Maria Lisa, juniors Heather Voigt, Samantha Bankston, Malori Giron, sophomores Rachel Naranjo and Diamond Anderson and freshman Michelle Walling.

Andrade (seventh) and Naranjo (eighth) are both all-league returning runners while Crimi won the 200-meter dash title at last spring’s Mesa League track and field finals.

The 2006 girls team is also braced by a pair of foreign exchange students: Anja Freudenberg (Germany) and Luiza Alves (Brazil).

Stubbs describes the girls team as “one solid unit.”

“There’s not one superstar on the team,” he said.

Sometimes that can be to a team’s advantage when running as a team, as the Titans expect to this season. Last season, Eastlake dropped a 26-29 dual meet contest and came up short 51-55 at the ensuing league finals to eventual champion Chula Vista.

The Titans boys team, meanwhile, does have one superstar in its ranks: senior Austin Jett, who returns as the Metro Conference’s highest place-finisher at last year’s San Diego Section Division I championship meet.

Jett finished second to former Bonita Vista teammate Eric Avila at last year’s league cross country finals but had the stronger spring track season by earning the first state medal (sixth place) in Eastlake school history in the 1,600-meter run.

Stubbs is optimistic about the boys team’s chances as well with so many seniors running this season. Joining Jett on the Titans’ front-line are seniors Jeff Welch, ChÈ Nevarez and Scott Walling, junior Eric Fujikawa and sophomore Gabriel Garcia.
Fujikawa (sixth) and Welch (ninth) are also both returning all-league runners.

The new-look Eastlake unit found out how well it stacks up with the division’s heavyweights on Sept. 2 when it raced Fallbrook and Bonita Vista at the Vaquero Stampede. Both Fallbrook and Bonita Vista are ranked among the state’s top 15 boys teams. Fallbrook is the preseason favorite to win this year’s Division I team title.

The Titans, with two of the top four finishers and four among the top 20 placers in the Division 1 boys junior/senior race, look to hold their own this season.

Jett paced the 2.15-mile field with a time of 10:29, finishing five seconds ahead of BV’s Avila. Eastlake’s Welch (10:40) came in fourth behind Fallbrook’s Bret Hasvold (10:34) while Fujikawa (10:58) finished ninth and Nevarez (11:18) was 17th.

Eastlake placed its top four runners in the junior/senior race ahead of Bonita Vista’s third individual and placed all four of its runners in the race ahead of the Barons’ fourth runner in a dramatic show of strength and talent.

For Bonita Vista, Mathew Seat was seventh in 10:46, followed by teammates Chris Close (21st, 11:20), Derek Groom (25th, 11:31), Carlos Ortiz (57th, 13:22) and William Halloway (68th, 17:18).

Eastlake’s unit was rounded out by Scott Walling (23rd, 11:21), Kurtis Ibarra-Dosio (47th, 12:45) and Brandon Pleman (51st, 13:07).

Chula Vista’s Jesus Nunez was 15th in the same race in 11:16.

In the Division 1 boys freshman/sophomore race (1.65 miles), Bonita Vista excelled with a pair of top six finishers in Eric Osuna (fourth, 8:44) and David Garcia (sixth, 8:48).

Eastlake’s Gabriel Garcia finished seventh in 8:49 with a pack of Chula Vista runners, led by Hector Munoz, following in 13th, 18th and 19th places. Eastlake, Bonita and Chula Vista each had four runners among the top 30 placers. The three South Bay teams dominated the race along with runners from University City, Vista and San Pasqual.

“I’m always the optimist and I have to be proven wrong on something. But I believe these boys are ready to run with anyone,” Stubbs said. “They’ve been beaten by so many teams (in the past) that it’s enough is enough. This group believes in itself.”

In the Division 1 girls junior/ senior race, Eastlake had two runners (Voit and Crimi) among the top 15 finishers and four runners among the top 20 finishers. Voigt was 13th in 10:25 for 1.65 miles, followed by Crimi (14th, 10:26), Andrade (18th, 10:36) and Bankston (26th, 10:57). Chula Vista’s Angelica Larios was 23rd in 10:44. Bonita Vista’s Brittni King was 25th in 10:52.
In the Division 2 girls freshman/sophomore race, Chula Vista’s Jackie Villa was third, followed by Eastlake’s Naranjo in fifth place. Eastlake’s fifth runner was 23rd in the 87-person field while Chula Vista’s fifth runner was 37th.

In the Division 2 boys junior/ senior race, Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez and El Capitan’s Kyle Phipps tied with the same time of 10:56.

In the Division 2 girls junior/ senior race, Castle Park’s Julia Hernandez finished second (to El Capitan’s Stephanie Cook), followed by Hilltop’s Karla Attencio and Lisa Lane in third and fifth place, respectively.

Hilltop had three finishers among the top 10 runners, with Marga Crain in 10th place. Jessica Torres was 14th for the Lancers.
Hernandez timed 10:24 for 1.65 miles while Attencio crossed the finish line in 10:48 and Lane in 10:56. Cook won the high profile race in 9:57.

In the Division 2 girls freshman/sophomore race, Hilltop’s Tanya Valenzuela (10:21) was third, followed by Mar Vista’s Nethania Penrod in 10th place.

In the Division 2 freshman/ sophomore race, Hilltop’s Luis Pina was second in 8:53 while Mar Vista’s Bryant Aderholdt was ninth in 9:17. Hilltop’s Andy Torres (17th, 9:33) and MV’s Sean Waters (19th, 9:40) also took top 20 finishes.

Wolf Pack Invitational
Montgomery’s Christian Kaeg was fifth in the boys sophomore race, timing 12:09 for 2.1 miles. Also for the Aztecs, Alejandro Medina was 15th in the boys junior race, timing 12:08, while Adrian Dominguez (29th, 13:01) and Enrique Robles (30th, 13:02) also ran to top 30 finishes in the field of 117 runners.

Montgomery’s Mayra Talamates was 22nd in the girls junior race (10:36, 1.6 miles) while Elena Soler (11:12) was 20th among freshman girls. Aztec freshmen Eric Godinez (9:05) and Alvin Garcia (9:23) were 12th and 19th in the boys freshman race.

Cross Country
2006 Invitational Schedule
September
8: Mustang Invitational at Rohr Park, 3:05 p.m.
9: Bronco Invitational at Kit Carson Park, 8 a.m.
16: Mt. Carmel Invitational at Morley Field, 8:30 a.m.
22: South Bay Invitational at Rohr Park, 4 p.m.
October
14: SoCal Invitational at Guajome Park, TBA
21: Mt. SAC Invitational (Walnut), TBA
November
10: Metro Conference championship meet at Rohr Park, 2 p.m.
18: San Diego Section championship meet at Morley Field, TBA
25: State championship meet (Fresno), TBA

Metro Conference Dual Meets
September
29: Eastlake vs. Chula Vista at Discovery Park, 3 p.m.
October
6: Eastlake vs. Sweetwater at Discovery Park, 3 p.m.
13: San Ysidro vs. Eastlake at Imperial Beach pier, 3 p.m.
27: Bonita Vista vs. Eastlake at Discovery Park, 3 p.m.
November
3: Eastlake vs. Otay Ranch at Otay Ranch High School, 3 p.m.