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2009 Cross Country
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California State Championships
Torrey Pines wins Division I girls state title;
RB's Grabill claims top individual honors
The Falcons recorded three of the top six individual finishers, led by second-place finisher Megan Morgan, to nose out the pre-race favorite teams Great Oak and San Clemente by three points. Alli Billmeyer was fourth for TP, followed by teammate Ashlyn Dadkhah in sixth. Rancho Bernardo junior Molly Grabill captured the individual state title with a time of 17:06 on the 5K course. Details to follow.

Highlights:
San Diego Section Division I boys champion Darren Fahy, a sophomore from La Costa Canyon, finished ninth in the state field.

Bonita Vista senior Freddie Rodriguez, the Metro Conference's top male Division I finisher at the San Diego Section finals, placed 45th in the state field Rodriguez's time was 12th best among all SDS boys.

South Bay League champion Aylin Mejia of Sweetwater finished 60th in the Division I girfs race while Mesa League champion Michelle Walling of Eastlake finished 62nd.

Boys State Results
Division I Boys Results
Division II Boys Results
Division III Boys Results
Division IV Boys Results
Division V Boys Results
Combined Boys Field

Girls State Results
Division I Girls Results
Division II Girls Results
Division III Girls Results
Division IV Girls Results
Division V Girls Results
Combined Girls Field

San Diego Section Championships
Metro qualifies six runners for state finals

San Diego Section Boys Divisional Results
San Diego Section Girls Divisional Results

Posted Nov. 25, 2009
The latter stages of the 2009 high school cross country season proved one axiom to be true: that any one runner in the Metro Conference could beat any other runner on any given day. That held true at last Saturday’s San Diego Section championship meet at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

Bonita Vista junior Shin Agbede and BV senior Freddie Rodriguez, second and third, respectively, at this year’s conference finals, both turned in the proverbial “great day” at the section meet to rule the roost among South Bay runners. They were among six South County harriers overall to earn individual qualifying berths to this Saturday’s state championship meet in Fresno. Also qualifying were Eastlake senior Michelle Walling and Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia, both from the Division I girls race, and Calvary Christian Academy junior Kathrine Gonzales and High Tech High-Chula Vista junior Riley Mack from the Division V girls race.

No South County teams qualified despite much pre-meet fan-fare.

Rodriguez (16:24) finished fourth in the 3.04-mile Division I boys race while Agbede (16:41) was seventh. Rodriguez was the second of five individual qualifiers while Agbede was fourth, finishing a comfortable 11 seconds ahead of No. 5 qualifier Chris Steinke (16:51) of Mira Mesa.

“We both wanted to finish in the top five,” said Rodriguez, who finished 20 seconds behind Agbede a week earlier at the Metro finals. “It was hard the whole race trying to keep up.”

Agbede dropped from the lead pack in the last mile. “I just wanted to hold on,” he said.

Both runners will be making their second trip to the state finals after qualifying as part of the Barons’ team last year.
La Costa Canyon sophomore Darren Fahy set a blazing pace to win in 16:04, though Poway, Rancho Buena Vista and Torrey Pines finished as the three team qualifiers.

Otay Ranch senior Jacob Roach, the Metro’s three-time reigning boys champion, finished a disappointing 16th place in 17:02 — 22 seconds behind last year’s 10th-place finish and well off the 16:19 time he ran as a sophomore to place second.

But there was elation on the girls side. Walling (eighth, 17:07) and Mejia (11th, 17:22) reversed their order of finish from the conference meet in the 2.75-mile Division I girls race. Mejia just nosed under the barrier by two seconds to make it to state for the second consecutive year.

“I was 50th last year at state — I want to be in the top 20 this year,” the SuHi harrier said.

Rancho Bernardo junior Molly Grabill won the Division I girls race in a record time of 15:25.

Both Gonzales (sixth, 20:46) and Mack (eighth, 21:00) qualified as the first and second individuals in the small schools race.

Otay Ranch, running without standout Luis Medina, finished a distant fourth in the Division I boys team standings — 66 points behind third-place Torrey Pines. Bonita Vista finished fifth — eight points behind the Mustangs.

The state finals are Saturday at Fresno’s hallowed Woodward Park. Visit the Web site at www. cif-state.org for race updates.

Metro Conference Championships
Otay Ranch Mustangs make a run into the history book; Sweetwater Red Devils simply excel

Boys Varsity Race Results
Girls Varsity Race Results
Boys Junior Varsity Race Results

Posted Nov. 17, 2009
The Otay Ranch Mustangs cross country team made school history as both its boys and girls teams captured varsity league championship titles in the same season. The Mustangs finished 5-0 in Mesa League dual meet competition and then swept team titles at last Friday’s Metro Conference championship finals at Rohr Park. The Otay Ranch boys team scored a meet-low 26 points ahead of runner-up Bonita Vista (44 points) while the Mustangs out-pointed runner-up Eastlake, 37-64, to win the girls team title.

Otay Ranch also swept team titles in both boys and girls junior varsity competition to make it a memorable day all around for those wearing Mustang colors.

None more proud was Otay Ranch head coach Ian Cumming.

“I obviously am very proud of the Otay Ranch athletes for racing faster than some very good Mesa League teams and individuals to capture all four league championships,” Cumming said. “I am especially happy for our girls varsity as they won their first league championship with a very young team that should continue to improve over the next several years. Our kids have battled through many challenges to compete very well. It was very gratifying to see Jacob Roach win his third consecutive Mesa League championship against a strong field of runners. Congratulations go to not just the Mustang runners, who I am obviously very proud of as people and competitors, but also to every athlete who competed for having the tenacity to complete the tough daily training and to compete in such a challenging sport.”

Roach captured his third consecutive individual conference championship by completing the 3.1-mile course in 15 minutes, 42 seconds to win by a sizable 16-second advantage over Bonita Vista junior Shin Agbede, son of Southwestern College cross country coach Duro Agbede.

With about a mile to go in the race, Roach was bunched together with a pair of Bonita Vista runners. Running in the lead pack with Roach and Agbede was Baron senior Freddie Rodriguez, positioned just off Roach’s shoulder.
It appeared that Agbede was biding his time, calculating when it would be the right moment to break out from his third-place position for an upset victory. Rodriguez obviously was thinking along similar lines.

Roach beat both BV runners to the final kick, turning on the jets in the last half-mile. “My plan was to just hang in there with them and the last half-mile to just take off,” he said. “As soon as I did that, they went down.”

Rodriguez finished third i16:18 — 20 seconds behind Agbede. The remainder of the field followed the three leader runners.

The top 15 finishers in each league receive medals and the top 10 place-finishers earn berths on their respective all-league team. Otay Ranch totaled five of the top nine finishers in the combined conference boys varsity field. The Mustangs’ five All-Mesa League runners, in addition to Roach, included senior Carlos Hernandez (fourth, 16:31), sophomore Zachary Velasquez (fifth, 16:33), senior Luis Medina (seventh, 16:43) and junior Gus Tunks (ninth, 16:52).

Eastlake’s Cesar Rodriguez (sixth, 16:37) and Sean Stanko (eighth, 16:46), along with Bonita Vista’s Jonathan Motale (10th, 16:59), rounded out the 2009 All-Mesa League team.

In contrast to the upperclassmen-heavy boys team, the Otay Ranch girls squad was paced by underclassmen. Otay Ranch’s top three finishers in the 2.5-mile race were all freshmen: Carina Gillespie (third, 15:47), Catie Ledesma (seventh, 16:21) and Andie Ledesma (eighth, 16:26). Sophomore Blanca DelaRocha (ninth, 16:26) and junior Katie Coleman (10th, 16:31) were fourth and fifth for the Mustangs, who totaled five all-league runners and seven medalists overall.

Eastlake’s Michelle Walling captured the Mesa League girls individual championship with a time of 15:33, finishing second overall in the combined conference race to South Bay League champion (and overall conference winner) Aylin Mejia of Sweetwater (15:15).

The individual league title was the second for Mejia and the overall conference title her first. As in the boys varsity race, her first-place finish was uncontested.

“’Cause I usually start fast, I decided to race a little slower and make my move when my body felt like it,” said Mejia, who serves as senior class president at the National City school. “It felt great to win it after all these years. I didn’t think as a freshman that I would be one of the top runners.”

Sweetwater won the team title with a meet-low 19 points — 30 points ahead of runner-up Montgomery — as the Red Devils pushed across the first four finishers in the South Bay League race. Five SuHi runners earned first team all-league honors. Joining Mejia were senior Maila Lucht (second, 16:13), sophomore Amparo Gavarain (third, 17:01), junior Prizma Martinez (fourth, 17:02) and freshman Rosario Huerta (ninth, 17:36).

The league title was the second consecutive for SuHi. “It feels great to share this with my teammates,” Mejia said.
Rounding out the South Bay League’s top 10 field were Castle Park senior Jessica Serna (fifth, 17:06), Montgomery junior Brenda Vueyra (sixth, 17:20), Castle Park freshman Maritza Gomez (seventh, 17:24) and Montgomery junior Cristina Robles (10th, 17:54).

Five schools were represented in the top 10 Mesa League field. Following Walling were Bonita Vista junior Cristina Hernandez (second, 15:41), Hilltop senior Michelle Lane (fourth, 16:03), Eastlake junior Savanah Scooler (fifth, 16:15) and Chula Vista freshman Trinity Aguon (sixth, 16:18).

The race of the day was reserved for the South Bay League boys varsity as Sweetwater atoned for a one-point dual meet loss to Castle Park with a one-point win at the finals to bind the teams in a first-place championship tie for the season. Both teams placed four runners among the top 10 finishers as Sweetwater (2-3-4-10-14) came out on top with a 33-34 win over Castle Park (1-5-8-9-11).

The double boys-girls league titles were the second in as many years for the Red Devils.

CP freshman Miguel Lopez won the league’s boys individual title in 16:59 but was followed across the finish line by three SuHi harriers: juniors Aldyn Delgado (second, 17:24) and Jon Cardenas (third, 17:25) and senior Roberto Sanchez (fourth, 17:31).

The Trojans positioned themselves with three of the next five runners: senior William Sarzyniak (fifth, 17:38), sophomore Milton Gutierrez (eighth, 18:12) and junior Javier Marcos (ninth, 18:24). But the Devils placed their fourth runner —junior Tito Hernandez (10th, 18:27) — ahead of Castle Park’s fifth man (senior Edgar Gastelum, 11th in 18:37) to secure the win.

“Throughout the race our kids kept switching places,” Trojan coach Juan Lozano said. “Before the last hill, their second and third runners passed up my second runner.They surprised us at the end.”

Southwest sophomore Andrew Palacios (sixth, 17:48) and Olympi-an frosh Jairo Hernandez (seventh, 17:54) rounded out the top 10 field.

Junior Varsity
Otay Ranch junior Karla Gadea captured the Mesa League girls JV title in a time of 16:37 while Bonita Vista sophomore Alejandro Dominguez won the Mesa League boys individual title in 17:12.

The Mustangs had nine of the top 11 finishers in the boys JV race and seven of the top 10 placers in the girls JV field.

Metro runners to put best foot forward at league finals

Posted Nov. 11, 2009
The Otay Ranch High School cross country team can make history this Friday if it continues to remain a step ahead of the competition. The Mustangs have never won a boys and girls league championship in the same season, according to head coach Ian Cumming, but that fact can be rectified should Otay Ranch sweep to first-place finishes at Friday’s Metro Conference finals at Rohr Park.

The boys varsity race steps off at 2 p.m., followed by the girls varsity race at 3 p.m.

Cumming is hopeful that both his squads will be represented at this year’s state meet later this month. That doesn’t mean that Otay Ranch will go unchallenged at Friday’s Mesa League finals. Cumming said his team should expect a spirited challenge.

“We have the advantage right now because we went undefeated in the dual part of the season,” he said.

Championship points will be determined with equal weight on the dual meet season and the league finals standings.
Otay Ranch swept Bonita Vista in a high profile dual encounter last Friday at Discovery Park to finish Mesa League competition with identical 5-0 records. The boys varsity race featured a match-up of undefeated teams that the Mustangs captured by a 22-33 score.

Otay Ranch defeated Bonita Vista 24-37 in the girls dual meet.

The Mustangs can credit both talent and depth as deciding factors. Both teams placed two runners each among the top four finishers in the boys varsity race, with Otay Ranch’s Luis Medina taking first in 15:58 on the 3.0-mile hill course over the Barons’ Freddie Rodriguez (second, 16:06) and Mustang Jacob Roach (16:12) finishing third ahead of BV’s Shin Agbede (fourth, 16:15). Roach trailed Agbede until the final 100 meters of the race.

Otay Ranch placed its third, fourth and fifth runners ahead of Bonita Vista’s No. 3 man to secure the dual win. For the Mustangs, Carlos Hernandez finished fifth in 16:35, followed by teammates Zachery Velasquez (sixth, 16:55) and Gus Tunks (seventh, 16:56). The Barons pushed the next five runners across the finish line, with Johnathan Motale (eighth, 16:58), Cesar Castillo (ninth, 17:09) and Alex Dominguez (10th, 17:11) rounding out the top 10 finishers in the race.

Cumming projects both Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista challenging for state meet qualifying berths in their respective divisions at the upcoming section finals. The Mustangs were among the top five Division I teams from San Diego County at the recent Mt. SAC Invitational.

“Our boys team has a good shot at qualifying and, if we have a great day, our girls team has an outside shot at qualifying,” Cumming said. “I think if any team has a great day, they can qualify. That includes Bonita in (Division II).”

Bonita Vista junior Cristina Hernandez set a course record at Discovery Park last Friday after winning the girls race in 14:18. Otay Ranch’s Carina Gillespie was second, followed by BV’s Sofia Garcia in third before the Mustangs paraded the next 13 runners across the finish line in a jaw-dropping display. Andie Ledesma and Blanca DeLaRocha were fourth and fifth in the race for Otay Ranch.

At the Jaguar Invitational, held Oct. 23 at Kit Carson Park in Escondido, Sweetwater’s Aylin Mejia led all Metro girls finishers with a 16:33 time on the 2.6-mile course, followed by Eastlake’s Michelle Walling (17:07) and Chula Vista’s Mariza Diaz (17:50).

Chula Vista finished seventh in the overall team standings ahead of Eastlake (15th), Sweetwater (17th) and Montgomery (20th).

In the boys varsity field, Sweetwater had the top Metro showing in 13th place while Eastlake was 16th and Chula Vista was 18th. Eastlake’s Cesar Rodriguez (17:24), Kyle Lintz (17:35) and Sean Stanko (17:54) were the top three South Bay finishers in the 5K race, all placing ahead of Sweetwater’s Aldyn Delgado (17:57) and Mar Vista’s Ernesto Sanchez (18:01).

Trojan harriers seek to duplicate perfect 6-0 dual season mark
Castle Park coach Juan Lozano said his boys cross country team is "hungry for a league title." The Trojans are halfway there after dealing Sweetwater a 27-28 dual meet loss last Friday at Rohr Park. Castle Park concludes dual meet competition with a 6-0 South Bay League record.

The Trojans and Red Devils will now vie for superiority on the course at Friday’s league finals, with the order of finish determining whether the teams share this year’s championship banner or if Castle Park can emerge undefeated as the league’s sole champion.

Castle Park’s order of finish in last Friday’s high-impact dual match-up was first (freshman Miguel Lopez, 17:08), fifth (sophomore Milton Gutierrez, 18:04), sixth (senior William Sarzyniak, 18:05),seventh (junior Javier Marcos, 18:45) and eighth (senior Edgar Gastelum, 18:47).

Sweetwater’s five scorers went 2-3-4-9-10. Aldyn Delgado led the Red Devils with a time of 17:31, followed by teammates Jon Cardenas (17:33) and Roberto Sanchez (17:35). Despite finishing with three of the top four finishers, SuHi was not able to hold onto the lead as the Trojans managed to place their fifth runner ahead of the Devils’ fourth runner to score the one-point win.

Lozano said his team was looking forward to last Friday’s dual meet since the beginning of the season. "Sweetwater was by far the heavy favorites to win," the CP coach said. "I think everyone at the meet was shocked that we came out on top. The Sweetwater boys are a very tough team to beat, and I expect them to come back strong at league finals. So it will all depend on who wants it more. My boys are hungry for a league title. We just have to stay focused and healthy for league finals.

"If we lose to them, the worst scenario is co-champs, which is not bad at all. The reason I say this is because there is a big gap between us two and the rest of the league."

The Trojans, it appears, will be looking forward to what Friday the 13th has to bring. Make that the Devils, too.

Southern California Invitational
Bonita Vista jostles North County teams for 2nd place finish

Posted Oct. 21, 2009
With a few exceptions, North County schools have dominated boys cross country in the San Diego Section. Otay Ranch (Division IV runner-up in 2003 and Division I runner-up in 2007) and Bonita Vista (Division II runner-up in 2008) have scored some success but overall the section’s northern schools have cleared an annual path to the state meet. This year could be an exception to that general rule.

Bonita Vista engineered a second-place team finish at last Saturday’s 20-team Southern California Invitational at Guajome Park in Oceanside. The Barons (120 points) finished second to Torrey Pines (64 points) but ahead of perennial North County powers Poway (third, 126 points), Westview (fourth, 132 points), Ramona (sixth, 168 points), Carlsbad (seventh, 170 points), Fallbrook (eighth, 195 points), Scripps Ranch (ninth, 214 points) and Mt. Carmel (10th, 219 points).

Bonita Vista senior Freddy Rodriguez placed second among individuals in the 5K race involving No. 1 runners, timing the second-fastest time on the day of 15 minutes, 57 seconds. Rodriguez finished runner-up to Torrey Pines junior Andrew Ward (15:40) but well ahead of Scripps Ranch sophomore Brad Littooy (third, 16:09).

Baron junior Shin Agbede finished first among No. 2 individuals with the fourth-fastest time of the day of 16:12. BV senior Jonathan Motale was sixth in the No. 3 race with a time of 17:17. Senior Marco Gutierrez (17:20) was sixth and BV junior teammate Jason Hardin (17:28) was 10th in the race pitting teams’ fourth and fifth runners. Sophomore Alejandro Dominguez (17:53) was sixth and senior Enrique Zapata (18:04) was eighth for the Barons in the race pitting teams’ six and seventh runners.

For good measure, Bonita Vista’s Jacob Sherman was third in the novice race.

The SoCal Invitational is gauged by many coaches as a mid-season indicator for November’s section championship meet. The Barons won the 2006 Guajome Park event en route to a meteoric third-place finish at the division finals and an ensuing eighth-place finish at the state championship meet.

Bonita Vista’s boys and girls teams both qualified for last year’s state meet and many wonder if the Barons have enough returning strength and incoming depth to duplicate the feat. Last Saturday’s mid-point was certainly encouraging toward that end.

Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia was fourth among girls No. 1 runners with a time of 18:49 on the 5K course, trailing Mt. Carmel senior Erin Menefee (first, 18:09), La Costa Canyon freshman Kelly Lawson (second, 18:26) and Poway junior Aimee Trujillo (18:45). As a team, the Red Devils (202 points) finished seventh behind Poway (first, 65 points), La Costa Canyon (second, 68 points), Westview (third, 83 points), Vista (fourth, 85 points), Mt. Carmel (fifth, 100 points) and Carlsbad (sixth, 159 points).

For Sweetwater, Maila Lucht finished seventh in the girls No. 2 race in 20:58, followed by teammates Amparo Gavarain (ninth among No. 3 runners, 21:48), Sirena Diaz (19thamong Nos. 4-5 runners, 24:27) and Karen Alviso (21st among Nos. 4-5 runners, 24:59).

The Red Devils finished 13th among boys teams, followed by Castle Park in 14th place and Southwest in 19th place.

SuHi’s No. 1 runner, junior Aldyn Delgado, finished 12th in 17:24 while Castle Park’s No. 1 runner, senior William Sarzyniak, finished 16th in 18:24. Southwest’s No. 1 runner, sophomore Andrew Palacios, finished 19th in 20:00.

For Bonita Vista’s girls team, its third through fifth runners were injured and did not compete at the invitational, so the Barons did not score as a team. However, junior Cristina Hernandez was ninth among No. 1 runners in 20:10 while junior Sofia Garcia was eighth among No. 2 runners in 21:09.

Mesa League Dual Meet Openers
Pint-size star packs a punch on the cross country course
Posted Oct. 7, 2009
The best way to describe Eastlake senior Michelle Walling’s height — or rather, the lack of it — is to politely say that she is petite. She professes no fear on the cross country course, saying that she wouldn’t hurt herself if she fell because, in her words, she “doesn't have very far to fall.”

“That’s an absolutely true story,” Titan coach Joe Stubbs said.

Inch for inch, Walling may be the most talented female harrier in the Metro Conference. She was the conference’s top finisher in the 36th annual South Bay Invitational Sept. 25 at Rohr Park— second overall in the 160-deep girls varsity race — after covering the 2.5-mile course in 15 minutes, 26 seconds.

The time was 40 seconds faster than last year.

Stubbs termed it a “phenomenal” performance.

The 15:26 time set an Eastlake school record on the course and was the second-fastest ever posted on the current SBI layout.

Walling, with 119 fewer competitors to challenge her, timed 15:47 on the same course a week later while leading Eastlake to a convincing 22-39 victory over Hilltop in last Friday’s Mesa League dual meet opener for both teams. She topped runner-up Michelle Lane of Hilltop by 39 seconds.

The best could yet come for Walling.

“We’re going to enter her in the invitational race at Mt. SAC against the fastest runners in the southwestern United States,” Stubbs said. “That will give us an idea of where she stacks up against the best of the best. She missed going to the state meet last year by a matter of seconds. She’s running a good 30 seconds or more faster on the same courses this year.”

Walling leads a talented Titan girls team this season. Eastlake stepped off the year by winning the Division I title at the Vaquero Stampede Sept. 5 at Lindo Lakes.

Against Hilltop, the Titans placed 10 runners ahead of the Lancers’ third scorer. Sarah Garces (17:12) finished third behind Lane (16:26). Hilltop’s Jackie Hernandez (17:13) was fourth, followed by eight Titans: Kayla Lawson (fifth, 17:21), Anna Gonzalez (sixth, 17:34), Aabra Ahmed (seventh, 17:37), Olivia Davis (eighth, 17:46), Carly Graff (ninth, 17:55), Jessica Ramirez (10th, 18:04) and Jenna Molina (11th, 18:07).

Eastlake swept all three races against Hilltop, winning 20-35 in the boys varsity race and placing 11 of the top 13 runners in the boys junior varsity race.

Cesar Rodriguez (first, 16:52), Kyle Lintz (second, 17:19) and Sean Stanko (third, 17:33) led Eastlake in the boys race, followed by Hilltop’s Michael Schenk (fourth, 18:05) and Connor Galleher (fifth, 18:07), with the Titans placing their fifth scorer ahead of the Lancers' No. 4 runner.

Eastlake tests Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch in the next two weeks, both on the Titans' on-campus course.

"We feel if we run great races and have great workouts each week that is going to make us a tough team to deal with," Stubbs said. "Our motto this year is the way we're going to beat the other team is to out-work them every day."

Catch me if you can
Otay Ranch sweeps varsity team titles at South Bay Invitational
Posted Oct. 1, 2009
In single division races, all the horses were there, so to speak, at last Friday’s 36th annual South Bay Invitational at Rohr Park. The appropriately-named Otay Ranch Mustangs galloped to victory to sweep both the boys and girls varsity titles while also winning the boys frosh/soph and boys junior varsity divisions and finishing runner-up in the girls junior varsity division.

Can anyone say possibly the best-ever Otay Ranch team?

“It’s pretty exciting,” said junior Katie Coleman after the Mustangs rode roughshod over their competition in the 160-deep girls varsity race to win by an amazing 98-point margin over second place Sweetwater. “Since I’ve been on the team since my freshman year, we haven’t done this well. It’s a rush. It’s exciting that we’re doing so well.”

Eastlake senior Michelle Walling finished second in the girls varsity race with a time of 15:26 on the 2.5-mile course — seven seconds behind race winner Meghan Breadmore of Point Loma. Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia was third in 15:28, followed by Otay Ranch freshman sensation Catie Ledesma (fourth, 15:39) and a pair of Coronado runners. Bonita Vista junior Cristina Hernandez finished seventh in 16:10. Mustang freshmen Andie Ledesma (eighth, 16:21) and Carina Gillespie (ninth, 16:26) buoyed the Otay Ranch team points lead while Olympian freshman Kiona Smith rounded out the top 10 finishers with a time of 16:33.

Just missing a top 10 finish was Hilltop senior Michelle Lane (11th, 16:34) and Sweetwater senior Maila Lucht (12th, 16:35).
In a show of force for the Metro Conference, 10 of the top 13 place-finishers were South County runners.

Walling finished 40 seconds ahead of her time at last year’s invitational. “Michelle ran a very good race — if she didn’t let the Point Loma girl get away from her a little bit, she might have won it,” Eastlake coach Joe Stubbs said. “We weren’t able to break up Otay Ranch’s pack. We’ve obviously got some work to do before Oct. 16 (the date of the teams’ dual meet).”

The Mustangs entered three freshmen, three sophomore and one junior in the girls varsity race, thus making their victory even more impressive. Sophomore Blanca DeLa Rocha (16th, 16:47) was the team’s fourth scorer, followed by Coleman (22nd, 17:23) and sophomores Briana Patricio (25th, 17:32) and Kailey Cumming (33rd, 17:44).

Catie Ledesma won her division at the Mustang/Phair Co. Invitational two weeks earlier — and was second among Division I freshmen runners at the Sundevil Invitational on Sept. 19 — but could not keep up with the conference’s senior leaders last Friday. The Otay Ranch frosh defeated SuHi’s Mejia by 26 seconds at the Mustang Invitational but Mejia returned the favor last Friday with an 11-second edge.

“Aylin is the type of runner who runs with a lot of emotion,” Red Devil coach Raul Galindo said. “It’s later in the season and everyone is in better condition.”

Ledesma shrugged off pressure to dazzle the field in every race.

“I’m just trying to do my best,” she said. “I’ve got four years to improve. I’m hoping to do better later in the season (for conference finals).”

Otay Ranch won the 5K boys varsity race by a 33-point margin over runner-up Valley Center. Bonita Vista was third — 70 points behind the Mustangs.

Otay Ranch senior Jacob Roach (15:40) won a back-and-forth battle from Mt. Miguel senior Dylan Marx (15:46), overtaking the Matador standout at the bottom of the final hill.
“He moved up on me the last mile and I made my last move with about 400 to 500 meters to go,” Roach said. “It was back and forth the whole way.”

The Mustang superstar was battling adverse conditions because of recent oral surgery.

“I felt bad before the race,” Roach said. “I had a headache when the race started but I had the will to win for my teammates. I wanted to win for the team. We’re there for each other. We’re really positive this year.”

Nine of the top 14 finishers in the 175-deep boys varsity field were Metro Conference runners, including all five Mustang scorers: seniors Luis Medina (third, 16:10) and Carlos Hernandez (10th, 16:58), sophomore Zachary Velasquez (12th, 17:02) and junior Joshua Roach (14th, 17:07).

Bonita Vista junior Shinaloa Agbede was fourth in 16:13 while Eastlake’s top two finishers included senior Cesar Rodriguez (11th, 17:01) and junior Sean Stanko (13th, 17:04).

Sweetwater, led by junior Aldyn Delgado (23rd, 17:31), placed fifth in the team standings, followed by Eastlake in sixth place.


Runners world
Otay Ranch senior Vivi Martinez (17:20) won the girls JV race with a 37-second margin over the first of three Eastlake runners. The Titans won the 220-deep division with a six-point margin over the Mustangs.

Otay Ranch sophomore Carlos Rangel finished second in the boys frosh/soph division as the Mustangs placed 31 points ahead of runner-up Valley Center.

Otay Ranch edged Valley Center by four points to win the boys JV division. The Mustangs, led by junior Isaac Mallett, had three of the top six finishers and six of the top 12.

Cross country season steps off for East County runners

Posted Sept. 29, 2009
Each race seems to get progressively tougher as the 2009 high school cross country season pushes on and Mt. Miguel senior Dylan Marx appears ready for each and every challenge.

The winding path through San Diego County running courses could lead all the way to the state championship meet in Fresno in late November.

“I want to win CIF, win state,” said Marx, ever the optimist.

Marx is a class act, according to rival coaches, and deserves all the accolades. He typifies the consummate high school athlete — someone who puts the team above himself.

He received the CIF sportsmanship award last fall after competing in the state cross country finals, placing 56th (22nd among non-senors) in the Division II boys race. He remained in the finishing area, congratulating other runners as they completed the grueling race — which for some was the final cross country competition of their prep careers.

As one of the section’s top returning runners (seventh at last year's Division II finals), Marx has, perhaps not surprisingly, gotten off to a rather fast start to the current season.

He stepped off the 2009 campaign by capturing first-place honors in the Division II boys junior/senior race at the Vaquero Stampede, held Sept. 5 at Lindo Lakes. His time of 10:22 stood as the best among the 68 finishers on the 2.15-mile course.

The Matador standout won the Division I senior boys race at the Mt. Carmel Sundevil/Movin’ Shoes Invitational, held Sept. 19 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field. He timed 15:39 on the 2.95-mile course to record the fifth-best time in all divisions — 15 seconds ahead of Monte Vista standout Dillon Breen, whose runner-up finish in the Division II senior boys race was good enough for ninth overall on the day.

There were 188 entrants in Marx’s division at the Sundevil Invitational, including a sizable number of runners from outside the section.

“This is the first year I've really been healthy -- it's been a good start to the season,” Marx said.

The Mt. Miguel runner clearly met his stiffest challenge thus far this season at the 36th South Bay Invitational, held Sept. 24 at Rohr Park in Chula Vista. Marx exchanged the lead of the boys varsity race with Otay Ranch senior Jacob Roach several times over the length of the 5K race before Roach, the section’s No. 6 returning runner in the preseason, pulled away down the final hill to win by six seconds.

Marx posted an otherwise elite second-place finish in the 175-deep field, finishing 24 seconds ahead of Otay Ranch senior Luis Medina, the race’s third-place finisher.

“My strategy was to go out and get the win,” said Marx, who timed 15:46 on the 5K course. "We were both fighting for the lead. I was trying to get in front and slow it down. We were both going back and forth."

Otay Ranch, braced by three top 10 finishers and five top 15 finishers, captured first place in the team standings — 33 points ahead of runner-up Valley Center.

The Matadors finished ninth as a team — tops among the five East County squads entered in the race. Mt. Miguel out-distanced 10th place Grossmont by 17 points while 12th place Christian was 14 points arrears of the Foothillers. West Hills finished 13th — 58 points behind the Matadors — while El Cajon Valley placed 19th (99 points behind the Wolf Pack).

Cory Miekosz (55th, 18:30), Devan Arevalo (66th, 18:48) and Jack Winemiller (67th, 18:49 were able to form a pack for Mt. Miguel en route to finishing in the upper half of the field. Alberto Orozco, the Matadors’ fifth scorer, placed 103rd in 19:41.

Three East County runners posted top 10 finishes in the boys varsity race. ECV junior Namer Yousif was eighth in 16:46, followed by Christian junior Daniel Strauss in ninth place in 16:51.

Grossmont senior Aaron Thomas was 15th in 17:08 while Christian junior Michael May was 21st in 17:30 to complete the East County complement of top finishers.

Grossmont was able to pack its next three runners within a two-second span: senior Daniel Santillan (51st, 18:23), senior Nicholas Christie (52nd, 18:23) and sophomore Adam Omahen (54th, 18:25).

West Hills had four runners finish in the top half of the field, led by senior Ken Saxer (44th, 18:07) and junior Zack Ivey (60th, 18:41). Juniors Josh Weber (71st, 18:55) and Matt Jorge (76th, 19:02) followed Ivey as the trio finished within a 21-second spread.

ECV senior Oscar Huerta placed 58th in 16:46 as the Braves’ No. 2 scorer.

Marx believes the Matadors will find post-season success this season, particularly in November's Division III finals. The Matadors will face off against Monte Vista and El Capitan -- fellow league members -- in the division.

"There are a lot of good runners out there,” Marx said. "We have some talent at school. We definitely have potential. It's a matter of putting in hard work."

Girl power
West Hills’ Jordan Thomas was the top East County finisher in the girls varsity race with a time of 16:40 for 2.5 miles. Christian’s Anneke Van Omering posted the second-best time among East County runners by placing 30th in 17:40.

West Hills finished 10th among teams while Christian was just eight points behind the Wolf Pack in 12th place. Grossmont — 30 points behind West Hills — was 14th while El Cajon Valley was 21st.

Christian had three runners finish in the top third of the 160-deep field. Joining Van Omering with top finishes were freshman Jan Calico (36th, 17:46) and sophomore Nicole Johnson (52nd, 18:09).

Grossmont junior Janelle Shelby was 53rd in 18:10 to lead the Foothillers.

Grossmont sophomore Emily Palmer was the top East County finisher in the 220-deep JV girls race, placing 10th in 18:43 on the 2.5-mile course. West Hills edged Grossmont by one point for fourth place in the team standings. Sophomore Monica Williams (20th, 19:25) was the Wolf Pack’s top finisher.

Up-and-comers
West Hills freshman Eduardo Medina captured top finishing honors in the South Bay Invitational’s boys frosh/soph division with a time of 17:39 on the 5K course. Mt. Miguel’s Daniel Salinas was 12th in 18:41 in the 179-deep field. The Wolf Pack finished third as a team.

Sundevil Invitational
Steele Canyon was the highest-placing East County boys team, finishing 10th in the combined field of all races on the day, followed by Monte Vista (24th place), Helix (31st place), West Hills (42nd place), El Capitan (44th place), Valhalla (48th place).

Helix junior Lee McAllister won the Division II boys junior race to finish with the third-best time among East County runners in all divisions behind Marx and Breen.

Valhalla posted the 13th-best finish among all girls teams, led by Paige Hughes’ second-place time of 16:20 (over 2.75 miles) in the Division II junior race. Steele Canyon was 15th in the combined field, followed by El Capitan (19th place), Helix (33rd place) and Monte Vista (34th place).

El Capitan senior Heidi Swanson finished fifth in the Division II girls senior race in 16:39 — the second-best time on the day among East County runners in all divisions.

West Hills’ Medina placed second in the Division II boys freshman race while Helix’s Elaine Ribeiro was second in the Division II girls freshman race.

Mustang Invitational
Monte Vista's Breen (16:20) keyed East County male runners at the Mustang/Phair Co. Invitational, held Sept. 11 at Rohr Park, with his fourth-place finish in the Blue Division boys varsity race. Steele Canyon junior Taylor Robinson was ninth in 16:52 on the 5K course while senior teammate Ryan Lawler was 12th in 17:00. The Cougars, who placed all their five scorers among the 82-deep race's top 30 finishers, were third in the standings while the Monarchs (with three top 25 finishers) were sixth.

Top East County finishers in the Silver Division boys varsity race included Christian's Strauss (sixth, 17:55) and May (seventh, 17:58) and Santana seniors Kyle Moran (eighth, 18:01) and Aaron Hemphill (ninth, 18:06). The Sultans, braced by three top 15 finishers, placed third in the team standings while the Patriots were ninth.

Steele Canyon, led by sophomore Madison Nocon's fifth-place individual finish, placed third among teams in the Blue Division girls varsity race. Valhalla's Paige Hughes was the top East County finisher in the 2.2-mile race (third, 13:36), followed by Nocon (13:50). The Cougars placed all their five scorers in the top half of the 70-deep field, including four runners among the top25 finishers. Valhalla, with three top 20 finishers, placed sixth in the team standings.

Monte Vista, led by senior Valerie Hycz's second-place individual finish, placed third among Silver Division girls varsity teams. Hycz timed 14:40 to finish behind race winner Meghan Breadmore, a junior from Point Loma, who clocked 13:53. Monte Vista placed three runners among the top 10 finisher. Following Hycz across the finish line were sophomore Gabrielle Gomez (sixth, 15:16) and junior Adriana Olmos (ninth, 15:22).

In boys junior varsity races, Steele Canyon's Isai Sanchez (first), Jason Carrillo (second) and Chad Gaffney (fourth) keyed the Cougars to a first-place team finish in the 154-deep Blue Division race.

In girls junior varsity races, Steele Canyon junior Vanessa Kellems finished second in the Blue Varsity field Monte Vista sophomore Quinn Peterman was fourth in the Silver Division field.

Off and running
The 2009 cross country season stepped off with the Wolf Pack Invitational, held Sept. 4 at West Hills High School.

Top East County boys finishers included Monte Vista’s Breen (second in the boys senior race, 11:51), El Cajon Valley’s Yousif (sixth in the boys junior race, 12:16), Steele Canyon’s Lawler (ninth in the boys senior race, 12:19), Steele Canyon’s Robinson (ninth in the boys junio race, 12;32), Grossmont’s Thomas (13th in the senior boys race, 12:34), Steele Canyon’s Aaron Weston (10th in the boys junior race, 12:38) and Santana’s Hemphill (14th in the boys junior race, 12:38).

West Hills’ Medina and Monte Vista’s Steven Lepe finished first and second in the boys freshman race.

Valhalla was second as a team in the boys freshman race while Steele Canyon finished second in the boys junior race and third in the boys sophomore race. Monte Vista and Grossmont finished third and fourth, respectively, in the boys senior race.

Top East County girls finishers included Valhalla’s Hughes (sixth in the girls junior race, 10:20), Steele Canyon’s Ariann Pascarella (seventh in the girls senior race, 10:41), Monte Vista’s Hycz (eighth in the girls senior race, 10:43), Valhalla’s Rebecca Rodriguez (sixth in the girls sophomore race, 10;57), Steele Canyon’s Christie Hendel (10th in the girls senior race, 10:58), West Hills’ Ciera Stauffer (11th in the girls senior race, 11:00) and Thomas (12th in the girls senior race, 11:02), Steele Canyon’s Kayla Mollon (14th in the girls senior race, 11:05) and Chelsey Harmeson (13th in the girls junior race, 11:07) and Valhalla’s Daniela Miramon (10th in the girls sophomore race, 11:08) and Megan Hughes (14th in the girls junior race, 11:13).

Steele Canyon finished second in the girls sophomore race and third in both the girls junior and senior races.

The Vaquero Stampede, which took place the next day, featured more standout showings by East County runners.

Besides Marx's winning effort, Helix sophomore Marco Gutierrez (8:38 for 1.65 miles) captured first place in the Division I boys freshman/sophomore race while Helix's McAllister (9:04 for 1.87 miles) won the Division I boys junior/senior race. El Capitan freshman Daniel Gomez (8:39 for 1.65 miles) finished runner-up in the Division II boys freshman/sophomore race.

El Capitan senior Heidi Swanson (9:53 for 1.65 miles) placed second in the Division II girls junior/senior race while junior teammate Alyssa Medina (10:22) was third in the same field. El Capitan freshman Miranda Fisher (10:22) finished fourth in the Division II girls freshman/sophomore race while Granite Hills senior Sjimmyram Gabbara (10:19) and Helix junior Cristi Magracia (10:30) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Division I girls junior/senior race.

El Capitan took first-place team honors in the Division I girls junior/senior race by placing four of its runners among the top 15 finishers. Helix finished second in the Division girls freshman/sophomore race.

In the Division II boys junior/senior race, Christian’s May (sixth, 11:27) and El Capitan junior Adam Neuhardt (seventh, 11:31) were the next two East County runners following Marx across the finish line.

Ramona won the Division II boys junior/senior race with 52 points to out-distance runner-up El Capitan (78 points). Christian (130 points) and Mt. Miguel (140 points) were fifth and seventh, respectively, in the team standings.

14th Mustang/Phair Co. Invitational
Otay Ranch Mustangs run to the front of the pack
Posted Sept. 16, 2009
Watch those Mustangs run and run and run … that seems to be the message Otay Ranch’s talented harriers delivered last Friday at the 14th annual Mustang/Phair Co. Invitational at Rohr Park. Otay Ranch captured the boys varsity Blue Division team championship with a 38-point bulge over runner-up Indio while the Mustangs girls thrilled their fans with a meteoric second-place finish in the girls varsity Blue Division — 14 points behind team champion Escondido.

Freshman Catie Ledesma won the girls varsity Blue Division race with a time of 13 minutes, 28 seconds on the 2.32-mile course. In fact, the Mustangs’ top three finishers were all freshmen. Andie Ledesma placed sixth in 13:51, followed by classmate Carina Gillespie in 13th place in 14:16.

Medals were awarded to the top 35 varsity finishers. All seven Otay Ranch scorers qualified for one. Junior Karla Gaeda was 21st in 14:44, followed by sophomores Blanca DeLa Rocha (27th, 14:48) and Kailey Cumming (29th, 14:55) and senior Viviana Martinez (30th, 14:59).

Catie and Andie Ledesma are part of a triplet connection that also features fellow freshman Bailie Ledesma, who finished 48th in 15:50 as part of Otay Ranch’s B team.

Catie Ledesma finished six seconds ahead of University City sophomore Jessy Hansen, who finished second in 13:34. Valhalla junior Paige Hughes was third in 13:36, followed by Queen Creek (Ariz.) senior Ashley Workman (fourth, 13;37), Steele Canyon sophomore Madison Nocon (fifth, 13:50). Escondido junior Cristal Favela came in one second behind Andie Ledesma in 13:52 to take seventh place while Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia finished eighth in 13:54. A pair of Escondido juniors — Michelle Davignon (ninth, 13;56) and Emily Birch (10th, 13:59) — rounded out the top 10 finishers.

The Mustangs, with 68 points, finished a whopping 33 points ahead of third place Steele Canyon. Defending South Bay League champion Sweetwater finished fifth in the team standings — 18 points behind fourth place University City.

Defending Mesa League champion Bonita Vista, paced by junior Cristina Hernandez (14th, 14:16), finished ninth overall.

Sweetwater senior Maila Lucht (23rd, 14:46) and Red Devil sophomore teammate Daniela Flores (25th, 14:47) rounded out the Metro Conference’s top 10 finishers in the field of 70 runners.
Meanwhile, Otay Ranch senior Jacob Roach (15:45) turned in the top time among San Diego Section runners on the 3.1-mile course last Friday in taking a narrow runner-up finish to Queen Creek senior Sherod Hardt (15:42). Roach led until the last half-mile.

“It was fun with both of us doing 15 minutes,” said Roach, the defending Metro champion.

When a teammate asked Roach if he could possibly rematch with the Queen Creek runner this year, the Mustang leader gave a one-word answer: “regionals.”

Otay Ranch posted a strong No. 1 team finish with four runners in the top 14 and all five scorers among the top 16 individuals. The Mustangs posted two of the top three finishers, with senior Luis Medina placing third in 16:14 — six seconds ahead of Monte Vista senior Dillon Breen, the top East County finisher.

Finishing 13th, 14th and 16th in the field of 82 runners were Otay Ranch’s Carlos Hernandez (17:04), Zachary Velasquez (17:06) and Joshua Roach (17:10).

The Mustangs totaled the top five Metro Conference finishers in the race and six of the top 10. Bonita Vista sophomore Alejandro Dominguez (30th, 17:39), Sweetwater junior Aldyn Delgado (32nd, 17:44), Otay Ranch junior Abel Meza (42nd, 17:59), Bonita Vista sophomore Eric Hernandez (47th, 18:09) and Sweetwater sophomore Abina Castellanos (48th, 18:10) rounded out the conference’s top 10 finishers.

Steele Canyon finished third in the team standings — 54 points behind Otay Ranch — while Escondido was fourth (four points behind the Cougars). University City, paced by top 10 finishers Riess Haslam (sixth, 16:34) and Charlie Hewett (eighth, 16:51), finished fifth among teams. Steele Canyon was paced by junior Taylor Robinson’s ninth-place individual finish in 16:52 while Escondido’s top finisher was junior Jon Arellano (10th, 16:54). Valley Center senior Ismael Rodriguez was fifth among individuals in 16:31.

Otay Ranch head coach Ian Cumming was obviously pleased by the results of the Mustangs’ initial outing this season.

“In terms of the team, I felt that with the consistent summer of running so many of our kids had that we would be very good this year,” Cumming said. “Our performance at Mustang was a very strong team performance. Most of the boys have been together for a while and know what to expect of each other. With Jacob Roach and Luis Medina placing second and third and both running faster than last year’s winning time that is a nice one-two combination. Zach Velasquez and Josh Roach are the most improved at the varsity level so far with Carlos Hernandez doing a very good job at No. 3 right now. We have many other runners who will be coming on in the next month or so. It would be normal to believe that we will have movement in and out of the top seven throughout the season because of our depth on both the boys and girls side.”

The girls side is what could produce some genuine excitement this season.

“We had a great group of returning girls who improved greatly over the course of last year,” Cumming said. “We have four returnees and three freshmen in the top seven right now and the freshmen were our top three finishers on Friday. They have had to come to know each other a little more than the guys side, but they are starting to bond more as a team and raced well together in placing second to a very strong Escondido team and beating strong Steele Canyon and University City girls teams along with some other very good teams. We are obviously very happy with our first race of the season, but we have a lot of work to do to vie for league championships and to finish the season among the best teams in the county.”

In the Silver Division varsity races, Hilltop’s boys finished second as a team while Lancer senior Michelle Lane was third among girls individuals. Five Metro runners finished among the top 11 in the girls race: Lane (third, 14:47), Olympian’s Kioana Smith (fourth, 14:56), Hilltop sophomore Jackie Hernandez (fifth, 15:15), Montgomery junior Brenda Vieyra (10th, 15:22) and Castle Park senior Jessica Serna (11th, 15:23).

La Jolla junior Andrew Farkas (17:20) captured the top individual honors in the boys race, chased by St. Augustine senior Ryan Suarez (17:24) and Serra juniors Cory Lozano (17:33) and Emmanuel Corvera (17:42). Hilltop packed its top four runners among the top 25 finishers: Louis Pina (10th, 18:15), Connor Galleher (20th, 18:39), Michael Schenk (21st, 18:42) and Carlos Leon (23rd, 18:54). Justin Creel, the Lancers’ No. 5 scorer, was 38th in the field of 99 finishers in 19:33.

Other top 20 finishers included Southwest sophomore Andrew Palacios (11th, 18:17) and Castle Park senior Hugo Alberto (16th, 18:30). Castle Park (fourth among teams) had four top 30 individuals.