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Notes on the California Season

by Doug Speck

From: DougSpeck@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 1998 2:10 AM
To: dye@dyestat.com
Subject: State CC Notes

Miscellaneous Notes - 1998 State Cross-Country Meet

BEST RACE BY CALIFORNIA FEMALE SQUAD THIS YEAR
UNIVERSITY (SAN FRANCISCO),
with their 15 point total in taking the North Coast Finals Division V. The perfect score is sobering enough, but the 95:38 team time on what appears to be a course running a tad slower or at worst about equal to Woodward Park in Fresno is easily the best team time
run by a Caliornia squad this Fall. Coach MIKE MCMANUS and Uni crew is the best ever squad in state history at their level!!!

SAN DIEGO SHOWDOWN—many waited a long time for the showdown in San Diego Division II Boys between Serra’s MARCUS CHANDLER and Ramona’s MATT MCINVALE. Chandler had won the Mt. SAC Individual Sweeps at an impressive 15:09, with McInvale whipping Mt. SAC Team Sweeps winner ALFONSO LEON (Santa Ana) (15:06 at SAC) at the Temecula Valley Meet 15:38-15:52, with both under the Course Record. Chandler dominated the San Diego Finals run 15:36-16:07, with the Fresno race a test of the spirited Ramona junior, McInvale, and his ability to bounce back. McInvale in the past has seemed no short on spirit.

SQUADS ON THE RISE—The Girls Division I contest will feature two squads that have to be higher than a kite after big Section Finals performances. IRIVNE, under Coach RANDY ROSSI, followed a strong Section prelims run by shocking two top twenty-five nationally ranked squads (Esperanza and Yucaipa) and the rest of the pack in the Southern Section Finals, winning handily with three frosh in the top five. MT, CARMEL (San Diego) bided its time all season long, with Coach DENNIS MCCLANAHAN bringing the squad to a peak at the San Diego Finals, taking the state’s #2 and #3 ranked teams (district rival Rancho Bernardo and Torrey Pines) on the way to a win there. The Division I
race at Fresno should be interesting with these and other strong teams.

PRINT THE TROPHIES—Divisions where the team name plates can be printed already—sure things:

Boys Division II KATELLA Big wins over everyone at Stanford when they moved to Division I and at Orange County when they dominated area rival Santa Ana.
Girls Division III LA CANADA Ranked in top twenty in the entire nation, the “family connections” at this school continue to secure success.  Kim Garnic’s younger sister Carina has developed nicely, with Christina Ellis the younger sister of BYU star Sarah Ellis.
Boys Division IV NORDHOFF Coach Ken Reeves leads the Rangers with a frightening tradition, nine State Titles boys and girls since 1990, with twelve Southern Section Championship awards during that same period. With Riverbank, the early season terrors, distentegrating later, Nordhoff is a big Boys favorite, and may add the Girls title here with a finely tuned peak that Reeves’ squads are famous for. Riverbank’s eventual difficulties with injuries and team defections are kind of sad, as early on they did things like tear up Central Coast Division I Champ Bellarmine by nearly a minute in the late September Lowell (San Francisco) Invite—Bellarmine was 81:21 at Mt. SAC in late October.
Girls Division V UNIVERSITY (SAN FRANCISCO) summarized above, the Uni crew whipped everyone at every level in the Team Sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC, with their Section Finals run the best ever by a state squad at this level.

BEST DIVISIONAL TEAM RACES—One Boys and one Girls!

The Girls Division IV contest had three Southern Section squads within eight points in their Finals, with CORONA DEL MAR (Newport Beach) (63), NORDHOFF (71 sixth runner rule), and ST. JOSEPH (Santa Maria 71), all averaging well under 20:00 for their scoring five on the Mt. SAC course that runs fairly close to Woodward Park— some good running for Division IV. Well coached all, this one will be very competitive, with CAMPOLINDO (Moraga-NCS) and SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (San Francisco-CCS) strong near the end of the season to possibly enter the up-front fray.

The Boys race that seems very interesting to call as a team is Division V. ST.  JOSEPH/NOTRE DAME (ALAMEDA-NCS) nipped UNIVERSITY (SAN FRANCISCO) 51-55 in the NCS Finals, with MARANATHA (SIERRA MADRE-SS) nipping area rival FLINTRIDGE PREP (LA CANADA) 92-93 in the Southern Section title run. It will be a
fun one, with TRANQUILITY (CE) possibly along for the ride. Boys Division III with St. Francis (Mountain View) and Don Bosco Tech (Rosemead) rates a close second on the Boys’ side.

WEATHER PRAYERS—We realize this is the kiss of death to mention, but the State Cross-Country Meet has never had to be adjusted for weather, with this twelfth edition already farther along than probably any other in the United States without some serious weather difficulties.

OUT OF THE BLUE—Well almost quite. Ventura junior JOSH SPIKER, who was 9:18 last spring for 3200 meters as a sophomore, had a strong Fall season, but really came to run in the Southern Section Finals. Josh left the pack behind early on the way to a 15:01 clocking on the tough Mt. SAC course, coming in ahead of ALFONSO LEON (Santa Ana) who improved his best to 15:05 to go along with a sterling season. Their rematch at Fresno should be very interesting!

BELMONT (BOYS) LOS ANGELES—BELMONT’s 77:40 run in the LA City Meet at Pierce College, which seems to run a tad faster than Mt. SAC or Woodward Park, should put at least a bit of a scare into LONG BEACH POLY, #6 ranked nationally, with the defending State Champ Jackrabbits 78:52 in the Section Finals after a 78:48 at the Mt. SAC to defeat all-comers, including Belmont. How teams approach the Fresno race tactically should be very interesting to see, with SANTA ANA 79:02 in the Southern Section race, SAUGUS 79:30, and DON LUGO (CHINO), who was out slowly as a group in the Southern Finals, 80:14 all capable of rising up to win the Division I contest.

QUEEN SARA—or at least she was dubbed that by east coast scribe John Dye, from Maryland, who watched SARA BEI (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) win the Mt. SAC Sweepstakes race in the third fastest time ever on the course of 17:05. Last year we introduced her at the state meet awards ceremony as the division champ, after a relaxed first season introduction to the sport as a ninth grader, as the nation’s “best unknown athlete.”

Obviously the cat was out of the bag quickly after that time, with the sister of the famous pole vaulter (Amy), racing to eighth place in last December’s Foot Locker Nationals in Cross-Country as the nation’s top frosh athlete, then taking the 1600 and 3200 double at the State Track Meet. The controlled nature of Sara’s 17:05 at Mt. SAC, after a comfortable 5:25 first mile, was very impressive to all who viewed. Be sure to view the star in the all red uniform as she zooms around the course this Saturday.  

TOUGH TO LEAVE AT HOME—With empty spots along the starting line in every race at Fresno, it is a real shame that there could not be some “at large” invitations extended to those teams around the state who were ranked very high during the year and could be competitive for one of the three plaques given out in each division, but were a spot or so out of qualifying for the State affair.

PENINSULA (Rolling Hills), highly ranked all season long Girls Division I just missed by two points from moving to Fresno, with a second place in the Mt. SAC Team Sweeps event along the way during a successful and highly ranked season.

RANCHO BERNARDO (San Diego) was third in San Diego Girls Div I by three points after a very successful season and a #2 statewide ranking in the 11/9 poll. Their San Diego finals run appeared to put them competitive for a plaque at the State Meet with the improvement they are capable of, but they will be spending the weekend home in
San Diego.

NEWPORT HARBOR (Newport Beach Girls Div II) was one spot out of going from the Southern Section after a great regular season, with a #2 11/9 state ranking.  With team time comparisons possible between all major courses it is not a “rocket-science” mystery as to who can be truly competitive, with this not like trying to put ten 100 meter dash people in nine lanes on a track.

TEN YEARS AGO—The 1988 State Meet had Southern Section squads take five of the six team titles. Coach Tim Butler’s Dana Hills team was the Boys’ Large School champs, with Coach Joe Kelly’s Palos Verdes (one of four high schools in the Palos Verdes district before they were combined into Peninsula in 1991) Girls’ squad taking their second consecutive title in the Large School race. Bryan Dameworth (Agoura later University of Wisconsin) and Kira Jorgensen (Rancho Buena Vista, Vista later UCLA) were the Large School individual champs.

Eventual UCLA NCAA Champ Karen Hecox (South Hills, West Covina) took the Girls Division II championship (Karen is now married to Carpinteria Head Football Coach Coley Candaele who you may remember ran a pretty fair mile for his alma mater). Sherman Indian (Riverside) took the Boys Division III title, with Coach Tom Colley continuing the great tradition there started by Coaches Dodson Talashuma and Ken Taylor (eigth Southern Section titles between 1971 and 1988). Bret Harte (Altaville), led by Amy Davidson and eventual Fresno State All-American 400 meter runner Tanya Dooley, took the Girls Division III title.

HISTORY, HISTORY—Bill Peck has attempted, along with Bruce McIntosh and Rick Obrand, to put together a booklet about the individual and team winners at the Southern Section Championships in the sport between 1925 and 1997. With pictures of Louie Zamperini, Eric Hulst, and Jeff Nelson on the front, and Vickie Cook, Polly Plumer, and Kim Mortensen on the back, it is chock full of history with listings of team and individual winners and top placers, with the group inviting any additions or corrections. Bill can be reached at 4215 Normal Ave Apt 9, Los Angeles CA 90029. phone (213) 666-0546.