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2015 Recap - Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational 10 biggest takeaways - DyeStatCAL

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DyeStatCAL.com   Oct 25th 2015, 4:25pm
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68th Mt. SAC Invitational -- 10 Biggest Takeaways

 

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

 

Both Great Oak teams are national title contenders

Although the possibility of a Great Oak vs. Fayetteville-Manlius girls showdown Dec. 5 at Nike Cross Nationals has generated most of the buzz so far this season with both teams having been ranked No. 1 in the country, the Wolfpack looks to duplicate last year’s accomplishment by the New York power in capturing both national titles.

Despite a two-point loss Sept. 26 to Utah 4A state champion Timpanogos at the Bob Firman Invitational in Idaho, Great Oak established itself as a legitimate contender for the boys national championship by setting the all-time Mt. SAC course record of 74:47 in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race.

Spencer Dodds (14:37), Cole Spencer (14:42) and Isaac Cortes (14:53) all placed in the top 10, with Solomon Fountain (15:13) and Carlos Carvajal (15:22) providing the necessary depth for Great Oak to break the previous record of 75:16 set by the Arcadia lineup that went on to win a national title.

Dana Hills ran a school-record 75:58, the No. 7 all-time performance on the Mt. SAC course, and Great Oak still prevailed by a 40-87 margin.

Great Oak's girls, now No. 2 in the country behind Fayetteville-Manlius, clocked 88:34 for the No. 8 time in course history, placing all seven runners in the top 25 of the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race to win its record seventh consecutive Division 1 title at Mt. SAC.

Glad they have one more chance

For those hoping for a rematch involving Arcadia’s Phillip Rocha and Brea-Olinda’s Austin Tamagno, it didn’t materialize. Nor will it Nov. 21 at the Southern Section finals.

Tamagno, who was taking the ACT on Saturday, ran 14:37 to win his third consecutive Mt. SAC sweepstakes title Friday and lead the Wildcats to a fourth championship in six years.

Rocha, who was runner-up to Tamagno’s record-setting effort of 14:23.2 at last year’s meet, provided a serious challenge to the all-time mark Saturday, tying for the No. 2 performance in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race at 14:24.5.

Although they won’t have one another to push the pace at the section championship meet, with Rocha trying to defend his Division 1 title and Tamagno looking to repeat as Division 3 champion, they both have one more opportunity on the Mt. SAC course to rewrite history on their way to the state finals.

Even short-handed, Arcadia and Davis Senior remain strong

Despite both lineups competing in the Division 1-2 girls team sweepstakes race at less than full strength, Arcadia and Davis Senior still demonstrated they can be contenders, not only to make the podium at the Division 1 state final, but also for Nike Cross Nationals.

Davis Senior raced for the second straight meet without senior Fiona O’Keeffe, who is resting in anticipation of a strong postseason push with goals of winning state and national titles. But the Blue Devils delivered their most impressive performance of the year, finishing second to Great Oak, with Sofia Castiglioni (17:43), Abigail Fisk (17:50) and Olivia O’Keeffe (17:59) all finishing in the top 20 and freshman Sophia Lodigiani 30th in 18:33.

Great Oak defeated Davis Senior 37-126, but the addition of Fiona O’Keeffe to the Blue Devils lineup would have reduced the deficit to a 25-point margin.

Arcadia, which doesn’t feature a single senior among its scoring five, was without two of its top seven runners, but still finished third with 141. Junior Holly Lung (17:17) held off Great Oak’s Evelyn Mandel (17:26) and Destiny Collins (17:40), with sophomore Jasmine He (17:41) finishing fourth for the Apaches.

Great Oak remains a significant favorite to win a fourth consecutive Division 1 state title, but the battle for the remaining podium spots and potential Nike Cross Nationals berths is going to be one of the highlights of the Nov. 28 meet at Woodward Park.

Can’t wait for the rematch

For those disappointed about Austin Tamagno and Phillip Rocha not racing head to head, Flintridge Prep senior Jack Van Scoter and St. Joseph Notre Dame junior Cooper Teare provided plenty of excitement in their long-awaited showdown Friday in the Division 5 sweepstakes race.

After taking the top two spots in last year’s invitational, Van Scoter and Teare took their racing and the entire meet to another level in the rematch, producing the second- and third-fastest times ever by Division 5 runners on the Mt. SAC course.

Van Scoter prevailed in 14:45, just ahead of Teare in 14:48, trailing only Liberty Christian’s Tim Nelson, who ran 14:33 in 2002. Their times ranked No. 5 and No. 7 overall in the two-day meet, setting the stage for an incredible showdown at the state final, with both athletes looking to break the division record of 14:59 set last year at Woodward Park by Marin Academy’s Trevor Reinhart.

Led by Van Scoter, Flintridge Prep captured its third sweepstakes title in four years and ran the second-fastest Division 5 time ever at Mt. SAC with its 78:51, trailing only St. Margaret's 78:49 performance in 2011. Flintridge Prep's girls team won its first Division 5 sweepstakes title since 2005.

La Costa Canyon makes statement

After years of battling some of the nation’s elite programs in the top two divisions, La Costa Canyon celebrated its move in the San Diego Section by winning the team sweepstakes title Friday in its Division 3 debut.

La Costa Canyon had six girls in the top 20, led by freshman Kristin Fahy (18:08) and sophomore McKenna Brown (18:11) placing second and third, to defeat reigning state champion Palos Verdes 51-94.

The Mavericks have the depth to compete with Palos Verdes and Aptos for a Division 3 state title, which would be the program’s first after three consecutive state runner-up finishes from 2010-12, once behind Great Oak in Division 1 and twice behind Saugus in Division 2.

Starn grabs the spotlight

Not only did Monte Vista senior and Harvard commit Brooke Starn run the fastest female time of the two-day meet, but she placed herself in elite company in the history of the Mt. SAC course.

Starn clocked 16:55.1, tying her for the No. 16 all-time performer with former Santa Rosa star Julia Stamps. Both Starn and Stamps are now third among North Coast Section runners, trailing only Ukiah’s Amber Trotter (16:16) and Branson’s Julia Maxwell (16:52).

Starn also led Monte Vista to the team title in the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes race and the second-fastest team time of the meet at 91:06, demonstrating the Mustangs are ready to win a third straight North Coast Section title and battle for a place on the podium in the Division 1 state final.

Arriaga sisters have arrived

After securing several victories in smaller meets to start their high school careers, Walnut freshman twins Chloe Arriaga and Emma Arriaga used the biggest meet in the country to showcase their talents by placing fourth and sixth in the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes race.

Chloe Arriaga clocked 17:28, a 17-second improvement from Oct. 3 at the San Gabriel Valley 1 on 1 Challenge, and Emma Arriaga lowered her time by 49 seconds from three weeks ago to run 17:37.

The sisters both have the potential to qualify for the Division 1 state final if they can duplicate those performances Nov. 21 at the Southern Section championship meet.

Fellow freshmen Kristin Fahy of La Costa Canyon and DeDe Salcedo of McFarland both had impressive performances Friday. Salcedo won the Division 4 sweepstakes in 18:10, with Fahy taking second in the Division 3 sweepstakes in 18:08.

Schadler continues to shine

The 17:15 produced by Allie Schadler in a Division 4 varsity race might have gone unnoticed by many waiting for sweepstakes competition to begin Friday, but the Rio Rico junior continued her exceptional season by running the third-fastest time by an Arizona athlete on the Mt. SAC course.

Only Queen Creek’s Kari Hardt (17:01) and Xavier Prep’s Jessica Tonn (17:03) have run faster than Schadler, who will hopefully get an opportunity to compete in a sweepstakes race next year if Rio Rico returns to Mt. SAC.

Schadler is looking toward the Arizona state championships Nov. 7 in Phoenix, pursuing another Division 3 title, followed by the Nike Southwest Regional on Nov. 21 in Casa Grande.

Bojorquez, Tate move to front of the pack

With their sweepstakes victories, Saugus senior Ryan Tate and Foothill Tech senior Moses Bojorquez put themselves in serious contention for Southern Section and state titles next month.

Bojorquez, who benefited from the experience of competing in the Clovis Invitational championship race Oct. 10, produced a convincing victory Friday over JSerra senior Andrew Burkhardt in the Division 4 sweepstakes in 15:15.

Tate won the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes race in 14:56, placing himself among the favorites in a loaded Division 2 field that includes Anaheim Canyon’s Dylan Scarsone, Simi Valley’s Wyatt Baxter, along with Agoura’s Cole Hoff and Logan Grove.

The Southern Section has already demonstrated it has the potential to sweep all five individual state titles Nov. 28 at Woodward Park.

Saugus, West Torrance quietly go about their business

There wasn’t much fanfare surrounding the performances of the Saugus girls and West Torrance boys – both top-ranked Division 2 teams in the state – in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes races Saturday, especially with Division 1 Great Oak capturing both titles.

West Torrance finished fourth behind Division 1 Great Oak, Dana Hills and Burroughs, but with Youssef Baddour (15:18), Caleb Terrill (15:26) and Carson Bix (15:31) all finishing in the top 30, was well in front of sixth-place Loyola, the next Division 2 challenger.

Saugus was also fourth, trailing Division 1 Great Oak, Davis Senior and Arcadia. But the Centurions, led by a ninth-place finish from Mariah Castillo (17:49) along with Sydney Suarez (18:00) in 19th and Kaylee Thompson (18:09) finishing 21st, held off Division 2 rivals Serrano and Bella Vista to remain the favorite to capture a ninth state title in the past decade.



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