El Toro girls, JSerra’s Grover capture first county championships

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Haley Herberg and the Dana Hills CA boys team added to their legacies Saturday, with Anthony Grover and the El Toro CA girls team celebrating memorable firsts at the 51st Orange County Cross Country Championships.

Dana Hills won its third consecutive boys sweepstakes title with a 79-105 victory over El Toro, with Grover capturing the first individual county championship for JSerra, clocking 14 minutes, 45.6 seconds on the 3-mile course at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, Calif.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

The meet was moved from Irvine Regional Park to nearby Oak Canyon as a result of the Canyon Fire damaging the venue that has hosted the annual event for the past two decades.

Grover held off defending-champion Jack Landgraf of Dana Hills (14:48), but the Dolphins had Simon Fuller (14:58.6) place fifth and all five scorers in the top 30 to secure their first three-peat since 2007-09.

Herberg, a Capistrano Valley CA senior, repeated as girls winner in 17:16.5, becoming the first back-to-back girls sweepstakes champion since Newport Harbor’s Paige Tennison in 2011-12. But the Cougars couldn’t capture their first team title since 2014, with El Toro earning its first county crown by an 81-85 margin.

Ashley Messineo (17:53.1) placed fourth and Lexi Neuville (18:02.4) finished sixth for El Toro, which also had all five scorers in the top 30. Anaheim Canyon CA senior Sara Leonard, third last year, placed second in 17:24.5.

Kelli Hines (17:41) took third and Ashley Johnson (17:55.4) finished fifth for Mission Viejo CA, which placed third with 117 points.

Mission Viejo was also third in the boys sweepstakes with 149 points. Luis Chavez (14:55.1) was third for the Diablos, as six athletes broke 15 minutes. Adrian Vargas (14:57.6) took fourth for runner-up El Toro.

Fountain Valley’s Esteban Prado (15:40.4) won the boys Division 2 title, with Woodbridge capturing the team championship with a 51-108 victory over Beckman.

Santa Ana’s Maria Hernandez (18:43.6) was the Division 2 girls champion. Valencia/Placentia edged Segerstrom 143-148 for the team title.

Santa Margarita’s Sean Byrne (15:39.8) secured the boys small school crown, with Corona del Mar holding off Servite by a 76-78 margin for the team championship.

El Dorado’s Lucina Vincent (17:56.1) repeated as girls small school champion. Esperanza prevailed 116-120 over Laguna Hills to earn the team title.