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Preview: Thousands Set To Race New Course At 76th Mt. SAC Cross Country InvitationalPublished by
Trey Caldwell, Chiara Dailey Return To Mt. SAC After Big Wins Last Year; No. 5 Beckman Boys Look To Keep Momentum Going; Trabuco Hills Girls Roll In After Orange County Title By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor The 76th Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational Presented by Nike is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. COURSE CHANGES | 2024 TEAM ROSTERS The third of California's regular season mega-meets, following the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic and the Asics Clovis Invitational, arrives this weekend. The course has been modified, from the traditional 2.93-miles to a full 3 miles. The famed Poop-Out Hill has been retired and the racing now ends on the track at Hilmer Lodge Stadium. This year's Mt. SAC will serve nearly 500 schools across 84 races on Friday and Saturday. Four of the top five boys teams in California will be competing in the Division 1&2 Sweepstakes race Saturday morning at 9:42 a.m. Pacific. Beckman, which won the Clovis Invitational two weeks ago with a lineup of Mason Nguyen, Ryan Barris, Nathan Horrocks, Anthony Barrera and Christian Weber, will try to win another major team title. At Woodward Park, Beckman's five scorers were split by 35 seconds. That result boosted the Patriots into the upper echelon of the national rankings at No. 5. No. 14 Martin Luther King, No. 27 Glendora and No. 29 Crescenta Valley fell in line behind Beckman at Clovis, all finishing in the top six of the team standings there and climbing into the national top 30. Trey Caldwell from De La Salle, who won the D1&D2 individual sweepstakes race last year in 14:49, is entered in the team sweepstakes race. Caldwell, who has committed to Colorado, recently broke the long-standing course record at Crystal Springs, one of California's most historic venues, when he he ran 14:27.0 (2.95 miles). Caldwell should be pushed by Martin Luther King's Maximo Zavaleta, who finished eighth at Clovis. Zavaleta finished second in last year's race at Mt. SAC by one second and is the top returner. Martin Luther King was 10th as a team last year and brings back six of its seven this weekend. In the girls D1&2 team sweepstakes race, the No. 19 Trabuco Hills squad that recently won the Orange County Championships, comes in as the favorite. Millie Bayles and Holly Barker finished second and third at the OC meet in Irvine. Seventh-ranked Santiago (Corona) is also entered in the team sweepstakes race but are not scheduled to have top runner Rylee Blade in the lineup Saturday. Still, the Sharks' Braelyn Combe is entered and has a chance to repeat as the team sweepstakes champion after winning last year in a time of 17:33. Ventura, California's No. 5-ranked girls team (15th nationally), is entered in the D1&2 individual sweepstakes race but will rest senior standout Sadie Engelhardt. Perhaps the fastest girls time will come from the D3,4&5 team sweepstakes on Friday evening at 4:55 p.m. when Chiara Dailey of La Jolla runs. Last year she won that race by 30 seconds in a time of 16:52. Dailey is one of the top runners in the country and finished second at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. Gweneth Williams from El Toro, who finished second in the D1&2 individual sweepstakes last year as a freshman, is the top returner in that race. Ariella (Ari) Llorens from Francis Parker, a Division 5 school, won the D3,4&5 individual sweepstakes race last year by 54 seconds, in a time of 17:44, and is back to defend her title there. Andrew Burr of Sacramento Country Day is the top returner in the boys D3,4&5 individual sweepstakes race after taking sixth last year in 15:13. Josiah Bowman of Sage Creek is the top returner in the D3,4&5 team sweepstakes race. He was sixth last year in 15:26 as a sophomore. South Anchorage is returning to Mt. SAC to try and defend its D4 varsity boys title. The Wolverines are making the trip down from Alaska after finishing third at their state meet on Oct. 5. |
