Monthly Archives: November 2018

General News

New Classification System for SGV XC and T&F

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I’ve long been bugged by the inequities of our CIF Division and league systems. The Southern Section has tried to solve this in ball sports with the competitive equity approach, but for me, that only rewards mediocrity and punishes success. And the process of league classification, while accounting for geography and school size, seems driven largely by schools’ relative success in football and basketball.

Schools of the same size can face very different demographic realities. Coaching for success is hard in every situation, but it’s certain that kids who are recent immigrants and students from families facing economic hardship are much less likely to participate in sports than those who do not. No one can coach kids they never see.

What follows is a new system of classification that adjusts school enrollment numbers downward in relation to two readily available school statistics: the percentage of English Language Learners and the Percentage of students who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch (Economically Disadvantaged). This system also tries to account for the different circumstances of private schools. You can read about this in greater detail after the jump

I’ve also divided the schools of the San Gabriel Valley into three divisions for cross country, and two for track & field, enabling us to make like to like comparisons, and to honor teams that have done well in the actual circumstances they face.

You can view the divisions and the data in this spread sheet.

Here are the new XC divisions, along with each school’s enrollment (CBEB) and % of students who are eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch (Econ) and the % of English Language Learners (Eng L) and the school’s new, adjusted size rank among SGV schools.

- Bob Ramsey

Want to read even more about the how and why of these rankings?  Continue reading New Classification System for SGV XC and T&F →

Rankings

Claremont Leads SGV Division I Final Rankings

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As expected, overall SGV leaders Claremont lead the boys and girls SGV Div. I Rankings. This new ranking system adjusts school enrollment according to demographic factors (explained here), and divides the 78 schools of the SGV into three divisions.

You’ll see that several of the teams below didn’t enjoy a great deal of “success” in 2018, due to unadjusted enrollment divisions and league assignments. These rankings evaluate teams in true, “apples to apples” fashion.

These specific rankings are based on a merge of the top 11 or 12 teams in the division, using each team’s last race up through CIF finals. For teams that did not advance to prelims, times were adjusted to the equivalent at the Riverside XC course. The goal is to try to determine what would happen if these had met up in their final race.

And since there are only 18 teams in SGV Div I compared to 26 in Div II and 34 in Div III two divisions, these rankings go to 7.

San Gabriel Valley Girls – Div I

  1. Claremont (CIF Div. 2) – the Wolfpack defended all of their titles. 2018 saw them win their seventh straight League Championship, and third straight CIF and State crowns in the very though Div. 2. Clearly the class of our region.
  2. Walnut (CIF Div. 1) – The Mustangs finally broke through to advance to the State Meet, where they finished an excellent 4th. The were sixth at CIF Finals and once again Hacienda Champs and were nearly as far ahead of the rest as Claremont
  3. California (CIF Div. 1) – defended their Del Rio Championship in a rebuilding year, but were not able to advance from Prelims. They ranked 4th overall in the SGV.
  4. Arcadia (CIF Div. 1) – graduating six of seven from 2017’s State Meet team, this year was always a battle. The team ran well to advance from their league and then ran their best race of the year at Prelims, where they were three spots short of advancing. The Apaches were 7th overall in the SGV
  5. La Serna (CIF Div. 1) – nearly reached California in their league meet, and then finished their season with a solid CIF Prelims performance. They ranked 10th in the SGV
  6. Glendora (CIF Div. 1) – stuck in the really strong Palomares league with four other CIF teams, the Tartans ended their season at league finals and ranked 14th in the SGV
  7. Bishop Amat (CIF Div. 4) – had a bit of an off day at CIF Finals, where they were 13th, ending their streak five straight State Meet appearances. They ranked 11th in the SGV.

San Gabriel Valley Boys – Div I

  1. Claremont (CIF Div. 2) – like the girls, the CHS boys notched their seventh consecutive league win and finished second at CIF and were third at State in a year when Div. 2 was extraordinarily strong at the top. Easily #1 in the SGV overall
  2. California (CIF Div. 1) – were up and down through the year, but excellent from League Finals on. They defended their Del Rio titles, and were 7th at CIF, finishing their season with a 13th-place finish at the State Meet. They ranked 2nd overall in the SGV
  3. La Serna (CIF Div. 1) – ran well all year, and finishing just behind Cal at League and at CIF Finals, where they were 8th. This was the Lancers best year ever, and they were #3 overall in the SGV.
  4. Arcadia (CIF Div. 1) – while not hurt quite as much as the girls by graduation, this was also a rebuild or reload year for the Apaches. They were second in the strong Pacific League, and were 12th at CIF Finals. They ranked #5 overall in the SGV.
  5. Rowland (CIF Div. 2) – held back a bit by nagging injuries to their top runners, the Raiders defended their Valle Vista title and advanced to CIF finals for the third year straight, finishing 16th. They were #6 overall in the SGV.
  6. Bonita (CIF Div. 3) – were third in the really tough Palomares league alongside bigger (and demographically similar) D1 & D2 schools. They ran well at CIF Finals to finish 10th, and ranked 7th in the SGV.
  7. Glendora (CIF Div. 1) – are also in the Palomares. They ran well but were still sixth in the League meet, ending their season there.. The Tartans were 9th overall in the SGV

Div I Girls Merge of Final Race Results

Div I Boys Merge of Final Race Results

Rankings

Mayfield and Arroyo SGV Div II Final Rankings

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Annual State Meet qualifier Mayfield and the best Arroyo team since their glory years top the initial girls and boys San Gabriel Valley Division II Rankings. This new ranking system adjusts school enrollment according to demographic factors (explained here), and divides the 78 schools of the SGV into three divisions.

You’ll see that several of the teams below didn’t enjoy a great deal of “success” in 2018, due to unadjusted enrollment divisions and league assignments. These rankings evaluate teams in true, “apples to apples” fashion.

These specific rankings are based on a merge of the top 15 teams in the division, using each team’s last race up through CIF finals. For teams that did not advance to prelims, times were adjusted to the equivalent at the Riverside XC course. The goal is to try to determine what would happen if these had met up in their final race.

(These rankings will be updated with further comments later today. Click here to see what we did for Div. III)

San Gabriel Valley Girls – Div II

  1. Mayfield (CIF Div. 4) – the Cubs didn’t quite have the season they’d hoped for – 2nd in the Prep League, 5th at CIF and 7th at State, but they were clearly the best in our Div. II and were ranked 3rd overall in the SGV.
  2. South Pasadena (CIF Div. 4) – made one of the biggest jumps in the region over the course of the season, powered by two frosh and big developments from their returners. Rio Hondo champs, they just missed advancing to the State meet with a 9th place finish at CIF Finals and ranked 5th overall in the SGV.
  3. Arroyo (CIF Div. 2) – the Knights had a bit of a rough day at CIF Finals, where they 22nd. This was third straight trip to Finals after successfully defending their Mission Valley Championship, and they ranked 6th overall in the SGV.
  4. Flintridge Sacred Heart (CIF Div. 4) – ran a excellent race at CIF Finals, finishing 12th, up from 15th the year before. The Tologs ranked 9th overall in the SGV.
  5. Santa Fe (CIF Div. 2) – the Chiefs were third but nearly first in the tough Del Rio League, and then missed their first ever spot in CIF Finals by just four points! They ranked 15th overall in the SGV
  6. La Cañada (CIF Div. 4) – were ranked higher during the year, but a key injury left them second in the Rio Hondo and only 15th in CIF Finals. They were 12th overall in the SGV.
  7. Covina (CIF Div. 4) – the Colts easily defended their Valle Vista championship, and advanced to CIF Finals for the fifth straight year, where they finished 18th.
  8. St. Lucy’s (CIF Div. 4) – are stuck in a league with schools three and four times their size. They finished their season with a fourth place finish in the Baseline League Finals.
  9. San Dimas (CIF Div. 4) – This was the Saints best year ever. They advanced to CIF Finals for the first time, where they were 23rd, after finishing second in the Valle Vista League
  10. Whittier (CIF Div. 3) – another school stuck in a strong league with bigger schools, the Cardinals ended their season with a fourth place finish in the Del Rio Final.

San Gabriel Valley Boys – Div II

  1. Arroyo (CIF Div. 2) – the Knights defended their Mission Valley championship and returned to CIF Finals for the second straight year. They finished 10th in the brutally challenging Div. 2, and ranked 4th overall in the San Gabriel Valley.
  2. South Pasadena (CIF Div. 4) – the Tigers moved from strength to strength in 2018, winning the Rio Hondo league, finishing 4th at CIF Finals and advancing to State for the first time since 1989, where they finished 10th. They ranked 8th in the SGV overall.
  3. Whittier (CIF Div. 3) – facing an uphill challenge after graduating most of their 2017 State Meet team, the Cardinals finished a strong third in the Del Rio Finals and advance to CIF Finals for the second time in many years. There were 16th at CIF, and ranked 13th overall in the SGV.
  4. South Hills (CIF Div. 3) – with one of their best teams in years, the Huskies were third in the Hacienda League and advanced to CIF Finals for the first time since 2009. They were an excellent 15th at Finals and ranked 10th overall in the SGV. They rank behind Whittier here do to the vagaries of XC scoring
  5. El Rancho (CIF Div. 1) – facing an uphill battle in a strong league, the Dons finished 4th in the Del Rio Finals
  6. Los Altos (CIF Div. 3) – build over the year, they were second over SGV Div. II #4 South Hills. They also advanced to CIF Finals, the first time since 2014, where they finished 22nd.
  7. Santa Fe (CIF Div. 2) – facing the same circumstances as El Rancho, the Chiefs finished the year with 5th-place finish in the Del Rio League.
  8. Wilson (CIF Div. 4) – improved a lot over the year, and finished with their best race for 4th in the Hacienda Final.
  9. La Cañada (CIF Div. 4) – second in the Rio Hondo League, the Spartans advanced to CIF Finals for the third consecutive year, where they were 22nd.
  10. Bosco Tech (CIF Div. 4) – finished an excellent 3rd in the Del Rey League to advance to CIF for the first time since 2014. They were ranked higher earlier in the year, but had a bit of a rough day at prelims to finish here.

SGV Girls Div II Merge of Final Results

SGV Boys Div II Merge of Final Results

Rankings

Flintridge Prep & Pioneer Lead SGV Div III Final Rankings

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Perennial power Flintridge Prep and fast rising Pioneer top the initial girls and boys San Gabriel Valley Division III Rankings. This new ranking system adjusts school enrollment according to demographic factors (explained here), and divides the 78 schools of the SGV into three divisions.

You’ll see that several of the teams below didn’t enjoy a great deal of “success” in 2018, due to unadjusted enrollment divisions and league assignments. These rankings evaluate teams in true, “apples to apples” fashion.

These specific rankings are based on a merge of the top 15 teams in the division, using each team’s last race up through CIF finals. For teams that did not advance to prelims, times were adjusted to the equivalent at the Riverside XC course. The goal is to try to determine what would happen if these had met up in their final race.

San Gabriel Valley Girls – Div III

  1. Flintridge Prep  (CIF Div. 5) – the Rebels finished third in Div. V at the California State Championships. This ended a four year state winning streak, but also marked their sixth straight year on the State Podium. There were also Prep League Champions and 2nd in Div. 5 CIF-SS Finals, and were ranked ninth overall in the San Gabriel Valley
  2. Rosemead  (CIF Div. 3) – the Mission Valley runners-up were tenth in the Div. 3 CIF-SS Finals, their best finish in many years. The Panthers were ranked 13th overall in the SGV
  3. South El Monte  (CIF Div. 4) – fourth in the Mission Valley League, the Eagles were the SGV’s 20th best team at CIF Prelims while just missing a spot in the Div 4 Finals.
  4. Bell Gardens  (CIF Div. 1) – were second in the Almont League Finals, and ranked 24th among SGV teams at CIF Prelims.
  5. Poly  (CIF Div. 5) – Advanced to CIF Finals in Div 5 for the ninth year in a row, where they finished 14th. They were third in the Prep League
  6. St. Paul (CIF Div. 4) – stuck in a very difficult league, they finished the season with a 4th place finish in the Del Rey League Final.
  7. Pomona Catholic (CIF Div. 5) – several time CIF finalists, PC was promoted to the stronger Del Rey League and failed to advance to CIF, finishing fifth.
  8. Ramona Convent (CIF Div. 5) – finished second in the Horizon League, and advanced to CIF Finals in Div. 5 for the first time in many years, maybe ever. The Tigers finished 19th in Riverside.
  9. Gladstone  (CIF Div. 4) – had one of their best teams in many years, finishing second in the Montview League and advanced to CIF Prelims
  10. Webb (CIF Div. 5) – a long-time prep school power, they were San Joaquin champs, and advanced to CIF Div 5 Finals, finishing 21st

San Gabriel Valley Boys – Div III

  1. Pioneer  (CIF Div. 4) – the Titans have been on the rise, and benefited from a move this year from the powerful Del Rio League to the new 605 League. They bossed their new league, winning the championship with just 19 point. Advancing to CIF Finals for the first time, they finished a solid 11th in Div 4, and were ranked 12th overall in the San Gabriel Valley.
  2. Flintridge Prep (CIF Div. 5) – 2018 was a season of near misses. First in the Prep League, they were second in CIF-SS Div 5 and sixth at the State Meet. The Rebels were also second to Pioneer by just one point in the merge used for these rankings. They ranked 14th overall in the SGV.
  3. Azusa  (CIF Div. 4) – were big winners in the Montview League, and advanced to CIF Finals in Div 4 for the second year in a row, where they finished 23rd.
  4. Rosemead  (CIF Div. 3) – the Mission Valley runners-up had the SGV’s 22nd best performance at CIF Prelims, missing a spot in the Div 3 Finals by just 4 points.
  5. Baldwin Park  (CIF Div. 3) This team developed a lot over the season, but did not peak as high as previous years. Third in the Valle Vista League, their season ended at Prelims for the first time since 2014.
  6. El Monte  (CIF Div. 3) – fourth in the Mission Valley League, the Lions finished the year at CIF Prelims for the third year in a row.
  7. Webb  (CIF Div. 5) – The Gauls powered their way to the San Joaquin championship  and advanced to CIF Finals for the third year in a row, where they finished 17th.
  8. St. Paul  (CIF Div. 5) – the first of three teams that did not advance out of their leagues, the Swordsmen were stuck behind bigger schools in the Del Rey, where they were 5th
  9. South El Monte  (CIF Div. 4) – The Eagles were also fifth in their league, but ran well enough in the Mission Valley Final to rank 9th here.
  10. La Salle  (CIF Div. 4) – finished just ahead of St. Paul in the Del Rey Final, but finish just behind them here in the vagaries of cross country scoring.

Div III Girls Merge of Final Race Results

Div III Boys Merge of Final Race Results

Meet Reports

State Meet: Audrey and Claremont are Champs!

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Eight San Gabriel Valley teams and eleven individuals competed Saturday in the California State Cross Country Championships, on the 5000 meter course at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Claremont Wolfpack, the SGV’s Top XC Program – The Girls were 1st & the Boys 3rd

Five of the eight teams were here in 2017, with the Claremont and Flintridge Prep girls looking to defend respective winning streaks of two and four years. The Wolfpack extended the streak to three, and finished first in a merge of all of the competing teams, earning a place in next week’s Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. They’ll be joined in Portland by Chloe Arriaga (Sr, Walnut). Chloe finished 7th overall (and 4th in DI) to qualify individually, and  led her team to an outstanding 4th place finish in Div I.

Prep fell a little short, earning a 3rd place finish, their 8th time on the State podium. The Claremont boys also had a strong day and earned their third podium placing ever with a third-place finish in a exceptionally strong Div. II race.

California Div. IV champ Audrey Suarez

In Div. IV, Mayfield soph Audrey Suarez became the SGV’s first individual champion in several years with a 17:44 effort. Joining her in individual, Top 7 honors were Chloe Arriaga, Maddie Coles (Fr, Claremont) – 2nd/17:44 in Div. II, and Noah Hibbard (Sr, Arroyo) who was 2nd/15:05 in the boys Div. II race.

Links to the Official Results, updated All-Time Lists and coverage of each of the races after the jump. Continue reading State Meet: Audrey and Claremont are Champs! →

Previews

Preview: SGV at the California State Meet

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Well, this is the end for 2018. Four San Gabriel Valley boys teams and four girls teams will compete in Saturday’s California State Cross Country Championships on the 5000m course at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Walnut’s Chloe Arriaga leads out the group at the CIF-SS Championships

Five of the eight teams return from 2017, including two champs. The Claremont and Flintridge Prep girls are multi-year champs in Div. II and V, respectively. The Wolfpack, CIF-SS Div 2 champs, are favored to make it three in a row while Prep will face a big challenge to their four-year streak.

Sydney Hwang led CHS with an 11th place finish last year, and she’s been joined, and now surpassed up front by frosh Maddie Coles, who won last week’s CIF-SS Champs. Prep will be led by senior Haley Allen, 6th last week and 8th here last year.

The boys teams from CHS and FP also return from 2017 meet, where they were both 4th. Mayfield, 4th here last year, are back for the fifth year in a row, and the ninth time in ten years. Soph Audrey Suarez was 2nd in years meet and 2nd last week at CIF.

The Walnut girls, led by seniors Chloe and Emma Arriaga have finally advanced after many near misses, as have the South Pasadena boys, who took advantage of a move to Div. IV. The California boys return after missing 2017 – they’ve advanced four the five last years.

Six boys and five girls have advanced individually this year. All six of the boys will be making their state meet debuts - Noah Hibbard (Sr, Arroyo) in Div. II, Devin Hightower (Sr, South Hills) & Eduardo De Paz (Jr, Baldwin Park) in Div. III, and Owen Serricchio (Sr, La Cañada), Nathan Vallejo (Sr, Southlands Christian) & Nathaniel Estrada (Jr, Pioneer).

The four of the five girls competed here in 2017. Joyce Wu (Sr, Arcadia) ran with here team and was 23rd in Div. 1. Olivia Paez (Sr, Bishop Amat) was 24th and Ellaney Matarese (So, La Cañada) 56th in Div. IV. Lily Miller (So, Webb) advanced on her own and finished 22nd in Div V. Lauren Nettels (Jr, Flintridge Sacred Heart) will make her State meet debut.

Meet Details

Rankings

SGV Boys Final Team Rankings: Claremont All Year Long

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Season long leader Claremont confirmed their status in the San Gabriel Valley’s final ranking for the 2018 Cross Country Season. The pre-season #1 Wolfpack won the tough Palomares League and finished second in the CIF-SS Div. 2 finals in a historically strong year.  These rankings are a merge of the adjusted results from the top 20 teams’ final race of the year through CIF Finals (see below for more details & rationale)

SGV #1 Earlier This Year at the Manhattan XC Invite

San Gabriel Valley Boys Cross Country Rankings

  1. Claremont (Previously 1)
  2. California (2)
  3. La Serna (3)
  4. Arroyo (5)
  5. Arcadia (4)
  6. Rowland (6)
  7. Bonita (7)
  8. South Pasadena (9)
  9. Glendora (8)
  10. South Hills (13)
  11. Damien (10)
  12. Pioneer (15)
  13. Whittier (11)
  14. Flintridge Prep (Not Ranked)
  15. Walnut (12)
Left the Rankings
  • Bishop Amat (14)

There wasn’t a great deal of movement from the previous rankings, which was a merge of league finals results, as our region’s best teams acquitted themselves well in their biggest races.

The rankings were pretty stable over the year, too, as the final Top 10 were all ranked in the first 15 in our Pre-Season Rankings. The biggest move up from 15th to 10th was from South Hills, who advanced to CIF Finals for the first time since 2009.

605 League Champ’s Pioneer, Hacienda champs Walnut and Damien were unranked in pre-season but made the final 15. The Titans advanced to the CIF-SS Div 4 finals, for probably the first time, while the Mustangs ran progressively better all year. Damien was a disappointing fourth at their league meet while running with injuries, but still competed well enough rank #11th in our region.

After the jump, the final merge with its rationale, along with the pre-season rankings. Continue reading SGV Boys Final Team Rankings: Claremont All Year Long →

Rankings

SGV Girls Final Team Rankings – Claremont & Walnut Way Out Front

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As they’d been all year, State Meet finalists Claremont and Walnut were easily the top two teams in the final ranking for the San Gabriel Valley Cross Country season. These rankings are a merge of the adjusted results from the top 20 teams’ final race of the year through CIF Finals (see below for more details & rationale)

CIF Finalists Arroyo jumped from 14 in the Pre-Season Rankings to rank 6th

San Gabriel Valley Girls Cross Country Rankings

  1. Claremont (Previously 1)
  2. Walnut (2)
  3. Mayfield (7)
  4. California (5)
  5. South Pasadena (3)
  6. Arroyo (4)
  7. Arcadia (12)
  8. Flintridge Prep (9)
  9. Flintridge Sacred Heart (Not Ranked)
  10. La Serna (10)
  11. Bishop Amat (6)
  12. La Cañada (8)
  13. Rosemead (14)
  14. Glendora (NR)
  15. Santa Fe (13)
Left the Rankings
  • #11 Bonita
  • #15 Alhambra

Some teams performed particularly well in their biggest race, while some struggled, which accounts for the big movements in the rankings.

Mayfield, and Flintridge Sacred Heart had particularly good days at CIF Finals after so-so league meets. Arcadia and California ran really well at Prelims, but failed to advance in the brutally difficult CIF-SS Div. 1.

#5 South Pasadena were unranked in our Pre-Season Rankings (see below) so they made the biggest jump over the season. Led by two strong frosh and excellent progress from the remaining girls, the Tigers were league champs and 9th in CIF-SS Div. 4.

#6 Arroyo were the other big movers. Ranked 14th at the start of the year, they defended the league title and returned again to CIF Finals. They had a strong team progression and finished well despite missing their #2 to injury. They’ll return six of their first seven next year.

After the jump, the final merge with its rationale, along with the pre-season rankings. Continue reading SGV Girls Final Team Rankings — Claremont & Walnut Way Out Front →

Previews, Race Reports

CIF Finals – Meet Details and Quick Coverage

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The Southern Section Cross Country season comes to it’s end Saturday with the Championship Finals at The Cross County Course in Riverside. Nineteen girls teams from the San Gabriel Valley and nineteen boys will be among the 240 teams competing in the best sectional cross country meet in the nation.

Details

Parking is $10 and the spectator gates open at 6:45.

Schedule –

Top 7 teams in each division advance to the State Championship Meet, along with the top 5 individuals from non-qualifying teams who place in the top 20.

  •    7:45 – Div 1 Boys – California and La Serna repeat their finish from the Del Rio Final, but this time Cal is 7th/87:24, advancing to State, and the Lancers are 8th/87:23, first out. Arcadia was 12th/78:13. Top SGV finishers: Angel Salinas (Sr, California) – 34th/15:17, =21st All-Time SGV on this course, Jacob Hsu (Jr, Arcadia) – 36th/15:18, and Ethan Ruiz (Jr, California) – 40th/15:19 – =24th A-T. with 7 more A-T performances behind them
  •    8:05 – Div 2 Boys – Arroyo’s Noah Hibbard runs 14:35 for second and the SGV’s All-Time Best on this course. His Knights are 10th/87:10. SGV #1 Claremont is 2nd/75:51 and Rowland 16th/79:15. Top performers were Hibbard, Ryan Cowgill (Sr, Claremont) – 9th/14:58 – 5th A-T and Adam Trafecanty – 12th/15:00 – 7th A-T with 7 more All-Time performances behind them.
  •    8:25 – Div 1 Girls – Walnut does it! They finish 6th/89:57, moving up from 7th at the half-way point and advance to the State Meet. Chloe Arriaga was 2nd/16:52, sister Emma 8th/17:05 – and is now 4th All-Time SGV on this course. Joyce Wu (Sr, Arcadia) had a life-time best 17:33 for 16th. She’s now =8th A-T SGV, but just missed an individual spot in the State Meet.
  •    8:45 – Div 2 Girls - Claremont remain undefeated at Riverside, winning their third straight Championship in 87:35, with 45 point margin on the second placed team. Arroyo, running without their #2, was 22nd/96:46. Top finishers were CHS’  Maddie Coles, who won the individual championship in 16:54, 2nd fastest All-Time SGV, Sydney Hwang 11th/17:26 and Azalea Segura Mora – 14th/17:36 – 11th A-T. All seven Claremont girls recorded Top 50 A-T times.
  •    9:05 – Div 3 Boys – Bonita takes the top SGV place in 10th/80:33. Next was South Hills with a big step up to finish 15th/81:38, then Whittier – 16th/81:57, with Los Altos 22nd/83:55. Top finishers were Devin Hightower (Sr, South Hills) with a really great 15:08 for 4th and a spot in the State Meet. He’s =14th All-Time SGV. Baldwin Park junior Edwardo De Paz also earned a trip to Fresno in 12th/15:18 – 23rd A-T. Dillon Hightower (Sr, South Hills) just missed a State spot in 16th/15:23 – =31st A-T, and Pasadena wonder-frosh Isaiah Givens finished his outstanding debut season in 25th/15:29 – =42nd A-T.
  •    9:25 – Div 4 Girls – In the SGV’s best represented division, only Mayfield will move on to the State meet with a 5th/94:08 finish.South Pasadena was 12th/97:47, Flintridge Sacred Heart 12th/97:47, Bishop Amat 13th/97:45, La Canada – 15th/99:30, Covina 18th/100:24 and San Dimas 23rd/102:33. Audrey Suarez (So, Mayfield) was the SGV’s best in 2nd/17:24 – 6th All-Time SGV on this course. Olivia Paez (Sr, Bishop Amat) was 7th/18:07 and she’ll advance individually to the State meet along with Lauren Nettels (Jr, FSHA) – 10th/18:10 – 30th A-T and Ellaney Matarese (So, La Cañada) – 13th/18:24 – 41st A-T
  •    9:45 – Div 5 Boys – Flintridge Prep, finished second in 82:23 to a strong St. Margarets team.  Webb was 17th/78:49 and Maranatha 22nd – 89:54. Carson Hasbrouck (Sr, Flintridge Prep) had the top SGV performance at 13th/16:01
  • 10:10 – Div 3 Girls – Rosemead finished their late season surge with a great 10th/98:20 finish, followed by Bonita – 12th/99:27, La Mirada – 20th/102:16 and Nogales 26th/110:49. The top SGV performance was from Melanie Mach (Sr, Rosemead) who was literally out-leaned by an inch for the final State spot in 16th/18:33 – good for =47thth A-T SGV.
  • 10:35 – Div 4 Boys – Eight SGV teams toed the line, and only one, South Pasadena, will move on with a 4th/80:29 finish. Pioneer was 11th/82:08, Bishop Amat 14th/83:34, St. Francis 21st/85:26, La Canada 22nd/86:32, Azusa 23rd/87:20 and Covina 24th/87:03. Kai Dettmann (Sr, South Pasadena) had the top SGV finish at 11th/15:29 – =42nd All-Time SGV. Owen Serricchio (Sr, La Canada) – 14th/15:34, Nathan Vallejo (Sr, Southlands Christian) – 17th/15:39 and Nathaniel Estrada (Jr, Pioneer) – 18th/15:39 earned individual spots in the State Meet.
  • 11:00 – Div 5 Girls – Flintridge Prep were edged out by St. Margarets for the Championship, 78-89, with the Rebels running 97:08. Poly was 14th/108:17, Ramona Convent 19th/109:40 and Webb 21st/110:16. Lily Miller (So, Webb) had the best SGV performance in 5th/18:34, =50th A-T SGV, and she’ll advance to Fresno individually.

We’ll have quick coverage of the races as we’re able on the race day. Complete coverage will follow later Saturday, and Sunday.

General News

CIF Prelims: 37 Teams Move On – 16 All-Time Marks

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Eighteen boys teams and nineteen San Gabriel Valley cross country girls teams have advanced to Saturday’s CIF-SS Divisional Finals, while SGV athletes recorded 16 All-Time Top 50 times on The Riverside Cross Country Course last Friday and Saturday.

The boys and girls from Covina. Both teams advanced to CIF Finals for the fifth year in a row!

This year’s total was just below the forty-three that moved on the Finals last year, the highest total since the Final field was expanded (temporarily – one hopes) to 24 in 2016. The SGV’s biggest total when sixteen teams made the finals of the CIF-SS’s five divisions was twenty-three in 2010

Ramona Convent in Div. 5 and San Dimas in Div. 4 and Nogales in Div. 3 all qualified for the girls Final for the first time. There are no first timers among the boys, but South Hills (Div. 3) made their first final since 2009 and St. Francis (Div. 4) their first since 2010.

In an analysis of the past ten years, 31 of the SGV’s 71 boys teams have made at least one Final. Arcadia and Flintridge Prep have advanced in every one in those ten years, followed by California with nine, and Claremont, Poly and Webb with eight.

In that same time, 30 of the SGV’s 75 girls teams advanced to the country’s strongest sectional meet.  Bonita, Flintridge Prep and Mayfield have been 10 for 10 over this time, followed by Claremont and Poly at 9, and Arcadia with 8.

The Southern Section has been racing at The Riverside Cross Country Course since 2015, and has used it for CIF finals since 2016. Most of the top teams ran controlled races in the Prelims (with the exception of Div. 1 boys), so we can expect many more additions in the Finals.

After the jump, a list the Top 21 SGV performances for the the boys and the girls, with notes on their All-Time status, (you can view the complete A-T lists here) plus a ranking of all the teams by time.  Continue reading CIF Prelims: 37 Teams Move On — 16 All-Time Marks →