By Bob Ramsey, on October 23rd, 2011 Arcadia ran a bit below expectations at last week’s SGV One on One Challenge, totaling only 97:29. The Apaches may have been playing possum or tired from a tough week, because they returned to Mt.SAC this week with a strong 96:07, good for 10th in the prestigious Team Sweepstakes race. Led once again by soph Veronica Yamane (18:21), they were helped by an excellent 18:38 PR from senior Alejandra Quintero. Still shorthanded, Arcadia will have to tighten up their gap to contend in the post-season.
 Merin Arft (L) & Megan Renken The Div. II schools ran in the hot afternoon, and Claremont and Glendora both showed themselves to be CIF finals and possible State Meet contenders in what has been called the strongest high school division ever. Previously unranked, the two teams should have pushed themselves into the new rankings (Ed: Nope, still unranked) they defeated several previously ranked teams. SGV #2 Glendora was led for the first time by soph Cori Harral, her 19:24 an improvement by nearly 4:00 minutes from last year! The Tartans were 3rd in 98:31 on the strength of their 42 second gap. The SGV #8 Wolfpack were narrowly 4th/98:35 on the strength of strong front-running from sophs Merin Arft (18:57) and Megan Renken (19:06).
The young Walnut team, led by two frosh, made the most noise in the early morning Div. I heats, running 98:26 to finish third in the 5th heat. Frosh Anahi Betart 2nd/18:37 and Rachel Shapiro 6th/19:14 led the Mustangs with two strong efforts. Whittier junior Mailu Pulido was 4th/19:07 in the same race. In the 1st Div. I heat, El Rancho soph Baily Henry was 7th/19:03.
Full Results for the 2011 Mt.SAC Cross Country Invitational are here.
Dyestat coverage is here.
SGV Top 14 Performers and Team Rankings after the jump.
Continue reading Mt.SAC Girls Saturday: Arcadia Assertive, Claremont & Glendora Have Hope
By Bob Ramsey, on October 23rd, 2011 Arcadia had not lost a meet since 2009. Despite key losses from their National Championship team, the Apaches kept winning, even when not favored, opening with a course record win at Woodbridge and a clutch performance at the national Bob Firmin Invite in Idaho. In Saturday’s Team Sweepstakes race, they ran very well again, but fell to an inspired performance from Rancho Cucamonga. Senior Sergio Gonzalez was 2nd at 14:49, just a few ticks off his best in the perfect conditions of last year’s race. He was joined up front by junior Mitchell Pratt who was 14th/15:19 and second best among the SGV.
 The Apaches were the only Div. I or II SGV team in a sweeps race, so the rest of the local action was in the heats. The best performance came from El Rancho, winners of the top Div. I heat in 80:19, led by 8th/15:44 by senior Henry Rodriguez and a 10th/15:15 by junior Zach Mejia. Running alone in the same race, Del Rio rival Aaron Mora (Sr, Whittier) was 2nd/15:20. SGV #3 California was 6th in the same race at 81:22, but with 1-5 gap of only 15 seconds apparently focused on pack running rather than racing. In the third heat, SGV #8 Santa Fe were strong up front, with junior Kevin Ramirez at 15:29 and senior Christian Garcia 15:57, but a 2:05 gap hurt their team chances.
The Division II schools ran in the mid-afternoon in 80+ degree weather, Claremont (SGV #10) responded well to the challenge with a 83:15 team result in the 2nd heat. Junior Jimmy Baeskins ran 16:00, tenth best SGV on the day, and a Mt.SAC PR despite the warm weather. SGV #2 Glendora ran poorly, with none of their first five performing to expectations, and totaled only 83:39. Rowland senior Nick Rivera led the sixth heat the whole way to win in 16:06 and the Raider combined for the race win in 85:33,
Full Results for the 2011 Mt.SAC Cross Country Invitational are here
SGV Top 14 Performers and Team Rankings after the jump
Continue reading Mt.SAC Boys Saturday: Arcadia Finally Falls, El Rancho Steps Up, Glendora Slips Up
By Bob Ramsey, on October 21st, 2011 Girls XC in the San Gabriel Valley has much of its talent concentrated in the three smallest CIF divisions, with four teams in today’s Mt.SAC Invitational Division III, IV, & V Sweepstakes races, and a total of seven teams ranked in the CIF-SS and half of the SGV’s Top Ten.
Individually, Whittier Christian senior Kelli Hunt continued to amaze, running a solo 18:22 to win her Div. IV heat. It was the SGV’s best time on the day, and 4th best among all the D4 girls.
 Mayfield After Their Win at Clovis Mayfield (CIF & SGV #4) turned in the best local performance, running a stunning 1:38:00 to finish third in the Div. IV Sweeps, and it was the best team time among the SGV. The Cubs put four below 19:30, led by an 8th place, 18:59 from junior Christina Cordano that was 5th best SGV on the day. Their gap back to #5, 1:07 today, may be the key element in determining how far they can go this year.
Soph Helena Van Loan took another big step in her ’11 season with an 18:52 to finish fifth in the Div. III sweeps, while her South Pasadena (CIF #11, SGV #7) team was fifth in 1:39:40, hurt by a big 2:37 gap from 1-5. In the Div. V Sweeps, Pasadena Poly was 6th/1:46:47, led by an excellent 10th/19:20 from soph Evan Gancedo (9th SGV) while Flintridge Prep was 7th/1:46:44.
Several of the SGV’s CIF ranked teams chose to run in the divisional races rather than the Sweeps. In Div. III, Bonita was the winner of their heat in 1:38:05, a minute slower than their winning time at the SGV Challenge last week, with the afternoon heat probably accounting for the difference. The Bearcats were again led by junior Marissa Scott, who won the race in 18:26 and received a nice step up 19:20 (SGV #9) performance from soph Diana Garcia. CIF # 9/SGV #6 South Hills received an exciting 19:19 Mt.SAC debut from frosh Danielle Murrietta (8th SGV) and a solid 19:21 from senior Alex Borunda to run 1:40:47 while Huskies an SGV #4 1:40:47. Bishop Amat’s top frosh Emily Hubert didn’t disappoint, her 18:45 2.93 debut ranked third SGV. Rosemead won their heat in 1:43:09, which ranks them fifth among the SGV. They were led by a 19:36 results from senior Kelly Luc.
In Div. IV, CIF #5/SGV #8 Flintridge Sacred Heart again ran short handed, totaling 1:45:29, led again by a solid 19:45 from senior Stephanie Vargas.
Complete Results are here. Dyestat Coverage is here
SGV Team Rankings and the Area’s Top 14 Performers after the jump
Continue reading Mt.SAC Girls Friday: Kelli and Mayfield are the Best
By Bob Ramsey, on October 21st, 2011  Dominguez last year San Gabriel Valley Cross Country has been on the upswing this year, with five CIF-SS ranked boys teams going to the line in today’s Div. III, IV, & V races. 28 SGV boys teams competed, with eight in the big Sweepstakes races and each of those teams acquitted themselves well.
Don Bosco had the top local finish with a solid win in the Div. IV sweeps. The Tigers, ranked #1 in the Southern Section Div. IV, #2 in the State, and #5 overall in the SGV, rode a small gap to an 81:07 finish defeating five state ranked teams. They had strong lead run from senior J.J. Dominguez, 6th in race at 15:46. He was fourth best among all divisions in the SGV today, and the team was second best.
 Tom Ebiner Damien running in the Div. III Sweeps, turned in the best local performance, running 80:22 to finish a strong fourth place. It wasn’t the Spartans’ best day 1-7, but they were very strong up front with three runners under 16:00 – seniors Tom Ebiner 5th/15:34, Conor Brandt 15:48 and Thomas Velasquez 15:56 – Ebiner’s effort was the SGV best on the day. SGV #9 South Pasadena had strong lead performances from senior Alexander Tranquanda 15:55 and soph Joshua Wilson 15:57 but a 91 second gap pushed them back to 10th at 82:16. Los Altos, led by a big 15:46 Mt.SAC PR and SGV #3 performance from senior Jair Juarez, were 12th in the race and #5 SGV with a very solid 82:56.
Flintridge Prep running in the Div. V sweeps, may have had the best performance to expectations in the SGV and also the unluckiest. The Rebels, led by senior Casey Thompson’s 16:14, were third in an awesome 82:33 (4th best SGV!) but had the misfortune to be behind history’s two greatest D5 performances at Mt.SAC by St. Margaret’s and Desert Christian. Junior Michael Caughron 10th/16:10 led Div. V Pasadena Poly to a solid 9th placed, 87:23 finish, while CIF-SS #13 Webb had a rough day and finished 17th/90:42.
In the divisional races, SGV #7 South Hills had a tough outing and a 87:14 team time, while Bonita, behind an SGV #10 16:05 from soph Dillon Nobbs took a big step forward with a 83:33 finish. San Marino showed their CIF ambition with a very good 85:35 in their Div. IV race, which was won by La Salle junior Daniel De La Torre in 15:36, second best on the day in the SGV.
Complete Results are here. Dyestat Coverage is here
Team Rankings and Top 14 Performers after the jump
Continue reading Mt.SAC Boys Friday: Damien, Don Bosco & Flintridge Answer the Challenge
By Bob Ramsey, on October 20th, 2011  This is why we run the races. Arcadia came out blazing, running an amazing 89:20 at Woodbridge, outpacing SGV rivals Bonita by nearly four minutes. But a month later on the hills of Mt.SAC at Saturday’s SGV One on One Challenge, the Bearcats had turned the tables and bested the now short-handed Apache’s by 30 seconds. Meanwhile, Glendora had the SGV’s best performance at the Clovis Invite, their 98:54 converting to just in between Bonita’s and Arcadia’s efforts from Saturday, and so that’s how we’ll rank them going into this week’s Mt.SAC Invitational.
The quality of the girls teams in the SGV is not quite as deep as the boys, and this means more schools from the lower divisions have a spot in our rankings. Also, the move from flat courses to Mt.SAC can be difficult for some teams, so this weekend’s races will tell us a lot.
- Bonita (Div. III – Hacienda League) – the Bearcats were CIF finalists in ’10 and have been highly ranked all season. Division winners at Woodbridge and twice League winners, they turned in their best performance at last week at Mt.SAC in winning the SGV Challenge in 97:02
- Glendora (Div. II – Baseline League) – the Tartans, who feature six sophs and one frosh in their seven, ran well at Clovis and in their opening win at the Bronco meet, but their best performances have been their two wins in the Baseline League meets. Their heat at Mt.SAC is loaded, so we’ll get to see how they stack up.
- Arcadia (Div. I – Pacific League) – As noted above, the Apaches had an amazing opener at Woodbridge, but as the season progressed they’re been missing at least one key athlete and lost twice last week to Crescenta Valley in the Pacific League and to Bonita at Mt.SAC. They’ll have a chance to turn things around in the Sweeps race Saturday morning.
- Mayfield (Div. IV – Prep League) – the Cubs have made huge strides this year, starting with a dominating win at Rosemead, and then a divisional win at Clovis, where their top four improved by an average of 78 seconds per person from last year. They’ll be very strong in their own division, but by finishing just seconds behind Glendora at Clovis, they showed they can compete with anyone in the SGV
- La Ca̱ada (Div. III РRio Hondo League) РWinners at the Bell-Jeff meet, the Spartans have been on a tear, winning their division on the hilly Staub-Barnes course, and then defeating South Pasadena on that same course last week in the second Rio Hondo cluster meet.
- South Hills (Div. III – Sierra League) – the Huskies ran well at Bronco and Woodbridge and were winners at their own Super XC Classic. They stumbled a bit in the extreme heat of the second Sierra League meet but generally have run their best on hilly courses, which bodes well for them.
- South Pasadena (Div. III – Rio Hondo) – like Arcadia, the Tigers started with a bang at Woodbridge, but didn’t run quite as well at Clovis. Friday’s Div. III sweeps at Mt.SAC will show if their loss to La Cañada was more about their slipping back or the Spartans moving up.
- Claremont (Div. II – Sierra League) – this young team made CIF finals in ’10 for the first time in a number of years and has been a bit inconsistent this year. Their best efforts have come at Clovis and the second Sierra League meet, so they’re a team that can run tough courses.
- Flintridge Sacred Heart (Div. IV – Mission League) – the Tologs have run in some big meets, starting well at Fastback and Woodbridge, and showing well at Stanford. They’ve rested or run incomplete teams in recent weeks, and it appears they’ll keep things low-key on Friday, waiting for Finals and CIF to showcase their team.
- El Rancho (Div. I РDel Rio League) Рthe Dons (Do̱as?) have run very well at their two league meets and followed up good early performances at Bosco Tech and Woodbridge with a solid effort at Clovis.
With the exception of La Cañada, all of these teams will be competing Friday or Saturday at Mt.SAC.
By Bob Ramsey, on October 19th, 2011  In the early weeks of the season, the rankings are mostly just for fun. September is a long time from November, and Woodbridge is not Mt. SAC. But beginning this week, the CIF – Southern Section rankings take on a real importance. Any team ranked in the top 13 twice in the last four weeks of the season advances to CIF prelims regardless of their finish at league finals. This “at-large” qualification process allows teams that would likely make CIF finals another way to advance out of very strong XC leagues.
These expanded rankings make room for the California boys to move back into the rankings on the strength of their second Del Rio League win, but still don’t quite have a place for the Glendora girls despite their solid win in the Baseline League. Many Orange County schools moved up on the strength of their Orange County Championship performances, while all but four of the ranked SGV teams were idle this weekend.
Full rankings with commentary are here.
SGV in the CIF Rankings
- Div. I – Arcadia Boys – #3 this week, (2 last week); Girls – #8 (5), California Boys #13 (NR)
- Div. II – Glendora Boys – #10 (7)
- Div. III РBonita Girls Р#2 (3), Damien Boys- #4 (4), La Ca̱ada Girls #8 (7) South Hills Girls #9 (8), South Pasadena Girls #11 (10)
- Div. IV – Don Bosco Boys – #1 (1), Mayfield Girls- #4 (3), Flintridge Sacred Heart Girls- #5 (5),
- Div. V – Flintridge Prep Boys – #3 (3), Girls – #5 (6), Pasadena Poly – Boys #11 (8), Girls #4 (5), Webb – boys #13 (10)
By Bob Ramsey, on October 19th, 2011 Rankings in Cross Country are notoriously difficult. Teams run on flat courses and hilly courses, and in different weather, so that even schools running on the same course on the same day, as will probably happen at Mt.SAC this Saturday, can face very different conditions.
That said, here’s our first attempt to rank the 70 schools of the San Gabriel Valley, regardless of CIF Division. These rankings give preference to recent performances, and to performances achieved on hard and/or hilly courses, since Southern Section XC always points to Mt.SAC and Woodward Park.
And so we can have something to talk about before the athletes sort it out themselves at Mt.SAC this weekend, here are the rankings:
- Arcadia (Div. I – Pacific League) – Easily the class of the SGV, the Apaches ranked #1 in Div. I until last week, the defending National Champs really haven’t stumbled at all, notching meet record wins at Woodbridge and Central Park, two Pacific League wins over a very strong Burbank team, and scoring a big win at the national Bob Firman Invite in Idaho.
- Glendora (Div. II – Baseline League) – The Div. II ranked Tartans have kept something of a low profile, but have won every Invite they’re entered – their opener at Bronco, a meet record win at Sunny Hills, and the divisional race at Clovis. They were second twice to State #1 Rancho Cucamonga in the Baseline League
- California (Div. I – Del Rio League) – The Condors continue to build on the their CIF Finals qualification from last year. Starting fast at the Great Cow Run, their biggest honor is their two wins in the highly competitive Del Rio League meets. Ran well at Clovis.
- Damien (Div. III – Sierra League) – Fast our of the box with a win at the Bosco Tech meet over much of the SGV and ran well again at Woodbridge and won the first Sierra League meet. They stumbled a bit in the second Sierra meet, their only competition in the last month
- Bosco Tech (Div. IV – Del Rey League) – Ranked #1 in Div. IV all year, the Tigers started with a strong 3rd overall at their own meet, but then struggled mightily with sickness and injuries. Their victory over Div. III ranked Cathedral in last week’s Del Rey League indicates they’re nearly back to full strength.
- El Rancho (Div. I – Del Rio League) – Fast at Don Bosco and Woodbridge, the Dons best efforts have been their two seconds to Cal in the Del Rey League, while they had a bit of an off day at Clovis.
- South Hills (Div. III – Sierra League) – #6 SGV at Woodbridge, the Huskies have been third both times in the tough Sierra League, and won their own Super XC Classic.
- Santa Fe (Div. I – Del Rey League) – Two strong thirds in the Del Rio League meets and a #7 SGV ranking at Woodbridge are their top achievements so far.
- South Pasadena (Div. III – Rio Hondo League) – Started well with the #4 SGV time at Woodbridge, and held form with two wins in the Rio Hondo League. Had a rough day at Clovis.
- Claremont (Div. II – Sierra League) – This CIF and State podium team in ’10 was hurt by graduation, and their young team can’t break through in the deep Sierra League. Top performance was an 83:18 at Clovis
By Bob Ramsey, on October 19th, 2011  The Rosemead Panthers traveled to Lake Castaic Park for the Santa Clarita Invitational. Running in the smaller of the meet’s two divisions, they took both the girls and boys titles.
On the boys side, senior Freddy Cerazo was again their best with a 4th place finish, leading a 4, 8, 9, 10, 17 grouping for the easy win. There were no times posted for this division so we can’t know how they did overalll.
The girls were led by senior Kelly Luc 4th at 20:07 and 37th overall on this rolling 3-mile course. Their grouping was not quite as tight as the boys, but they were still the clear winners, defending their title from last year.
Pomona Catholic and Ramona Convent also made the trip to NW L.A. county, finishing fifth and ninth, respectively. PC was led by a 18th/22:06 finish from Solana Arrellances while Ana Vasquez 42nd/24:06 was best for RC.
Full Results are here
By Bob Ramsey, on October 18th, 2011  The 25th Annual Bell Gardens Invite went off Saturday at a new location, Cerritos Regional Park, and a new speediness with producing results. The flat, 3-mile course was probably a bit quicker than the traditional course at Legg Lake, and it led to a number of very fast performances. The meet saw 26 schools take part, including several from the L.A. City Section and southeast L.A. County
 Susie Garcia The SGV’s top team performance – measured from a merge of all four divisions in the results linked below – came from the improving Mark Keppel girls. The Aztecs were second, by just five points to L.A. Marshall, and equal on points to short-handed Los Altos but had the faster #6 runner. Best for Keppel was senior Patsy Hurly 7th/19:13. The Conquerors put three in the top ten – Emily Ruiz 5th/18:55, Bianca Hernandez 8th/19:15 and Jade Ku 10th/19:27 – but 4 and 5 were too far back to seal the deal. Susie Garcia (Baldwin Park) was the SGV’s best, winning the soph race and ending up fourth overall in 18:26.
On the boys side, despite missing some runners, Los Altos was best among the SGV schools with a fourth place finish, led by an SGV best from senior Jair Juarez, who was second overall in 15:19. Baldwin Park‘s Oscar Vargas won the Soph race in 15:32, good for sixth overall, and was joined in the Top Ten by Jaime Perez (Sr, South El Monte) 8th/15:34 and Bryan Tellez (Sr, El Monte) 10th/15:41. (Note: This corrects an earlier draft that stupidly omitted Los Altos from the team standings, which moved BP to sixth)
You can view an SGV Top Ten after jump.
Results
Continue reading Bell Gardens: Keppel Girls, Los Altos Boys SGV’s Best
By Bob Ramsey, on October 17th, 2011 
The Confirmations for the huge Mt.SAC Cross Country Invitational were released today. 57 of the SGV’s 70 schools will be taking part, with the most notable absences being Div. III ranked La Cañada and Valle Vista leaders Covina and Northview, with the Colts electing to run at last week’s SGV One on One meet in place of the Invite.
The Glendora boys, Bonita girls and Flintridge Sacred Heart were the SGV’s only ranked teams not in one of the five sweeps races in this massive meet. The Tartans were not selected and Bearcats and Tologs, certain picks in the sweeps, elected to run the divisional race. This meet features nearly 600 schools racing the famous 2.93 mile course over two days, with Div. III-V racing on Friday and Div. I & II on Saturday.
Here’s the Sweeps Lineups for the SGV
- Div. I/II Team Sweeps: Arcadia boys and girls
- Div. III Sweeps – Boys: Bishop Amat, Damien, Los Altos, South Pasadena
- Div. III Sweeps – Girls: South Pasadena
- Div. IV Sweeps – Boys: Don Bosco, Maranatha
- Div. IV Sweeps – Girls: Mayfield
- Div. V Sweeps – Boys: Flintridge Prep, Pasadena Poly, Webb
- Div. V Sweeps – Girls: Flintridge Prep
View the Confirmations (note, these will be updated to fix a few errors)
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SGV Track & XC This site is maintained by Bob Ramsey – a SGV T&F athlete (Arroyo ’80), and former coach at Glendora HS and Meet Director of the SGV Champs. Bob is currently Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Whittier College
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