By Bob Ramsey, on September 28th, 2011  Doug Negrete Damien has been traditionally strong in our sport, including a trip to the State Meet in 2004, but they fell on hard times in the latter part of the 00’s. The Spartans turned that around in 2010, not only advancing to CIF for the first time in several years, but also qualifying for the CIF Div. III Finals.
They came into the Sierra League‘s first cluster meet ranked #4 in Div. III, but in this league they would face Div. II #7 Ayala and South Hills, #10 in Div. III. The Spartans proved more than up to the challenge with a strong 42 – 61 – 76 margin over Ayala and the Huskies, who took third from Chino Hills on the sixth man tie breaker.
Damien was led by a 1, 2, 5 finish from seniors Tom Ebiner (15:55), Doug Negrete (16:08) and Conor Brandt (16:31) on this rolling, 5000 meter course at Bonelli Park. Ayala was a bit off their game, perhaps feeling the effects of competing in Oregon over the weekend, and South Hills also performed a bit below expectations. The Huskies had Miles Sustayta (8th/16:36) and Jason Diaz (11th/16:42) up front, but the valuable third team spot was sealed by their 5-6-7 men (Matt Holguin, Chris Escobedo, and Julian Moran) all finishing ahead of Chino Hills’ #5.
Rebuilding Claremont, with only one senior in their scoring five, were fifth, led by juniors Jimmy Baeskins (6th/16:32) and Aric Crowell (9th/16:38). Charter Oak was a distant 6th.
 Alex Borunda On the girls side, CIF Div. III #3 South Hills and young, rising Claremont hoped to knock off defending league champions Ayala. The Huskies turned in a strong effort, putting four in the top ten, but the 1:15 gap back to #5 was too big and they finished second to Ayala 34-48. Claremont was just behind South Hills, showing similar strength up front but were done in by a 1:45 total team gap. South Hills was led by strong efforts by seniors Alex Borunda (3rd/19:38) and Sureshni Surendranathan (7th/19:54), frosh Danielle Murrietta (8th/20:06) and junior Carly Sargent (9th/20:15). The Wolfpack, as usual, was paced by sophs Merin Arft (2nd/19:27) and Megan Renken (4th/19:31).
The young St. Lucy’s team was fourth, led by promising frosh Katelyn Breitschwerdt (11th/20:45). Arlin Ortiz Ortega (15th/21:10) was up front for sixth placed Charter Oak.
Complete Results, courtesy of Finished Results, are here.
Video coverage of the meet from Tom Kiss of the SGV Trib group…
Varsity Results and Scores after the jump.
Continue reading Sierra #1: Damien Meets the Challenge
By Bob Ramsey, on September 28th, 2011 Not every top runner is an overnight sensation. And Whittier senior Aaron Mora certainly isn’t. This is the fourth year of a solid HS career. He came into his final season with a solid 15:31 MtSAC PR and ran 9:34.89 to finish 3rd in the 3200 at last year’s SGV Track Championships.
After a strong summer, he’s gaining benefit of a solid body of work. Aaron opened with an excellent 15:16 for 5000 meters in San Diego and he followed that up with a blazing 14:40, 2nd place effort to lead his team to the overall title at the Rosemead Invitational. And now, Aaron is this week’s featured athlete.
 How and when did you start running? – “I have been running since middle school because my dad use to be a runner so I wanted to try it out.”
What is your favorite workout during XC season, and why? – “I like doing long runs in Turnbull Canyon because I get to go as hard as I want.”
How much did you train over the summer? – “I did a lot of mileage this summer with double days and running on my own on Sundays.”
What do your think about or concentrate on during XC races? – “I focus on running for my teammates and most importantly running for Jesus Christ.”
Describe your last race. – “My last race (The Rosemead Invitational) went out really hard and faster than I expected but I tried to hold on and just keep running hard. I can’t wait to run against Danny Martinez (St. John Bosco) again during the season.”
- Best place for tacos? – “My mom’s”
- Favorite subject in School? – “English”
- The song that’s in your head right now? – “Best Day Ever” by Mac Miller
- Short or long shorts for training? – “Short Shorts”
- What trainers do you wear? – “The Guides by Saucony”
Aaron’s next race is the Del Rio League #1 Cluster Meet at Legg Lake in South El Monte on Friday.
By Bob Ramsey, on September 27th, 2011  About half of the SGV schools ran in their first league cluster meets last week, the other half gets going this week. These are some of the most exciting meets of the year, because unlike the big invites, almost every team is competitive at their league level.
The most competitive meet of the week will probably be the boys side of the Del Rio League, which is very strong this year. California and Whittier were both ranked last week, El Rancho has been very strong, and both La Serna and Santa Fe feature strong front runners. The Sierra league, featuring five ranked teams, should also be very strong.
Here’s the schedule:
Tuesday – 9/26:Â Sierra #1 at Bonelli Park in San Dimas.
Wednesday – 9/27:Â Almont #1 at Legg Lake in South El Monte; Mission Valley League & Valle Vista at Bonelli Park in San Dimas
Thursday – 9/29:Â Montview #1 at Schabarum Park in Rowland Heights.
Friday – 9/30:Â Del Rio #1 @ Legg Lake in South El Monte
We’ll offer as much coverage as we can, as soon as we can.
Coaches and parents, please send short recaps, complete results and photos to info@sgvtrackandfield.net
Short previews after the jump
Continue reading Cluster Meets Continue — Del Rio and Sierra the Best of the Bunch
By Bob Ramsey, on September 27th, 2011  At this point of the season some teams are struggling. Some are succeeding beyond expectations. And some are doing just what they were expected to do. This means there’s going to be movement every week.
This week, the Webb boys, on the strength of their run at Bell-Jeff and in the Prep League Cluster, move into the Div. V rankings for the first time in several years. On the other hand, the California and Whittier boys had a precarious spot in the rankings, each holding one-third of the tenth spot last week. Idle this weekend, they move out of the first ten, as did the Div. III #10 South Pasadena girls, despite a solid win in the Rio Hondo cluster meet.
So, with these adjustments, we have nine boys teams and seven girls teams in the SS rankings.
Full rankings are here
SGV in the CIF Rankings
- Div. I – Arcadia Boys – #1 this week, (1 last week); Girls – #5 (5)
- Div. II – Glendora Boys – #6 (5)
- Div. III – Bonita Girls – #3 (3), Damien Boys- #4 (4), South Hills Boys – #10 (9), Girls #10 (9), South Pasadena Boys #7 (9)
- Div. IV – Don Bosco Boys – #1 (1), Mayfield Girls- #4 (5), Flintridge Sacred Heart Girls- #5 (4),
- Div. V – Flintridge Prep Boys – #4 (4), Girls – #6 (2), Pasadena Poly – Boys #8 (7), Girls #5 (6), Webb – boys #10 (NR)
By Bob Ramsey, on September 26th, 2011  Sergio (L) & Ryan Defending National Champions Arcadia won their second title in as many weeks, traveling to Idaho for the national Bob Firman Invite. Led once more by strong efforts from their senior leaders Sergio Gonzalez (3rd/15:55) & Ryan Vargas (4th/15:56), the Apaches ran well and overcame the loss of two Varsity runners to illness on the tough 5000 meter course. They defeated several teams ranked higher nationally, as well as SS rivals Rancho Cucamonga and Trabuco Hills. Full results are here. Dyestat Coverage is here.
Div. IV #1 Don Bosco made the trip to the Nike Pre-Nationals in Oregon, with senior J.J. Dominguez (46th/16:20) leading his sick and recovering teammates to a 20th place finish. (Full Results). And on this weekend of travel, eight SGV schools traveled to the big Stanford Invitational, with Mayfield and Flintridge Sacred Heart going 2-3 in the Div. IV race.
Closer to home the La Cañada girls were first with a perfect 15, led by junior Sonja Cwik‘s 17:45 win, and the boys second in their division at the Griffith Park based Bell-Jeff Invite. The ranked Glendora boys were first and the girls second at the small Wayne Wilson/Sunny Hills Invite. The weekend’s top female performance came from Whittier Christian senior Kelli Hunt – her 17:20 for 3 miles broke the D3 Course record at the big Dana Hills Invitational in Orange County.
This week’s top performers after the jump
Continue reading Week 3 Roundup: Arcadia Again, La Cañada Makes Its Case
By Bob Ramsey, on September 26th, 2011  Sonja Cwik La Cañada led a contingent of ten SGV schools to Bell-Jeff Invitational. This mid-sized meet brings together Southern Section and L.A. City section schools on a hilly, 2.9 mile course in Griffith Park.
The Spartan girls, narrow losers to ranked South Pasadena at their opening cluster meet, announced their ambitions with a crushing 15 point/93:22 win in the White Division, led by junior Sonja Cwik‘s dominating 17:45, =3rd best on the day overall. Senior Brendan Green’s 3rd place, 15:22 effort led the boys to an excellent second place. Douglas Castro (Jr, Bassett) 8th/16:15 in the same race, while soph Carlos Pena (27th/17:31) paced 7th placed Ganesha.
The SGV also had Ganesha girls place 3rd, the La Salle girls 4th (the boys did not compete) in the White Division. Tops for the Giants was was soph Liz Reyes (11th/19:54) and frosh Venetia Freihube (16th/20:35) was best for the Lancers. Ramona Convent was 10th in the race, with Ana Vasquez (Jr) up front at 21:48.
In the smallest Blue Division, Jesse Bonilla (Sr, Cantwell SHM) was 5th 16:10, and his team was third. Kyle Fetter (Jr, St. Paul) was 8th/16:19 and his team 7th. Marcos Lopez (Jr) with 19th/17:05 was best for sixth placed Webb. Among the girls, Eryn Blakely (Jr, Alverno) was 5th/19:25, and her team was seventh. Fourth place St. Paul was paced by Ariel Melendez (Jr) 8th/19:57, and Arianna Habbestad (Jr) 10th/19:58 was best for fifth place Webb.
Several other SGV teams did not take part as scheduled.
Complete Dyestat Coverage is here.
By Bob Ramsey, on September 26th, 2011 The SGV is well represented in this year’s Div. IV and Div. V CIF-SS rankings, and neighboring Flintridge Prep, Mayfield and Flintridge Sacred Heart took their status on the road to the Stanford Invitational. This big meet features NorCal’s best, and is run in CIF divisions over a fast 5000 meter course on the University’s golf course.
 Pauline Antaplyan In the girls Div. IV action, the SGV schools gave a strong showing, with California #5 Mayfield (2nd/99:19) just edging #4 Flintridge Sacred Heart (3rd/100:22) in the results. Alyssa Rivas (So) 18th/19:21 was best for the Cubs and FSHP was led by Paulina Antaplyan‘s (Sr) 13th/19:07 performance, best among the SGV athletes at the meet.
Nogales senior Anna Barcelo (19:22) ran solo at the meet. Emily Hubert (Bishop Amat) – 19:27 and Shaina Pardo (Azusa) – 20:45 were best for their schools, neither of which brought enough girls to score, while senior Karissa Austin (21:47) led West Covina (111:40).
California #5 Flintridge Prep was the only ranked SGV team to make the trip, and they had just a bit of an off day – a fifth place, 85:30 finish, led by James Bradley (Sr) with a 32nd/16:57 effort. Christian Hernandez (16:43) led Bishop Amat (86:21), and senior Colin Peterson (16:21) turned in the top SGV performance to pace St. Francis (87:10). Tyler Potts (17:17) and Ernesto Castro (16:57) led West Covina (88:33) and Azusa (93:51) respectively.
Full results are here, Dyestat coverage is here.
By Bob Ramsey, on September 26th, 2011  Kelli Hunt Two-Time State and CIF medalist Kelli Hunt has been banging out solid performances in every race of the 2011 season, and this week at Dana Hills Invite she had her best performance yet. The Whittier Christian senior won the D3 Jr/Sr race in a meet record 17:20 over the 3-mile, slightly downhill course. She was 6th overall in this meet that features some of the top XC powers of Orange Country. Schools were divided into three divisions and all of the races were by school class.
Kelli’s senior teammate Chris Bates won the D3 senior race in 15:26, and Kyle Buechert (Maranatha) won the D3 junior race in 15:34. The top SGV boys performance came from Diamond Bar senior James McCreary with a 15:25 effort. Bonita’s Dillon Nobbs had the other SGV notable performance with a 15:39 in the D2 soph race.
Bonita’s Marissa Scott was the clear winner of the D2 girls race with a controlled 17:57 effort. Claremont received strong efforts from their soph duo of Merin Arft (18:03) and Megan Renken (18:05).
Kelli Kuo (19:32) was Diamond Bar’s best on the day, and Jackie McGreal (21:55) was tops for Maranatha.  Frosh Katelyn Breitschwerdt was again the best for the young St. Lucy’s team.
Looking to balance their schedules, South Pasadena, and the Claremont boys sat out their varsity athletes.
Complete results are here. Dyestat coverage (missing D3 girls) is here
By Bob Ramsey, on September 26th, 2011  After several years’ absence, Glendora returned to the Wayne Walker/Sunny Hills Invite, run over a somewhat hilly, 3-mile course at Craig Park in Fullerton. The Tartan boys confirmed their CIF Div. II #5/California #8 ranking with strong win in this 24 team field. They put their first five in the top 25 overall, while the young (six sophs and a frosh) girls team was a strong but equally distant second to CIF ranked Woodbridge.
Glendora (78:16) was led by junior Ryan Sanchez, 4th overall/15:20 (a GHS course record) and soph Mike Duke, 13th/15:35, and third among the SGV schools, with Tartan teammates taking eight of the first ten places in the SGV ranking. La Serna (13th/83:51) was led by strong performances from senior Michael Munoz (11th/15:29) – 2nd SGV, and junior Kieran Hayes (24th/15:58) – 6th SGV. Baldwin Park (14th/84:05) and Northview (20th/88:09) brought young teams. Soph Fredy Trujillo (63rd/16:35) was best for the Braves, while Roman Esparza (40th/16:16) gave the Vikings something to look forward to with his win in the frosh race.
The Tartan girls (1:35:20) were led by strong efforts from soph Emily Hoey (7th overall/18:50), Micaela Lamb (11th/19:01), winner of the frosh race, and rapidly improving (3:00+ from ’10) soph Cori Harral (13th/19:02). Glendora took seven of the first ten spots among the SGV schools, but they lost by 2:41 to CIF Div. II #5 Woodbridge. Improving Northview took another step forward with an 8th place, 1:41:06 finish, led by juniors Elizabeth Esparza (27th/19:39) and Devenie Elizondo (28th/19:39), 8th & 9th best among the SGV. Charter Oak had several good performances up front, the best was senior Julie Galvez (45th/20:03), but lacked depth and finished 11th/1:45:17. La Serna (12th/1:46:19) was next, led by senior Itzel Moreno (32nd/19:48), while San Dimas (14th/1:47:58) lacked the depth to support a strong performance from junior Emily Smith (21st/19:31) – 6th best in the SGV. Rebuilding Baldwin Park was 21st at 1:50:30, paced by soph Alyssa Ortega (71st/20:54)
Complete results (pdfs) are here at Dyestat
By Bob Ramsey, on September 23rd, 2011  Many cross country teams like to travel, and this weekend hosts three of the major travel opportunities. The top-ranked Arcadia boys will travel, along with several other Southern Section XC powers, to the national Bob Firman Invite in Boise, Idaho, while Div. IV #1 Don Bosco will compete in the Nike Pre-Nationals in Portland, OR. The other destination is the Stanford Invitational, which is the meet for NorCal and will have 7 SGV schools taking part, led by CIF ranked Flintridge Sacred Heart, Mayfield and the Flintridge Prep boys.
Sixteen SGV school’s will compete over a hilly 3 mile course in LA’s Griffith Park at the Bell Jeff Invite, with Los Altos looking to improve on their 2nd place finish here last year, and La Salle’s Daniel De La Torre racing in the Seeded event. The Arcadia girls will test themselves against the OC’s best in the big Dana Hills Invitational. Eight other SGV schools will make the trip, including ranked Bonita, South Pasadena, and Pasadena Poly. Glendora leads four other SGV schools at the small Wayne Walker Invite at Craig Park in Fullerton.
Meet by Meet Previews after the jump
Continue reading Week 3 Preview — Travel Week
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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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