By Bob Ramsey, on November 5th, 2010 Each of the three Montivew cluster meets had been a tight clash between Azusa and La Puente boys with the Aztecs taking the last two and carrying a small lead into Thursday’s finals at (where else?) Schabarum Park.
 With the title on the line, both teams stepped up with, splitting the first seven spots between them. Azusa’s duo of Kevin Ontiveros (16:34) and Alfredo Orozco (16:36) were first across the line, along with Ernesto Castro (5th/17:13). The Warriors were led by Chris Castillo (3rd/16:58), Victor Mejia (4th/17:06), Brian Covarruvias (6th/17:31) and Arturo Garcia (7th/17:34). With so much quality up front, the meet and the championship was going to come down to the number 5 men, so it was John Ramos’ 17:59 11th place finish and the team’s 1:01 gap that brought home the title for La Puente.
Ganesha had been a solid third all year, and the Giants will advance as the third team, led again by Eddie Trujillo (12th/18:07) and a tight 44 second gap. Sierra Vista held on to the fourth and final CIF spot – paced by a strong lead from Jose Gomez (8th/17:37) – as they edged out Workman, who were led by Raul Elizarraras (9th/17:41). Doug Castro of Bassett had hopes of an individual spot, but his 17:57 was only good for 10th and his team was sixth. Duarte – Angel Chelsea Espagna (14th/18:19) were seventh, and Gladstone – Eddie Trujillo (12th/18:07) were eighth.
Complete Boys Results: Montview Finals Varsity Boys 2010, Montview Boys JV 2010
No results yet for the girls.
By Bob Ramsey, on November 3rd, 2010 The Sierra League is a strong XC league, with two CIF ranked teams among the guys and three in the girls, plus St. Lucy’s & South Hills guys, who were both CIF Finalists last year. This meant that four of the teams were already assured of at-large CIF spots, but this did nothing to diminish the competition.
 Claremont's Drums The girls went first, and on a day when all of the teams struggled with the heat, the fast rising Claremont girls finished second to the previously dominant Ayala team, but with only one runner in the Top 10, frosh Merin Arft (2nd/19:22), but put six in the first 24. The real action was for the third spot, with St. Lucy’s needing a strong 1-5 performance to advance. The Regents fell a heartbreaking one point short – finishing 70-71 to Chino Hills – despite top performances from seniors Taylor Hebb (4th/19:38) and Marissa Horton (6th/19:40), who will both advance as individuals.
South Hills came into the meet even with St.L and CHHS and had a bit of a rough day, finishing 5th with junior Alex Borunda (10th/19:57) as their leader – but the Huskies still advance to the Div. III prelims as an at-large team through their consecutive #13 rankings. Charter Oak has struggled in this new league, and front runner Carly Lake just missed advancing, finishing 9th in 19:51.
The Claremont guys have been strong all year, coming in ranked 4th CIF Div II and 25th nationally. The Wolfpack did not disappoint riding to an easy win over CIF ranked Ayala with four in the Top 10, seniors Paul Ross (1st/15:52), Henry Falotico (2nd/15:52), A.K. Metoyer (5th/16:12) and Colin Domonoske (6th/16:12). Bigger news for the post season was that their #5 man, soph Aric Crowell was only 23 seconds and 7 places back in 16:37.
Damien’s season had ended at Finals the last five years, but not this time. Led by a breakthrough performance by junior Moses Baiden (4th/16:08), the Spartans took the 3rd CIF spot. Moses was joined in the top 10 by junior Tom Ebiner (8th/16:23) and senior John Garcia (10th/16:30).
South Hills came into the day needing a strong performance to push past Damien. Missing their usual top 2, they went the other way, with senior Matt Sanchez (22nd/17:20) as their top finisher. Charter Oak was improved from ’09, but was always sixth in this tough league. Senior Tyler Orosco (30th/17:45) finished as the Chargers #1.
Full results are here.
By Bob Ramsey, on November 3rd, 2010 Running in Tuesday’s brutal heat, Glendora had another program first (or at least the first in memory) – advancing both boys and girls and teams to CIF in the same year.
 Mike Duke Competing in the Baseline League for the first time, senior Lauren Justus led the Tartan girls to their first post-season spot since 2005 finishing second to a very strong Rancho Cucamonga team. Lauren was the easy winner in 19:08, and was joined in the medals by fellow senior Allison Mayo (9th/20:25).
The guys have struggled with the loss of two of their top five to season ending injuries, and their usual #3 was sick and DNF’d on Tuesday. But the deep Tartans stepped up to finish second to National #10 and California #4 Rancho Cucamonga. The Tartans placed three in the top ten – seniors Kelly Hernandez (4th/15:59) & Anthony Castro (9th/16:40) along with frosh Mike Duke (10th/16:46) – and actually gained on Rancho compared to their three earlier meetings.
Full Results (PDF’s) are here.
By Bob Ramsey, on November 1st, 2010  Cross Country season began in June or July for many of our athletes, and it reaches it culmination for most with this week’s League Finals Championship Meets – with league titles and CIF berths on the line.
The various leagues differ in how they award their team championships, but CIF mandates advancement procedure to the post-season – the top three teams from 5-6 team leagues, and the top four from 7-8 team leagues. Plus, up to three individuals from non-qualifying teams may advance provided they finish in the top six in the finals meet. Teams may advance on an “at-large” basis if they are 13th or better in any two of the last four CIF Polls. So far, only the Claremont boys and South Hills & Bonita girls have met that standard.
Bishop Amat and Webb got the jump on the local competitors in their Finals held on Saturday. The Lancers advanced both teams to D3 prelims with third place finishes in the Del Rey Finals at Santa Fe Dam. Seniors Illiana Velazquez (4th/18:27) and Zach Mendoza (13th/16:33) were their top performers on the flat, 3 mile course. Webb senior Bailey Stockdale booked his place in D5 Prelims with a 16:03, third place performance over the hilly 2.91 mile course at Pierce College in the Prep League Finals.
Complete League Previews after the jump.
Continue reading League Finals Previews
By Bob Ramsey, on November 1st, 2010 Whoosh! That was the sound you heard as the boys of the SGV ran over the famous hills as Mt.SAC. Last year in this meet, only two locals went sub 16:00. This year, admittedly aided by better weather and the inclusion of Claremont, eleven guys dipped under that mark! Last year’s #14 was at 16:52 – which would have ranked 46th this year!
 The top performances came from senior Paul Ross (15:03) and the Claremont Wolfpack. Paul’s time was the fastest by an ESGV athlete since West Covina’s Diego Mercado set the course record (14:24) in 2005. Claremont had a strong finish in the Team Sweeps on what turned out to be the fastest day in Mt.SAC history.
Los Altos and Rowland also had excellent days, while South Hills (with a key injury) and Glendora (with bad performances) took a step back.
In a merge of all 28 boys Varsity teams at Mt.SAC, Claremont was the easy winner (31) over Glendora (98) with Rowland (105) third.
Local Top 14 Performers and the Top Ten from the merge after the jump
Continue reading Mt.SAC Wrapup — Boys
By Bob Ramsey, on October 27th, 2010 Cross Country has improved relentlessly over the past ten years, and the huge field and great weather helped that process leaped forward at this year’s Mt.SAC Invitational.
 Lauren The athletes of the San Gabriel Valley kept pace with this trend, with several high placings, and numerous school records. The top performance came from Lauren Justus (Sr – Glendora), whose 17:53 was the fastest SGV time since Jessica Nunez (South Hills) in 2007, and the fastest at the Invite since fellow Tartan Christy Adamyk her PR of 17:27 in 2005. Four other girls ran under 19:00 this year, most notably Marissa Scott (So – Bonita), whose 18:08 was the winning time in her Div. III heat. As a measure of the growing quality of our sport, 14th best in the SGV this year was 19:24, while last year 20:17 was 14th.
In a merge of all of the SGV teams, Claremont (75) reversed their order with Glendora (82) from the Div. I, II merge, with Bonita and South Hills both coming in with 94 points.
Top 14 Performers and Top Ten Teams after the jump.
Continue reading Mt.SAC Wrap Up — Girls
By Bob Ramsey, on October 27th, 2010 On Mt.SAC’s biggest day, the ESGV was well represented in the biggest races – with Claremont and Glendora in the top event – the Team Sweepstakes. The Wolfpack took another step forward, the Tartans stumbled, and in the heats, Rowlands Soph/Junior duo showed their class.
 Paul Ross The Sweeps race was the fastest ever, with Arcadia setting a new course record and two other teams breaking into the top 10. But Claremont more than held their own with a school record 77:38, first among Div. II in the race, third on the day, and the 4th fastest time ever by a D2 team at the Invite. The Wolfpark were led by strong finishes from seniors Paul Ross (4th/15:03) and Henry Falotico (6th/15:07) on a day when the whole team stepped up.
Glendora went the other direction, running only 81:02, with team leader Anthony Castro and two other expect scorers having off days. The Tartans were led by a 15:35 PR from senior Kelly Hernandez.
In the heats, Rowland continued to show their strength with an excellent 81:01 team effort. Running in the top Div II heat, junior Nick Rivera confirmed his move up from the long sprints with a 15:24 PR, while fast rising soph David Galvez checked in with a 15:37.
In a merge of the twelve local Div. I & II teams that competed Saturday (including Glendora’s and Claremont’s B Varsity teams – competing in the JV National Champs race), Claremont was the easy winner with 25 points, followed by Glendora (75) and Rowland (83).
Complete results are here
ESGV Top 10 and the Complete Merge after the jump
Photo by Joan Fryxell
Continue reading Mt.SAC Saturday Boys: Big Day for Claremont and Rowland Pair
By Bob Ramsey, on October 27th, 2010 On Saturday, the Division I & II schools took the famous 2.93 mile course at Mt.SAC, and at the end of the day the top performances came from Glendora senior Lauren Justus and her Tartan teammates.
 Glendora was is in the Individual Sweeps race and Lauren, the SGV’s 2009 leader, took another big step forward to finish sixth in a area leading, PR 17:53. Her teammates were right behind, most notably frosh Tori Whitworth with a 19:32 effort in her first visit to MtSAC, finishing with a school record 97:22.
Claremont had an equally strong day, winning their Div. II heat with at 97:31 time for their five scorers. This fast rising team was by soph Baily Sanin (6th/18:50), and frosh Megan Renken (7th/18:52), & Merin Arft (19:17). Charter Oak junior Carly Lake was second (19:15) in her heat.
In a merge of the eight local teams running Saturday, Glendora (44) and Claremont (44) tie on points with the Tartans getting the nod with the better sixth runner, frosh Taylor Butler (20th/20:23) over junior Danielle Hepperle (21st/20:25). Rowland, led by frosh Courtney Conchola (19:24) was third with 107 points.
Complete meet results are here.
Local Top Ten List and the Complete Merge Results after the jump.
Continue reading Mt.SAC Saturday Girls: Lauren and Tartans Out Front
By Bob Ramsey, on October 26th, 2010 Northview senior Alan Callison was the ESGV’s leader in Friday’s Div. III, IV, & V action at the Mt.SAC Invitational. Callison dropped an almost 2 minute Mt.SAC PR to finish 2nd in his heat with a 15:53 effort. The other top effort in the heats came from Los Altos (83:51) who finished second in their race, led by senior Andy Lopez (11th/16:29).
 Los Altos' Andy Lopez Damien and South Hills represented the ESGV in the big Div. III Sweepstakes race. The Spartans, despite the illness of a usual scorer, turned in the best effort with an 11th place, 82:25 finish, led by senior John Garcia (15:56) – his first trip under 16:00, and junior Tom Ebiner (15:58). South Hills struggled a bit, with frequent team leader Johnny Flores finishing poorly with what turned out to be a season ending knee injury. The Huskies were 15th in 83:37, with senior Christian Sanchez (30th/16:01) as their top man.
Webb were 14th/89:13 in the Div. V Sweeps, led by Baily Stockdale (16:21).
Complete results are here.
In a merge of the 18 Div. III, IV, & V teams from ESGV, Damien (50) came out on top, followed by Los Altos (67) and South Hills (71).
ESGV Top 10 and Complete Merge after the jump. Continue reading Mt.SAC Friday Boys: Callison breaks Through — Damien is Best
By Bob Ramsey, on October 26th, 2010  Marissa Scott (c) Bonita soph Marissa Scott continued her climb up the SoCal XC ladder with a win in the strongest DIII girls heat at Mt.SAC, running a strong 18:08. She was followed by equally strong efforts from soph Lexie Jackson (18:53) and frosh Mikayla Flores (19.10), who was still struggling with a lingering injury, and the team was third in a Bearcat record 97.06 – tops of all the SGV teams on the weekend.
In the other heats, Los Altos (102:46), led by Nicolette Garcia (19.59) were second in their DIII heat, while Bishop Amat senior Illiana Velazquez ran a big 19:24 PR to finish 6th in her heat.
Three local teams competed in the prestigious DIII Team Sweepstakes, with South Hills coming out the best with a 9th place, 98:24 finish. The Huskies were led by a number of strong runs, most notably 19:09 (and 1:36pr) effort from junior Alex Borunda and senior Vianca Holguin’s 19:13.  St. Lucy’s (103:28)  and Rosemead (103:46) were not at their best, finishing 15th and 16th in the field. The Regents were led by senior Taylor Hebb (19:34) while Kelly Luc (19.56) was the top Panther.
In a merge, in which only the times of the 15 ESGV are combined as if they were running in the same race, Bonita (43) just edged out South Hills (45) with Los Altos (104) third.
Complete meet results are here.
Local Top Ten and the Complete Scores of the merge after the jump Continue reading Mt.SAC Friday Girls: Marissa Wins & Bearcats with their Best
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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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With the title on the line, both teams stepped up with, splitting the first seven spots between them. Azusa’s duo of Kevin Ontiveros (16:34) and Alfredo Orozco (16:36) were first across the line, along with Ernesto Castro (5th/17:13). The Warriors were led by Chris Castillo (3rd/16:58), Victor Mejia (4th/17:06), Brian Covarruvias (6th/17:31) and Arturo Garcia (7th/17:34). With so much quality up front, the meet and the championship was going to come down to the number 5 men, so it was John Ramos’ 17:59 11th place finish and the team’s 1:01 gap that brought home the title for La Puente.
