SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Titans 'reign' league titles

Eastlake sweeps to first-ever South Bay League cross country championships

To view the Metro Conference cross country results, click here

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 9, 2001 -- When it rains, it pours, at least figuratively. Though no precipitation from the partially overcast skies played havoc on the Rohr Park course at last Friday’s Metro Conference cross country championships, it nevertheless rained league titles — four of them — for the Eastlake Titans.

The Titans ran to league titles in both the boys and girls varsity and boys and girls junior varsity races to produce the first-ever South Bay League championships for the school in the sport.

"I’m just really pleased with the kids. They got better each week. They set the goals and went after them," Eastlake coach Chip Holmes explained. "I’m just excited how solidly they performed all year. It’s just exciting to win the first championship for the school."

Eastlake fended off a strong challenge from last year’s league champion, Castle Park, to out-point the Trojans 38 to 40 to win the girls varsity title while the Titan boys produced the low score of the meet among league teams to settle for a co-championship with regular season dual meet champion Mar Vista in the boys varsity field after out-pointing the Mariners 33 to 41. Both the Eastlake boys and girls junior varsity teams ran to easy victories to secure their place in history.

The top 10 finishers in each league receive all-league honors. The Eastlake girls varsity team placed four all-league runners: Pati Romero, Sylvia Romero, Mercedes Razo and Julia Floresta. Pati Romero was the top finisher in 14th place in the combined conference field, timing 13:57 on the 2.2-mile course.

Last Friday’s rematch with Castle Park was just as tightly contested as was the initial dual encounter between the squads which went 27-29 in the Titans’ favor.

Eastlake’s boys varsity team also finished with four all-league runners: Vernon Ng, Zach Avallone, Jake Cadwell and John Stubbs. Ng finished 16th in the conference field, third overall in the South Bay League field, in 16:54, followed by Avallone in 20th place in 17:05, fourth overall in league. It was up to the Titans’ fifth runner, Manuel Celedon, to secure the league co-title by finishing ahead of Mar Vista’s fourth runner.

The boys JV race was less climactic as Eastlake finished with eight all-league runners: Arturo Macias, Saul Vasquez, Arturo Avina, Jordan Brown, James Ridgeway, Miguel Lopez, Rodrigo Flores and Ryan Ortega. Macias was the Titans’ top finisher in 17th place in the combined conference field.

Eastlake’s JV girls team boasted the top three individuals: Leticia Flores, Lauren Dodds and Priscilla Fernandez. Flores won the race in 15:04.

Each league determines its champion on a 50-50 weighted split of dual meet and conference finals scoring. Besides the South Bay League boys title, the Mesa League boys title also ended in a co-championship as Chula Vista defeated Bonita Vista last Friday to make amends for an earlier dual meet loss to the Barons.

The boys varsity race was easily the most hotly contested of the four races.

Mar Vista sophomore Troy Swier took the lead after the north straightaway and finished with a 30-second margin of victory with a fast time of 15:38 on the 3.1-mile course to earn honors as the South Bay League Runner of the Year. Chula Vista senior Andres Padilla was the top Mesa League finisher in 16:08 in the runner-up position.

The Spartans secured the co-championship by out-pointing Bonita Vista 37 to 41. Led by Padilla’s second-place overall finish, Chula Vista totaled four of the top 15 conference finishers and three of the top eight, posting three of the Mesa League’s top six place-finishing positions, including two of the top three, to earn the critical low points necessary to pull out the win. Ironically, the Barons actually placed all their five scorers in front of Chula Vista’s fourth man but came up short in the scoring department. The ability of the Spartans to put their top three runners ahead of Bonita Vista’s top two finishers proved the difference in the outcome.

CV’s Ysmael Miranda was fourth in the overall finish in 16:18, trailing the Barons’ top finisher, sophomore Ryan Becijos, in 16:11. The Spartans’ five scorers were rounded out by Eduardo Mariscal (eighth, 16:39), Jesus Mariscal (15th, 16:53) and Daniel Medrano (17th, 16:55). Senior Sven Meza (ninth, 16:40), junior Nick Amalfitano (11th, 16:45) and sophomores James Serratos (13th, 16:46) and Julian Zamora (14th, 16:47) rounded out Bonita Vista’s five scorers.

The Spartans, almost to a man, pointed to unity and teamwork as key elements in forging the league co-championship.

"Just putting it together and never giving up. It worked," said Padilla, who serves as one of the team’s three co-captains along with senior teammates Miranda and Apolinar Mariscal.

"We just went out and took care of business," Miranda added to which Mariscal responded, "We feel great. I knew we were going to win. We worked hard. We’re a team."

The Spartans prevailed in the race despite a loose shoe suffered by Apolinar Mariscal in the first mile that forced him to stop and replace the footwear item. He finished as the team’s sixth runner in 22nd place in 17:14 and likely lost as much as 30 seconds in the process.

In the head-to-head dual encounter on Oct. 25, Bonita Vista defeated Chula Vista 27-28 in a race decided in the final straightaway sprint on the same Rohr Park course.

The jumble created by runners from all 10 conference schools competing in one race (and later sorted out by league finish) helped make identifying desired targets to pass more difficult. The packed field also required runners to expend more energy to move around runners not only from one’s own league but the other league in the full conference field as opposed to regular season dual meets when runners usually race against only one or two other schools and can easily keep track of opponents on the course.

Whether or not the packed field had any direct outcome on last Friday’s league finals, all the teams had to deal with it. Conditions will be even more adverse conditions in Friday’s San Diego Section divisional championship meet at Morley Field when races will be contested in five enrollment divisions, with some divisions totaling as many as 22 schools. Chula Vista, in particular, is looking to the division meet as a possible stepping-stone to the state finals Nov. 24 in Fresno. The top two teams in each division receive automatic berths in the state meet and the Spartans feel they may have been underestimated in this year’s weekly polls. Chula Vista finished third in the Division I standings in the prestigious Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach last month.

"We’ve beaten those teams before that are ranked in the top 10. We’ll make something happen," Padilla said.

For Swier, a run at an individual championship may be on call at today’s divisional meet.

"It’s a great feeling. I’m glad I could experience it," he said after winning last Friday’s race and earning recognition as the South Bay League Runner of the Year after finishing fourth in the conference field as a freshman.

Bonita Vista junior Kristen Gonzalez won her second consecutive Mesa League girls individual title by finishing on top of the field with a personal-best time of 12:52. She was one of four Barons to place among the top eight individuals in the conference and one of five Bonita Vista runners to earn all-league honors by posting top 10 league finishes.

"The team supported me. They helped me uphold the title," she said.

Gonzalez led teammate Tiffany Caddell (second, 13:02) across the finish line. The Barons’ Morgane Sigaud was fourth in 13:11 behind Chula Vista’s Sophia Marquez (third, 13:09). Bonita Vista’s Kate Branson was eighth in 13:30 while the Barons’ fifth runner, Kayleigh Knudson, was 11th in 13:35.

Castle Park junior Mandy Johnson, who also set a personal record on the course with her time of 13:19, earned the South Bay League girls Runner of the Year title by finishing sixth overall in the conference field — 24 seconds ahead of teammate Ana Melvin, Johnson’s nearest league challenger for the honor. "It’s all about determination and willpower," Johnson said.

CV’s Padilla echoed similar feelings in claiming the Mesa League boys Runner of the Year title. "It was all about how bad I wanted it. The opportunity was there. I wanted it. I ran the competition," he said.

Bonita Vista captured both the boys and girls junior varsity Mesa League championships. In the boys JV race, the Barons placed five of the top 10 individuals, led by winner Michael Valdez in 17:00. Joining Valdez on the all-league team were teammates Ryan Groth (third, 17:03), Justin Hillery (fifth, 17:18), Jared Purkey (eighth, 17:29) and Daniel Valdez (10th, 17:43). In the girls JV race, Bonita Vista posted the top five finishing positions, led by winner Angel Torres (14:06) and followed by Dolores Rodriguez (second, 14:37), Shannon Gray (third, 14:41), Kelly Milliken (fourth, 14:43) and Evelyn Andrade (fifth, 14:50).

Impressive individual finishes were turned in by Sweetwater’s Edgar Llanez (fifth boys varsity, fourth Mesa League), Hilltop’s Claudio Melvin (sixth varsity boys, second South Bay League), Montgomery junior Yenissa Kaeg (fifth varsity girls, fifth Mesa League) and Hilltop’s Selina Munoz (13th varsity girls, third South Bay League).

CIF notepad

Friday’s division finals start at 10 a.m. The Division I girls race is scheduled at 12:20 p.m., followed by the Division II boys race at 12:55 p.m. The Division I boys race is scheduled at 2:05 p.m., followed by the Division II girls race at 2:40 p.m. The Division IV races, in which Marian Catholic will compete, are scheduled for 10 a.m. (girls) and 11:10 a.m. (boys). Bonita Vista, Chula Vista, Sweetwater, Montgomery and Southwest will all compete in the Division I field; Eastlake, Hilltop, Castle Park and Mar Vista will compete in the Division II field.

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