ORANGE- With one well-timed surge just before the finish line, Blaize Bostwick-Pope not only claimed an exciting individual victory, but sparked Laguna Hills to a first place team finish at the Sea View League Preview Meet Wednesday at Irvine Regional Park.
“I told the team before the race that if you feel like slowing down, keep running for your brothers,” Bostwick-Pope said. “Our team showed guts to run through the rain and the win does a lot for us.”
Aliso Niguel’s Logan Stites, Capistrano Valley’s Jacob King, and Bostwick-Pope were among the leaders midway into the first mile as a heavy downpour descended onto the course.
Stites and King opened up an advantage over Bostwick-Pope in the second mile and were nearly stride for stride as they vied for the lead approaching the turn before the final hill of the course.
Stites held a slim advantage over King coming off the hill, but Bostwick-Pope, who had closed on the leaders going up the hill, timed his final burst perfectly and sprinted past both King and Stites as they came toward the finish line.
“At the hill, I was able to make up all but about 50 meters on them,” Bostwick-Pope said. “They looked like they were slowing down, and I knew if I started my kick at the right time, I would have enough to beat them.”
He crossed the finish line in a winning time of 15:30. Stites (15:33.0) finished second, with King (15:33.7) coming in third.
Bostwick-Pope’s late rally into first place proved to be crucial in the team competition. Laguna Hills (4-0 overall head to head record) edged second place Aliso Niguel (3-1) by one point in their head to head match-up to secure first place.
Mission Viejo was third with a 2-2 overall record.
The girls’ race also produced a tight finish. Laguna Hills’ Marissa Bartello, El Toro’s Camila Turati, and Aliso Niguel’s Brenna Wyson battled for the lead as the three runners approached the final hill. Wyson held a slim lead coming off the hill, but Bartello surged one final time as the runners made their way to toward the finish line and won in a time of 18:02.
“No matter what the conditions were, I knew that I had to stay in the front pack for my team,” Bartello said. “The hill was a challenge, but I really wanted this win and in the end, I was kicking and giving it all I had.”
Turati (18:04.1) was second, with Wyson (18:04.7) claiming third place.
The Hawks finished with a 4-0 head-to-head record, as they had three runners place among the top six finishers. Aliso Niguel, which had three runners in the top 10, was second with a head-to-head record of 3-1.
El Toro was third with a 2-2 overall mark.
