HUNTINGTON BEACH – Mission Viejo entered the season as one of the favorites to take the Orange County Championships on the girls side.
The runners-up from a year ago have gotten stronger, thanks to the growth of their distance program.
Freshman Kelli Hines swept the 1,600 and 3,200 for Mission Viejo, which delivered a strong showing in the Beach Cities Invitational on Saturday at Huntington Beach High.
Diablos coach Chase Frazier said that his team is always looking to perform above its rank. Since the Diablos are ranked first in the county, he knows it’s up to them to validate the position. That started last week with a dominant performance against No. 7 Trabuco Hills in a dual meet.
“The big start of that was at Trabuco, winning all 16 events in the dual meet,” Frazier said. “It showed us what we can do and what we need to continue to do. We know that being ranked high in the beginning of the season doesn’t mean anything unless you continue improving.”
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Top finishers at Beach Cities (boys and girls)
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In November, the Diablos won their first cross country league title since 1998. The arrival of three promising freshman – Hines, Morgan Calcagnie, and Emma Hicken – greatly contributed to that effort. They have helped Mission Viejo become an all-around track and field team.
The Diablos won seven of the 16 events in Saturday’s meet. Known commodities such as sprinter Kennedy Gillian and thrower Ciera Williams did their part. Gillian won the 200 (25.0 seconds) and 400 (56.32). Williams set a personal record with a county-leading mark of 40 feet, 3 inches.
Mission Viejo’s Hannah Duarte and Taylor Arco added victories in the triple jump and the 800, respectively.
The first goal of the Diablos is a county crown, which they missed by 11 points last year.
Newport Harbor’s Hope Bender set the county record in the intermediate hurdles (42.18) at the 2015 state preliminaries. Following her graduation, the Sailors turned to Emma Kratzberg to fill the void. The senior stepped up Saturday, winning the event with a lifetime-best 43.38.
Canyon’s Rachel Baxter and Alexis Turley-Young earned victories in the pole vault and high hurdles, respectively.
In the boys meet, Esperanza’s Bronson Osborn continued to impress. His high mark in the shot put was 69 feet, 11/2 inches.
Marina’s Jett Gordon has yet to be defeated in pole vault. He cleared the bar at 15 feet, 7 inches to win. On Thursday, he broke the school record at 16 feet, 9 inches.
