The CIF State Cross Country Finals aren’t until late November, but several county standouts provided an exciting preview Saturday at the Clovis Invitational.
San Clemente’s Connor Dunne topped all county competitors with a time of 15:32 on the state-championship course. He finished 12th, just in front of Dana Hills’ Mason Coppi, who placed 15th in 15:37.
Dana Hills’ boys placed second behind powerhouse Great Oak of Temecula, 81-117, in a battle of the top two teams in CIF-SS Division 1.
Esperanza’s Shannon Mac Kellar led the county’s girls in the Clovis Invite, crossing the finish line in 18:22 to win the Division 3 race. …
The Orange County Championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Irvine Regional Park. Schools that are in CIF-SS Divisions 3, 4 and 5 will compete on Friday, while Divisions 1, 2 and 3 race Saturday. …
In last week’s mid-week action, Tesoro’s Amanda Gehrich (17:43) won by 23 seconds over San Juan Hills’ Katie Camarena to take the Sea View League Preview. Mission Viejo’s girls came out the team winner, with all five scoring runners finishing in the top 12.
In the South Coast League, Haley Herberg (17:54) and Ashley Licata (17:58) took the top two spots, but it was not enough for injury-plagued Capistrano Valley to keep the depth of Trabuco Hills at bay. Makenna Duda, Natalie Regalado and Trinidee Stewart nabbed the fourth through sixth spots, as Trabuco Hills defeated Dana Hills, 37-53.
Capistrano Valley (57 points) competed without No. 4 runner Kayla Tresser (hip), and Alyssa Bautista did not complete the race after suffering an ankle sprain at Irvine Regional Park. Cougars coach Ken Sayles says Bautista is making progress in her recovery, and she is expected to be ready for the Orange County Championships this weekend.
In the Pacific Coast League, Woodbridge swept the meet. Elizabeth Dahl, Ai Kaisho, and Lora Gonzalez all placed in the top four to lead the Warriors’ girls to victory, 34-46, over Corona del Mar. Northwood’s Samantha Murphy was the individual winner with a time of 17:22.
On the boys side, Ryuya Souther (14:55) crossed the finish line first to lead Woodbridge past Corona del Mar, 38-56.
– ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
GIRLS TENNIS
Having lost a 9-9 heartbreaker on games to rival Santa Margarita three weeks ago, JSerra made the most of its rematch with the Eagles this past Thursday, knocking off the nine-time defending Trinity League champs, 10-8, at JSerra High.
The Lions’ victory was their first over Santa Margarita, and it positioned Coach Kirk Orahood’s squad to capture at least a share of the program’s first league title.
The doubles teams of Samantha Ramirez–Zoe Kaffen and Tovah Stevens–Mary Kaffen swept for JSerra, which notched seven of its 10 points on the doubles side. Jadie Acidera and Macy Stolle combined to earn three crucial points in singles.
Because Santa Margarita and JSerra split their two league meetings, the schools will be recognized as co-Trinity League champs if they both go undefeated the rest of the way. The Lions would go into the postseason as the league’s No. 1 seed, however, as they have the edge in sets won over the two encounters, 19-17.
– KENNY CONNOLLY
BOYS WATER POLO
Marina’s boys water polo team is an underdog in the Sunset League, but the Vikings feature a father-son duo to watch.
First-year coach Tony Karaman arrived in March after one season as an assistant at Fountain Valley. His impressive resume includes a stint as director of the Croatian national team and coaching at the world-renowned Jug-Dubrovnik club in Croatia.
Karaman’s hire also has brought his son, Luka, to Marina as a strong-armed senior. Luka (6-4, 180), who has played for Jug, observed the sit-out period for transfers but made a strong debut last week.
He netted a combined 16 goals in victories against Estancia and Pacifica and added two in a 19-6 loss against No. 5 Huntington Beach in the teams’ Sunset League opener.
Luka had been living with his mother in Europe but spent recent summers competing for the Orange County club. One of his goals is to play collegiate water polo in the United States.
Marina has four other seniors from Croatian, but they’re not eligible, Karaman said …
Corona del Mar finished fourth at the S & R Sport tournament Saturday, giving the Sea Kings two fourth-place finishes in their two tournaments. They lost in the semifinals to Mater Dei and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City.
“We’re improving,” Corona del Mar coach Barry O’Dea said. “We’ve had two good runs (in tournaments). … They’re not scared of anybody any more, which is a good thing.” …
There are a few big matches Wednesday. Harvard-Westlake (13-0), riding a 50-match winning streak, plays at Mater Dei at 6 p.m., while Huntington Beach takes on host Newport Harbor in the Sunset League at 5 p.m.
– DAN ALBANO
GIRLS GOLF
University’s 48-stroke victory against Northwood, 226-178, on Oct. 6 at Strawberry Farms Golf Course was a round for the school’s record book.
Four of University’s five scoring players posted a score in the 30s and they finished 2 under par as a team. Their team score of 178 was the lowest in school history.
Sophomore Samantha Cabunag medaled with a 3-under-par 33, and senior Ellen Takada added a 34. Freshmen Nokoda Honda and Dana Choi fired a 35 and 36.
The Trojans have broken 180 in their last three matches. …
Foothill senior Madie Chou has been selected to the AJGA Scholastic Junior All-America Team with an adjusted 4.99 GPA, the highest among the 12 girls golfers selected. Chou, who tied for second in the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior at Serrano in El Dorado Hills in July, has comitted to Stanford.
– DAMIAN DOTTORE
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Just a couple of days after Mater Dei knocked off Santa Margarita in five sets in a Trinity League match, the teams were headed for a rematch in the semifinals of the Asics California Challege on Saturday in San Diego.
Both teams went 3-0 in their pools, then won their qualifying match Saturday morning, but in the quarterfinals, Santa Margarita lost in three sets to Branson and Mater Dei lost in two sets to Great Oak of Temecula.
The Monarchs and Eagles settled for a fifth-place finish. They will meet Oct. 27 at Santa Margarita.
After pool play, San Clemente ended up in the Silver Division (tied for 13th place). JSerra went to Bronze Division and finished in 19th place. Capistrano Valley and Dana Hills finished tied for 29th in the Competition Division.
– DAMIAN CALHOUN
