The fans who arrived early at the Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational on Saturday were treated to a memorable effort by some of the county’s top boys distance runners.
In the meet-opening Eric Hulst 3,200 meters, Dana Hills senior Mason Coppi finished first in a time of 9:03, clipping JSerra’s Andrew Burkhardt by less than a second.
“I actually didn’t think that I was going to win,” said Coppi. “(Burkhardt) passed me around 200 (meters to go), and I thought that was pretty much the end of the race. At the last 100, I just got a burst of energy, and I realized that I could pass him.”
Dana Hills’ Jake Ogden and Jack Landgraf placed third and fourth, respectively. The top four finishers ran under 9:08. Only seven runners accomplished that feat in the CIF State finals last year.
San Juan Hills’ Katie Camarena (11:01) took the girls’ side of the Eric Hulst Invitational, edging El Dorado’s Lucina Vincent (11:03). Dana Hills’ Kathryn Kaloroumakis was third in 11:05.
“There were a lot of faster girls in it, so I knew it was going to be tough,” Camarena said. “My (personal record) was 11:25, so to come back with an 11:01 today was really exciting.”
ANDREW TURNER,
Contributing writer
The early-season speed shown by Edison’s girls swimming team could be important Thursday as the No. 4 Chargers open the Sunset League against No. 9 Los Alamitos.
The Chargers, the reigning league champion, plays host to the Griffins at 3 p.m.
Edison captured the Millikan Southern Section Relays on Saturday night.
Los Alamitos was the league runner-up last season, but the Sunset also boasts No. 10 Fountain Valley and improved Newport Harbor and Marina.
“Sunset (League) is going to be one of the toughest in a long time,” Edison coach Diggy Riley said.
Edison dueled with Newport Harbor, Long Beach Poly and Los Alamitos to claim the Millikan Southern Section Relays.
The Chargers captured three of the seven races to score 248 points, outdistancing Newport Harbor at 220.
Edison’s 400-yard freestyle relay of Nora Deleske, Samantha Le, Katie Lightle and Taylor Newton blazed a winning time of 3 minutes, 34.70 seconds. The time was less than a second off Tesoro’s runner-up 3:33.97 at the Mission Viejo Invitational on Saturday.
The Chargers also rallied after Newport Harbor opened with a sizzling 51.83 leadoff by freshman Ayla Spitz and a 53.30 split from her twin sister, Zoe.
Edison won the Southern Section relays and finished third at the Mt. SAC Winterfest behind Carondelet of Concord and Glendora on March 12.
“I’m pretty thrilled how we’re swimming right off the bat,” Riley said. …
Crean Lutheran state champion diver Colten Young, who won the Mission Viejo Invitational, is now training with Trojan Dive Club at USC. …
Melanie Salgado of Pacifica and Segerstrom’s David Khu and Christian Sanchez were double-winners at the Savanna Invitational on Saturday. La Habra won the boys competition.
DAN ALBANO
BOYS GOLFJSerra coach Brian Schippel turned the Lions’ boys golf team into a project when he arrived at the school in 2006, steadily building a foundation season after season that could one day turn the program into a contender in the Trinity League.
In the beginning, he only had 12 players to use in his lineup, just enough for a JV and varsity team. Now, he has a pool of 40 golfers to choose from, and a fitness and mental coach, too, that he can use to shape the Lions into CIF championship contender.
We are trying to make sure that our kids have every opportunity to succeed,” Schippel said. “We are giving them every chance that we can.”
What he is doing is clearly working. Just two weeks after the Lions won the JSerra Tournament for the year in a row, they posted the second-lowest score in school history during a 17-stroke victory against St. John Bosco at Los Amigos Golf Course.
Blake Gaarenstroom, Nicholas Grover and Christian Schrodt each posted a 1-under-par 35 to help the Lions shoot a 178, meaning they finished 2 under par as a team in the triumph.
It was the first time the Lions posted a score in the 170s since they set the school record with a 177 during their first-ever victory against Mater Dei three years ago.
“(In 2007) they threw us in the Trinity League, and all of the schools have established programs and they do a great job,” Schippel said. “It is a lot of fun for us now because we can compete, and we actually have a chance to win when we tee it up.”
DAMIAN DOTTORE
