ORANGE- If the Corona del Mar boys’ cross country team is to experience success during the upcoming CIF races, they will have to do so by continuing to rely on the ability to run together.
The Sea Kings displayed their tight knit pack formula Friday and their reward was a league title.
Corona del Mar placed five scoring runners in the top 15, including three in the top five, to win the team title at the Pacific Coast League Finals at Irvine Regional Park.
“We don’t have a No. 1 runner, but our seven man gap has been a big plus for us,” Sea Kings coach Bill Sumner said.
Senior Teddy Parks was the Sea Kings’ highest finisher, coming in third with a time of 15:20. Fellow senior Reid Meckler (15:26) was fourth and junior Spencer Keith (15:37) was fifth
The Sea Kings had a 17-second gap between their top three runners and a 42-second scoring gap overall.
Sumner acknowledged that for the team to advance in CIF and ultimately reach the Division 3 state final, the pack will need to continue to be tight and even faster.
“Having that small gap and getting it to move up is going to be the key for us,” Sumner said. “If we can get five guys to move up around 10 seconds, that could be an extra 50 seconds overall and could help us get to the state meet.”
Woodbridge, which had three runners score in the top 10, finished second with 60 points. Northwood had four runners score in the top 20 and placed third with 67 points.
The individual league title went to Woodbridge junior Jackson Marshall.
Marshall, who won the Division 2 individual title at the Orange County Championships and finished first at last week’s second league preview meet, took the lead early in the race and built a comfortable lead over the first two miles.
Marshall continued his strong effort over the final hill of the course and coming down the final straightaway. He sprinted across the finish line in a time of 14:58 and was the only runner in the race to finish in sub-15 minutes.
“Being the league champion is awesome,” Marshall said. “My plan was to take it out fast and I was really happy with my race. Hopefully CIF will be a success too.”
Fellow Warriors junior Jacob Suiste finished second in a time of 15:14.
