RIVERSIDE – Second was best for Orange County boys teams in the CIF-Southern Section Finals at the Riverside City Cross Country Course on Saturday.
Dana Hills, Brea Olinda and JSerra each collected runner-up honors in their divisions to lead the seven county teams and six O.C. individuals that qualified for the CIF State Meet next weekend in Fresno.
Dana Hills junior Jack Landgraf was again the county’s top runner with a fourth-place time of 14:50 in a tight Division 1 pack. Landgraf’s race wasn’t enough to topple a dominant Great Oak of Temecula squad that captured the team title, 62-102.
Valencia will send its first representative to Fresno since 2012 and first team since 2010 after jumping up to a sixth-place finish in Division 1.
“No quit, at all,” Valencia coach Brandon Frank said. “They’ve been committed to each other. Seeing the ranking kind of drop and drop and drop as the season went on, we felt like we’re working hard. We really used that as motivation.”
Stuart Kendall of Foothill nabbed the last individual qualifying spot in Division 1 by just a two-second margin in his ninth-place finish of 14:55. It was his eighth top-10 finish this season.
“It was a really packed race,” Kendall said. “It was a far shot to make it, but I’m happy that I did. I think I deserve it.”
In Division 2, Mission Viejo took fifth place as the lone county team to qualify.
Alexis Garcia of Newport Harbor (15:06) and Canyon senior Dalton Tanner (15:07) took the fourth and fifth individual qualifying spots in 10th and 11th place.
“I knew I had to give everything I had to try and be in the top 20 to qualify,” Tanner said. “It’s as good as I could have hoped for, really.”
Tanner took the last qualifying spot by three seconds.
Brea Olinda’s streak of three straight CIF-SS titles was snapped, but the Wildcats still took home a plaque in Division 3 for second place. Crestview League champion Daniel Perez sat out the race due to sickness and preparation for state.
“We went into it knowing we were shorthanded,” Brea Olinda coach Bruno Morlan said. “In the end, we’re prioritizing next week over this week. Second place is a great place to be.”
Jacob Smith of Pacifica (15:10) also qualified in Division 3 in 10th place.
JSerra, ranked first in state Division 4 and second in CIF-SS, battled Foothill Technology, ranked third in state Division 4 and first in CIF-SS, but settled for second, 50-98.
Crean Lutheran and Elliot Hachac of Costa Mesa also qualified in Division 4.
In Division 5, St. Margaret’s qualified in fifth and Ben White (15:10) became Whittier Christian’s first state qualifier in 13th place.
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CIF-SS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, At Riverside City Course, 3 miles
BOYS
Division 1
Team results: 1. Great Oak 62; 2. Dana Hills, 102; 3. Roosevelt 114; 4. Arroyo Grande 229; 5. California 245; 6. Valencia 251; 7. Newbury Park 252
Individual results: 1. Comeaux, Redondo Union, 14:43; 2. Fitzgerald, Crescenta Valley, 14:44; 3. Rutherford, Rancho Cucamonga, 14:48; 4. Landgraf, Dana Hills, 14:50; 5. Fountain, Great Oak, 14:52; Also qualified: 7. Riley, Rancho Cucamonga, 14:53; 9. Kendall, Foothill, 14:55
Division 2
Team results: 1. Ventura 98; 2. Mira Costa 127; 3. Loyola 143; 5. Mission Viejo 201; 6. West Ranch 219; 7. Saugus 259
Individual results: 1. Kahn, Ayala, 14:48; 2. Bishop, Claremont, 14:51; 3. Llorin, Mira Costa, 14:52; 4. Opsahl, Redlands East Valley, 14:57; 5. Holston, Serrano, 14:58.4; Also qualified: 10. Garcia, Newport Harbor, 15:06; 11. Tanner, Canyon, 15:07
Division 3
Team results: 1. West Torrance 70; 2. Brea Olinda 117; 3. Paso Robles 148; 4. Baldwin Park 172; 5. Cathedral 184; 6. St. John Bosco 195; 7. Sultana 203
Individual results: 1. Gonzalez, Rubidoux, 14:36; 2. Ramos, Rubidoux, 14:39; 3. Berti, Paso Robles, 14:42; 4. Bix, West Torrance, 14:48; 5. Ramirez, Sultana, 14:49; Also qualified: 10. Smith, Pacifica, 15:10; 12. Beckum, Bonita, 15:12; 15. Botten, Royal, 15:15
Division 4
Team results: 1. Foothill Technology 50; 2. JSerra 98; 3. San Luis Obispo 131; 4. Harvard Westlake 173; 5. Crean Lutheran 208; 6. Oaks Christian 208; 7. Granite Hills 261
Individual results: 1. Bolger, San Luis Obispo, 14:26; 2. Rodriguez, Foothill Technology, 14:56; 3. Garcia, Salesian, 15:06; 4. Grover, JSerra, 15:19; 5. Elliot Hachac, Costa Mesa, 15:23; Also qualified: 7. Acosta, Lompoc, 15:25; 16. Ramirez, Bassett, 15:45; 18. Arrelano, Bishop Amat, 15;46
Division 5
Team results: 1. Desert Christian/Lancaster 74; 2. Valley Christian/Cerritos 79; 3. Flintridge Prep 83; 4. Thacher 159; 5. St. Margaret’s 180; 6. Campbell Hall 229; 7. Xavier Prep 264
Individual results: 1. Pattinelli, Flintridge Prep, 15:10; 2. Biehl, Desert Christian, 15:20; 3. Mitchell, Desert Christian, 15:23; 4. Vreeke, Valley Christian, 15:23; 5. Van Schendel, Cate, 15:24; Also qualified: 6. Shively, Pasadena Poly, 15:26; 7. Bradford, Woodcrest Christian, 15:29; 13. White, Whittier Christian, 15:50; 14. Huang, Webb, 15:51
GIRLS
Division 1
Team results: 1. Great Oak 30; 2. Dana Hills 125; 3. Arcadia 128; 4. Yucaipa 179; 5. Vista Murrieta 180; 6. El Toro 245; 7. M.L. King 271
Individual results: 1. C. Arriaga, Walnut, 16:47; 2. Peuirfoy, M.L. King, 16:56; 3. Belus, Great Oak, 17:07; 4. Rice, Great Oak, 17:08; 5. Virtue, Burroughs, 17:09; Also qualified: 7. E. Arriaga, Walnut, 17:10; 10. Von Scherr, La Quinta/La Quinta, 17:18; 15. Gaitan, Yucaipa, 17:34; 16. Penn, Centennial/Corona, 17:35
Division 2
Team results: 1. Claremont 96; 2. Canyon 143; 3. San Marcos 186; 4. Ventura 194; 5. Mira Costa 203; 6. Capistrano Valley 203; 7. Saugus 219
Individual results: 1. Chittenden, Mira Costa, 16:49; 2. Schroeder, San Marcos, 16:53; 3. Bautista, Capistrano Valley, 16:57; 4. Adler, Northwood, 16:58; 5. Almanza, Channel Islands, 17:00; Also qualified: 12. Graves, Citrus Valley, 15. Ramirez, Ayala, 17:32; 16. Gonzalez, Woodbridge, 17:34
Division 3
Team results: 1. Palos Verdes 37; 2. Esperanza 104; 3. Laguna Hills 136; 4. Corona del Mar 158; 5. Royal 196; 6. Moorpark 210; 7. Oak Park 243
Individual results: 1. Genovese, Palos Verdes, 17:19; 2. Cruz-Albrecht, Oak Park, 17:28; 3. Diaz, Norwalk, 17:35; 4. Powers, Corona del Mar, 17:37; 5. Dholakia, Esperanza, 17:47; Also qualified: 6. Leos, Western, 17:47; 7. Meedler, Paso Robles, 17:49; 10. Galindo, Norwalk, 17:58; 11. Shulman, Santa Margarita, 18:00
Division 4
Team results: 1. JSerra 81; 2. Foothill Technology 100; 3. Bishop Amat 146; 4. Mayfield 160; 5. El Segundo 224; 6. Harvard Westlake 234; 7. Covina 236
Individual results: 1. Lane, Malibu, 16:30; 2. Tabrizi, JSerra, 17:23; 3. Paez, Bishop Amat, 17:33; 4. Smith, Mayfield, 17:38; 5. Kearney, Foothill Technology, 17:42; Also qualified: 7. Moro, Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks, 17:50; 8. Nisbet, Atascadero, 17:54; 11. McAllister, Marymount, 18:01; 14. Bergin, Granite Hills, 18:06
Division 5
Team results: 1. Flintridge Prep 31; 2. Pacifica Christian 127; 3. St. Margaret’s 153; 4. Sage Hill 199; 5. Orcutt Academy 201; 6. Bell-Jeff 214; 7. Pasadena Poly
Individual results: 1. Pourmussa, Brentwood, 17:38; 2. O’Brien, Flintridge Prep, 17:44; 3. Codiga, Flintridge Prep; 4. Ledesma, Valley Christian, 18:12; 5. Harper, Mammoth, 18:13; Also qualified: 9. Delgadillo, Hamilton, 18:22; 11. Thompson, Woodcrest Christian, 18:26
