FRESNO It was not his best hour, best day or even his best week.
It was, however, his best year. And the same went for Austin Tamagno’s Brea Olinda teammates.
Having impressed with low times and big victories all season, Tamagno gutted through a week-long illness and his Brea teammates offered great support. The Wildcats avenged a heartbreaking loss from last year to win the first state title in school history Saturday in the CIF-State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.
Tamagno won the Division 3 race in 15 minutes, 9 seconds, and Brea, the season-long No. 1 in the state in Division 3, won with 75 points, 13 better than second-place Agoura. Both feats were the only victories of the day for Orange County runners and teams, who saw of slew of near misses.
“I’m proud,” said Tamagno, who set the course record at Mt. SAC earlier this season. “I just didn’t run as fast as I wanted to. There were guys close to me – it was kind of scary.”
Tamagno was eight seconds better than runner-up Steve Sum of Saratoga. He was backed up by teammates Austin Shellito (sixth, 15:29), Gio Orellana (13th, 15:36) and Angel Escobar (21st, 15:46) as the Wildcats put an upset loss to Jurupa Hills of Fontana last year firmly in the rear-view mirror.
The performance – Brea’s team time of 78:13 was the third fastest of the day – earned the Wildcats an invite to next week’s Nike Cross Nationals meet in Portland, Ore.
“It’s super fulfilling,” Brea Olinda coach Jeremy Mattern said. “ I’m incredibly proud of these guys. This was the one race these guys really cared about this year.
“We knew this season was not going to be complete unless we won,” he added later, “and that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.”
Two second-place performances stood out as coming oh-so-close.
The first came from Capistrano Valley’s girls in the Division 2, who fell by 11 points to Saugus, which rallied in the third mile for the victory. Junior Ashley Licata paced the Cougars by finishing 11th in 18:13 – and their 39-second spread among scorers nearly was enough to hold on to win.
Coach Ken Sayles said Saugus coaches told him beforehand that if Capo Valley ran strong, it would win. It almost did.
“Competing with a program like Saugus as well as the depth of this division is a great thrill,” Sayles said. “To know that people appreciate the level that our program is at is a great joy.”
Dana Hills almost survived a wild, third-mile shootout in the Division 1 boys race. Expected to be in a four-team race between Great Oak of Temecula, Burroughs of Burbank, and Madera South, Dana Hills wound up second behind a Great Oak team that itself rallied for an estimated 25 points in the final mile.
Great Oak scored 101 to Dana Hills’ 107. Madera South and Burroughs each tallied 109. A team time comparison revealed only a 13-second differential between the four teams.
“It’s crazy,” said Dana Hills junior Jake Ogden, who finished third behind winner Phillip Rocha (14:58) of Arcadia and runner-up Robert Brandt (15:07) of Loyola. “It becomes about who can hang on the most.”
The county’s other second-place finish came from Tesoro junior Amanda Gehrich, who went from fourth at last week’s section finals to second to Redondo Union’s Amber Gore here in 17:31. It was impressive, particularly noting the depth in the D-2 race.
“I just decided to go out with the front pack and stay with them,” said Gehrich, who said her goal was top three. “I felt good the entire race.”
