ORANGE-The Trabuco Hills girls cross country team turned the South Coast League Preview Meet into a convincing demonstration of its’ potential against some of the county’s elite teams.
The Mustangs placed five runners in the top 12 to finish with a perfect 4-0 double dual record Tuesday at Irvine Regional Park.
In a competition that featured four of the top 10 teams in the latest county rankings, the Mustangs pack-running execution helped them produce a dominating victory.
The trio of Sabrina Herrmann (17:48), Dominique Regalado (17:53), and Bailee Margolis (17:56) finished fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively, leading Trabuco Hills to a meet-best 30 second scoring gap.
“We made sure that we ran smart and as a pack,” Herrmann said. “We didn’t get caught up with what the other teams were doing.”
The Mustangs won each of their head to head competitions against the other four schools by eight points or more.
“We don’t want this race to be the pinnacle of our season, and going forward, we have to get back to work and train,” Mustangs director of cross country Liam Clemons said.
No. 6 San Clemente had four scoring runners in the top 16 and finished second behind Trabuco Hills with a 3-1 head to head record.
Dana Hills had four scoring runners in the top 20 and finished third with a 2-2 record.
Capistrano Valley, which entered the meet ranked No.1 in the county and in CIF-SS Division 1, was fourth with a record of 1-3.
San Clemente’s Melissa Eisele took home the individual victory with a strong overall race. She opened a small lead midway through the first mile and was able to extend it over the final two miles, clocking a winning time of 17:16.
“I felt really good and aerobic during the whole race,” Eisele said. “This win makes me feel good about the rest of my season and that my training is paying off.”
Tesoro’s Amanda Gehrich (17:35) finished second behind Eisele, with San Clemente’s Kelsey Carroll (17:43) placing third.
In the boys’ race, No. 1 Dana Hills produced a perfect 4-0 head to head record.
The Dolphins had three runners place in the top five and all five scoring runners place amongst the top 15.
“This was our first real test and we just wanted to run as well as we have been training,” Dolphins coach Tim Butler said.
Jake Ogden paced the Dolphins by winning the race in a time of 14:58.
“I’m focused on continuing to train hard, so that later in the season, I can hammer each race,” Ogden said.
El Toro’s Ulysses Orozco (15:01) was second, with Dana Hills’ Gavin Diem (15:08) coming in third place.
The Chargers, ranked No. 5 in the county, finished second to Dana Hills with a 3-1 head to head record. Tesoro (2-2) was third.
