When the sun rises this morning over Fresno, the Brea Olinda boys cross country team hopes it will mark the dawn of a new age for its program.
The Wildcats are seeking their first CIF State title, which could happen at Wooodward Park this morning.
Just as they were when the season began, the Wildcats go into the meet as the state’s top-ranked team in Division 3.
This is not the first time Brea Olinda has entered the meet with a target on its back. The Wildcats arrived in Fresno as the team to beat following their CIF-SS championship in 2013, but Brea Olinda placed second behind Jurupa Hills, 68-83.
This time, Agoura and Palos Verdes are considered the Wildcats’ stiffest competition.
County runners will be exposed to conditions they have rarely encountered this season. The temperature is expected to stay in the low-to-mid 50s until noon.
The state championship course presents its own challenges. An extended incline at the 1.5-mile mark tests the will of the runners for the last mile of the race.
Conditions and course layout aside, the battle for state glory usually depends on a teams’ ability to put together its best performance on the state’s biggest stage.
Capistrano Valley, the county’s No. 1 girls team, finished second, behind Saugus by a 13-point margin, in last week’s sectional finals. Cougars coach Ken Sayles thinks his team has a chance to come out on top today with a strong team effort.
“Our girls have run well up there,” Sayles said of running at the state meet. “We still haven’t completely put our best race together, so we have another chance to do that.”
The JSerra girls saw their streak of four straight CIF-SS titles come to an end last week, but Lions coach Marty Dugard feels his team’s runners have another level left in them. JSerra is hoping to capture a fourth state crown in the last five years.
“Everyone is so sharp right now,” Dugard said. “At this point, any limitations are mental, not physical. If we execute, we will win.”
Ashley Geisler and Tori Yanco have been a solid 1-2 punch for the Lions. JSerra’s fate might rest on the shoulders of Charlotte Owen and the Giacobetti sisters, McKayla and Skylar. The Lions need each runner to chip away a few spots in the running order to compete with Bishop Amat of La Puente and Central Valley Christian of Visalia.
