HUNTINGTON BEACH – Ashley Geisler had an extra dose of inspiration as she prepared to compete in the Trinity League Finals.
Her grandfather passed away just before the state meet the previous year, and Geisler desperately wanted to honor him with a third individual league crown.
Geisler made her wish come true, as she beat the field by 36 seconds to lead JSerra to its fifth consecutive Trinity League title.
“I ran with a purpose. That was for my grandpa,” she said. “This year I really wanted to dedicate (the race) to him.”
Geisler’s time of 18:04 paced the Lions. Tori Yanco, McKayla Giacobetti, Charlotte Owen, and Skylar Giacobetti rounded out the scoring quintet as the Lions topped Santa Margarita, 32-55, in the girls meet.
St. John Bosco made history in the boys meet, setting a CIF-SS record across all sports with their 21st straight league title.
Andrew Burkhardt finished in 15:03 to give JSerra a sweep of the individual championships.
JSerra coach Marty Dugard had high praise for Burkhardt.
“Having one of my guys win the individual title today is a little bit sweeter because we’re used to Bosco always winning those races,” he said. “Andrew is terrified of losing. If you put him in a competitive situation, he will challenge you every time.”
Mater Dei finished second to St. John Bosco (40) with 62 points. Michael Hulme had the top time for the Monarchs with a 15:31.
JSerra was a close third with 68 points.
TRINITY LEAGUE FINALS
At Central Park, Huntington Beach; 3.0 miles
Boys
Team Results: 1. St. John Bosco 40, 2. Mater Dei 62, 3. JSerra 68, 4. Servite 81, 5. Orange Lutheran 83, 6. Santa Margarita 178.
Individual Results: 1. Burkhardt (JS) 15:03, 2. Estrada (SJB) 15:14, 3. Barrios (SJB) 15:26, 4. Hulme (MD) 15:31, 5. Mariconda (JS) 15:32, 6. Miller (OL) 15:44.7, 7. Sotelo (SJB) 15:45.9, 8. Adams (MD) 16:05.8, 9. Barajas (Serv) 16:12.6, 10. Romanenko (Serv) 16:13.7
Girls
Team Results: 1. JSerra 32, 2. Santa Margarita 55, 3. Mater Dei 56, 4. Rosary 88, 5. Orange Lutheran 106
Individual Results: 1. Geisler (JS) 18:04.6, 2. Yanco (JS) 18:40.5, 3. Shulman (SM) 18:45.3, 4. Odgers (SM) 18:54.6, 5. Caya (Ros) 18:59.2, 6. Peabody (MD) 19:31.0, 7. Bartyczak (MD) 19:35.1, 8. Giacobetti (JS) 19:36.3, 9. Segovia (SM) 19:39.1, 10. Owen (JS) 19:45.1
