Gaudreau, St. Margaret's make it two in a row at CIF Finals

WALNUT - For the second consecutive season, senior Billy Gaudreau and the St. Margaret’s boys cross country team were without equal against the top Southern Section teams in Division 5.

They will now look to complete a dominant season with a successful state championship defense next week.

Gaudreau won his second consecutive individual CIF title to lead the Tartans to their second straight team title at the CIF-SS Divisional Finals on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

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OCVarsity Hot Shots: Championship Saturday

Boys results from the CIF Finals

Girls results from the CIF Finals

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“We’ve worked hard since summer and been running strong all season,” said Gaudreau. “We set our goals since the beginning of the season and were happy to run well here.”

Gaudreau took control of the race early and separated himself from the lead pack when he crossed the mile mark in 4:41.

He continued to build upon the lead into the second mile, and by the time he scaled Reservoir Hill (the final climb on the course) had built an insurmountable lead. He cruised the rest of the way to win in a time of 15:01. 

“The plan was for me to run the same race I ran at the Mt. SAC Invitational,” said Gaudreau, who won his race at the Mt. Sac Invitational last month. “If the race was fast, I knew that our team would know what to do.”

The Tartans, who have been the top-ranked Division 5 team in the state since the beginning of the season, dominated the team battle. Senior Paul Brenneman finished second behind Gaudreau in a time of 15:19, with junior Brandon Price coming in fifth place with a time of 15:49.

St. Margaret’s (45 points) had all five scoring runners finish in the top 30, easily outdistancing itself from runner-up Chadwick (136 points) and third place Flintridge Prep (141 points).

“The beauty of this team is that they are motivated, and not only work hard, but work smart,” said Tartans co-coach Rob Lakeman.

Sage Hill (176 points) finished fifth in the race to advance to the state meet.

El Toro senior Kevin Durham had the county’s best individual time among all five divisions. Durham trailed several runners after ascending Reservoir Hill, but used a final surge to finish third in the Division 1 race in a time of 14:56.

“I haven’t run this course all season and went out conservatively,” said Durham. “I was hurting on the hills early on in the race, but opened it up at the end, and let the downhill take me.”

Trabuco Hills was the top county team in Division 1, finishing fourth with 125 points. The Chargers (135 points) and Dana Hills (139 points) finished fifth and sixth respectively. All three will compete in the Division 1 state final.

Qualifying for the state meet as an individual was Marina junior Richie Soto, who finished 10th in a time of 15:07.

In Division 2, Godinez junior Jose Penaloza (14:57) advanced to the state final with a second place finish to Golden Valley senior Kristian Martinez (14:54).

“My goal was to get first place, but finish second and getting to the state meet feels good,” said Penaloza.

Tesoro senior Kyler Fisk (15:14), Esperanza senior Amar Dholakia (15:21), and Valencia senior Benji Preciado (15:21) all placed in the top 10 and also advanced into the state finals.

The Titans, along with Glendora and Saugus, tied for the final state meet qualifying berth. But Glendora won the spot due to better finish of the sixth place runner (80-93-94).

Brea Olinda will return to the state meet in Division 3, as the Wildcats (158 points) finished in fourth place. Senior Cody Nguyen had the county’s top time in the division, placing 10th in a time of 15:26.

San Juan Hills senior Brandon Pugh (15:27) and Buena Park junior Gilbert Solorza (15:29) qualified as an individuals for the state meet.

JSerra was the lone county team to advance in Division 4, as the Lions (181 points) finished sixth.