Trabuco Hills leads the way at CIF prelims
WALNUT - Even without the famed hills of the traditional Mt. SAC cross country course, the Trabuco Hills Mustangs (74:21) qualified for the section finals with the best overall team time among all county teams at the CIF-SS Divisional Preliminaries Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.
The qualifying meet was switched to the alternate Mt. Sac “rain course” because of heavy rains overnight saturating the usual course. Though measured at the same official distance of the standard course (2.91 miles), the rain course was flat and didn’t feature any challenging hills.
Trabuco Hills, the county’s top-ranked boys cross country team throughout the season, placed four runners in the top 15 and won its qualifying heat easily over second place Long Beach Poly (54-82).
Senior Jared Hazlett (14:30) was the top Mustangs runners, placing third in the heat.
Dana Hills (56 points) tuned up for a run at the Division 1 title by winning its heat, as five Dolphin runners finished in the top 20. Senior Ethan Lawrence led Dana Hills by finishing fourth in a time of 14:41.
Fountain Valley (113 points) grabbed an automatic qualifying spot in the same heat, placing third.
El Toro senior Kevin Durham was the lone county race winner in Division 1, as he coasted to a victory in a time of 14:51.
“The focus was on qualifying and not worrying about place,” said Durham. “It was a fast race and the first mile was really congested. After the team got spread out a bit, I just kind of went for the win.”
Individual Division 1 qualifiers include Marina senior Richie Soto, Edison junior Jeff Thies, and Aliso Niguel senior Tareq Alwafai.
The second heat of Division 2 qualifying produced a thrilling down to the wire finish. Norte Vista junior Omar Caro and Tesoro senior Kyler Fisk jockeyed for the lead over the final mile and down the final straightway before Caro (14:23) edged out Fisk (14:24).
“The whole last mile it was me and him (Caro) and with 50 meters to go, I tried pull out the win out, but he got me,” said Fisk, who had the county’s fastest individual time of the day.
“I’m glad that I did this well and saw a great time before finals.”
In the fourth heat of Division 2 qualifying, Godinez junior Jose Penaloza and Esperanza senior Amar Dholakia battled for the lead late into the final mile and were side by side down the final straightaway before Penaloza (14:25) nosed out Dholakia (14:26).
“I knew it was going to come down to the last 200 meters and I just out-sprinted him at the end,” said Penaloza, who advanced as an individual.
Valencia senior Benji Preciado (14:30) also pulled out a close victory in the third heat of Division 2 qualifying, beating out Hemet’s David Spangler (14:32).
“I like running the hills and I feel that I can do better next week,” said Preciado. “The last mile is where I want to improve and push myself more.”
Valencia, Esperanza, and Tesoro each qualified as a team for next week’s Division 2 finals. Canyon junior Austin Goins, Villa Park sophomore Garrett Corcoran, and Newport Harbor senior Jake Barber qualified as individuals.
Santa Margarita junior Gabriel Marasigan was the lone individual county qualifier in Division 3, clocking a 14:42 to finish fourth in his heat.
Defending CIF-SS Division 3 champion Brea Olinda will seek to repeat as champion, as the Wildcats qualified for the finals with a third place finish in their heat.
San Juan Hills, Buena Park, and Corona del Mar also qualified for the Division 3 finals.
JSerra claimed first place in the second heat of Division 4 qualifying. The Lions had all five scoring runners place in the top 25.
Joining JSerra in the CIF-SS Division 4 finals will be Whittier Christian, Laguna Beach, and Crean Lutheran South.
Costa Mesa senior Robert Blackwell was the only individual county runner in Division 4 to qualify for the finals.
In Division 5, St. Margaret’s kicked off its quest for back to back CIF-SS and state titles with an impressive team qualifying effort. The Tartans placed four runners in the top five to win their heat and finish with the best team time of all teams in the division.
Senior Billy Gaudreau (15:41) was first, while junior Brandon Price and senior Paul Brenneman were credited with finishing in a time of 15:42 and rounded out the top three. Sophomore Hunter Edington (15:45) was fifth.
Sage Hill was third in the same heat and advanced.
