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DIVISION I BOYS:
"Loyola and
Poe: The Dreams Continue!"
Three consecutive
sub 15:00s at Mt. SAC and now a big win at state have Michael Poe thinking
grand thoughts heading into Foot Locker West. "One week at a time,"
Poe says. "One more week to go. All good so far."
“It’s no fluke,” is the three-word
summation co-captain Micah Tyhurst chose in analyzing Loyola’s second
consecutive stunning race and its first state title in over 130-plus years
of existence.
We have another take: “Perfect peaking, perfect teamwork, perfect
poise.”
In one of the greatest stories to ever come out of the Division I state-meet
annals, a Loyola program which twice just missed qualifying for a first-ever
state meet berth in the last two years proved that you can’t keep
a winner down for long. The Cubs, regarded as the third-best team in the
state entering the season, enjoyed fine improvement by its lead runners
and stunning consistency from its depth scorers down the stretch to hold
off major surprise Don Lugo and Orange County superpower Dana Hills in
winning the crown. Loyola scored 80 points, to 103 for the Conquistadores
and 104 for Dana Hills. It was the first state Division I title ever to
be won by a private school.
Loyola, which turned the corner from an outstanding team to a phenomenal
one during its CIF-Southern Section Finals triumph last week, likely improved
upon its current #11 national ranking with a 79-minute team-time clocking
that ranks sixth all-time among California teams on the revered Woodward
Park course.
Loyola had sophomore speedburner Mark Matusak lead again, with the clutch
performer turning in the fourth-fastest 10th-grade performance (15:23)
in course history! Matusak was the first scorer in the team competition
(Mike Poe of Etiwanda and Kyle Alcorn of Buchanan went 1-2, but both were
competing as individuals), with teammates David Torrence (five team points)
and Micah Tyhurst (10 points) giving the team amazing up-front strength
here! Ryan Foresta (31st in team placings) and Matt Miller (33rd) closed
out the scoring. Loyola’s strength proved stronger than Dana Hills’,
while its depth took care of Don Lugo. Combined, it was too much for the
competition to handle.
Don Lugo was paced by a sudden post-injury quality comeback from defending
state champion Erick Maldonado, who took seventh (15:28) here. Senior
Alex Benavidez (11th in 15:37) also ranked among the top dozen in the
division for Don Lugo, the division’s most improved program thanks
partly to the addition of some fine freshmen performers!
Dana Hills, with senior Tyler Kastorff coming through well here, withstood
a few injuries this fall to close very well. Both teams figure to be in
contention for a year-end national ranking.
Although a few other programs seemed to encounter trouble at the scoring
positions, it appears Loyola would still have won the race regardless.
Upsets were hardly a factor here either, with 9 of the division’s
10 ranked teams placing in the top 10. The only non-ranked team to finish
in the top 10 was Rancho Buena Vista, which had been ranked previously.
Individually, Etiwanda senior Michael Poe continued a sensational postseason
run, tearing through the championship courses with stunning ease in quietly
becoming an excellent threat for a berth to nationals. Poe gapped the
lead pack early on here, extended his lead by midrace, then held on for
a 16-second victory in 15:06, the second-largest margin in Division I
history!
Buchanan’s Kyle Alcorn, the sensational 3200-meter talent and reigning
state champion in that event, moved into the second position by mid-race
and held it to the finish for a 15:22 clocking. Given his excellent closing
speed, he’s an excellent darkhorse heading into nationals.
Seven of the division’s 10 state-ranked individuals placed in the
top 10, with no real surprise “step-up performances.” We heard
Tim Hearst (Royal) almost went down early in the race, but recovered well
from the near spill. We were also aware of the Canyon duo (Ryan Morgan
and Troy Werner) being plagued by severe bronchitis problems in recent
weeks.
DIVISION II BOYS
Jesuit wins 5-kilometer
heavyweight championship!
The blockbuster showdown of peaking superpowers proved to satisfy
all expectations, with Jesuit High of Sacramento able to hold off Rubidoux,
91-106. Not far off, Orange High closed a dream season with a third-place
finish with 127 points!
Jesuit claimed the title with a very balanced effort, although it was
junior John Wihtol who ran the race of his life to provide the difference.
Wihtol, running at #4 for the group since his return from injury, finished
second for the team, close behind frontrunner Austin Ramos (15:29 to 15:40).
Jesuit had a fine close, with scorers Steve Vargas, Ryan Courtwright,
and Alex Nelson finishing in a nine-second span from 15:58 to 16:05, the
fastest 3-4-5 combination in the state! Just like Loyola in Division I,
this group knows how to cover all the bases!
Rubidoux met the challenge as well, putting forth its best effort of the
season to prove it remains the very best peaking team in the entire Southern
Section! Rubidoux’s depth scorers made it ultra close, with its
3-4-5 trio finishing within three seconds of each other! Antonio Jimenez
continued to boost his recruiting stock, finishing in a sparkling 15:10
here for Rubidoux! Look for both Jesuit and Rubidoux to get very strong
consideration for a high placing in the final national rankings!
Orange was a huge mover into the Western U.S. scene this year,
with the new Orange County superpower stringing together a number of impressive
runs to rank among the all-time best in county annals. Raul Lara and Francisco
Guerra topped this great effort, with the crew gapping just 27 seconds
for all five scorers! Although our all-time list cuts off at 80:00, the
team's 80:09 clocking is likely among the five best in County history!
Other than 1993, this was the strongest field of Division
II teams in state-meet history!
Woodbridge's Michael Haddan
(#1893) holds off Arroyo's Yong-Sung Leal, Rubidoux's Antonio Jimenez,
Cypress' David Napper (#1506) and Mar Vista's Troy Swier (green singlet)
in a great 2-3-4-5-6 sprint to the finish! Rio Mesa's Phillip Reid won
this clash in 15:01, with all six harboring big dreams at Foot Locker
West!
Individually, this race was awesome! All the big names … and all
in the hunt!
The most amazing site of the day came at the two-mile mark in this one,
as superstars Michael Haddan of Woodbridge and Yong-Sung Leal of Arroyo
were spotted with pained a pained look on their faces and TRAILING a pack
of four by two strides. Yikes!!! Phillip Reid of Rio Mesa, who shares
distinction with Liberty Christian’s Tim Nelson as the savviest
racers in the state, made a strong move with three-quarters of a mile
to go and pulled away for the 15:01 win, fastest of the day!
Michael Haddan of Woodbridge answered the biggest challenge of his life
with yet another sensational showing, topping most of an all-star field
with a superb 15:08 clocking.
Yong-Sung Leal of Arroyo (Northern California) was a very welcomed site
after a very lengthy injury layoff. Leal, in the lead pack throughout,
tried to shift into overdrive down the last half mile, but rolled an ankle
into a hole, and lost any chance of nabbing Haddan. Leal admitted he was
in pain after the mishap, but discarded any chances of slowing, knowing
a full charge of athletes were right on his tail! Leal was extremely excited
afterward despite not winning, adding that it was a major confidence boost
to miss so much training time yet still be able to challenge these high-caliber
runners. Leal, who qualified for last year’s World Junior XC Championships
in Ireland, went on to admit that he had his work cut out for next weekend’s
Foot Locker West Regional. “Mt. SAC is a hill course and I haven’t
done a hill workout in seven months!” Even so, he still has that
fire in his eye!
Others in the Who’s Who field harboring thoughts for a berth to
nationals were Rubidoux’s aforementioned Jimenez, Cypress star junior
David Napper (quietly becoming one of Orange County’s all-time finest),
and Mar Vista’s Troy Swier, who has rolled up as many high-quality
performances as anyone in the state this fall!
No real upsets here either, as 9 of the 10 ranked teams finished in the
top ten (Patrick Henry HS of San Diego broke up the pack) and 9 of the
division’s top 10 individuals also ran to form, with Valencia’s
Juan Robles rebounding to break back into the divisional hierarchy.
DIVISION III BOYS
"Blowouts
don't get much closer than this!"
So much for Barstow’s runaway victory, eh??? The Aztecs, who were
simply dazzling in the major meets this year, entered the year-end meets
as heavy favorites, but were almost victimized by a very conservative
start. Midrace “quick scores” had the desert crew losing at
one point, but a final-mile flourish salvaged the season with a tougher
than expected 71-111 victory over previously unheralded University City
of San Diego. As one observer put it, the feeling of “panic’
was what awoke Barstow in time for the strong close!
Avery Himes and Adam Rodriguez (15:58 and 16:00, respectively) continued
to flip-flop in the finish order, with Joey Sena (16:01) also right in
the lead mix! University City was the biggest surprise of the meet –
being unranked coming in and almost winning the title! We didn’t
receive full results on the San Diego Section final until after the rankings
were released. They showed very strong signs in their qualifying run!
Brad Liber led University City, which was no real surprise. But UC stunned
us with a great 2-3-4-5 that finished between 16:24 and 16:29 (with Riley
Booker, Travis Teitsch, Kern Huerta and Jonathan Breed just dazzling all
onlookers at the finish line)!
Individually, Alex Dunn overpowered a fine field to win by an impressive
14 seconds, with the filled-out Central Coast Section star really coming
into his own this year after limited training in past years. Dunn, who
has one of those tall and lanky frames college coaches drool over, could
very well become among the most recruited youngsters in the state next
year!
Only 6 of the top 10 teams placed here, although Diamond Ranch and Cabrillo
were two of those squads and had been ranked previously this season. University
City and La Jolla, a pair of San Diego schools, moved in like a lightning
bolt!
Individually, 8 of the 10 ranked individuals finished at the top, with
no real surprises here.
DIVISION IV BOYS
"Hardly a
sign of things to come"
Remaining divisional recaps
still under construction.
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