A Look Back in History - Our Sport this Week 10-15-20-25 years ago - What was happening!!! - Mid-October

Looking Back in California Prep History - 25 (1978) - 20 (1983) - 15 (1988) and 10 (1993) years ago!!

(left) Rolling along at Stanford Invite 1983 - Kelly McCormick (Tustin) - Nicole Ritchot (Edison) - Joni Mooney (Vacaville) - Chantal Plante (Arroyo Grande) - (right) Deonne Self (Del Campo, Fair Oaks) 1983 Sac Joaquin star!

Strangio family of Mission San Jose (Fremont) 1978! - Liz (left) over the barrier - Steve (right) battles with Tom Downs (Skyline, Oakland)

Looking Back in California Prep History - 25 (1978) - 20 (1983) - 15 (1988) and 10 (1993) years ago!!

Mid-October 1978 (25 years ago)
1978 Orange County Championships - Mike Ernst (El Dorado, Placentia), part of a great athletic family (brother a 16-06 prep pole vaulter) had the quickest Boys’ clocking at 15:21, with Costa Mesa 81:44 the day’s quickest male team time. Mike Lansdon (Edison, Huntington Beach), now a Venue Sports Employee in San Luis Obispo, took the Sweeps race at 15:31. Andrea Kirkhorn (Edison, Huntington Beach) took the Girls quickest race at 11:35, with Coach Gordon Fitzel’s great Edison group that year totalling only 20 points in another impressive team win!

1978 Arcadia Girls Invitational, run at UCLA, had Linda Goen, a Bruin recruit, race 10:59 over 2 miles to win easily over Michelle Mason of Buena (Ventura 11:22), who went on to Stanford. Sue Broccoli led Newbury Park to a team win with 41 points over Dos Pueblos (Goleta) 119.

1978 Alemany Invitational - Vicky Cook (Alemany, Mission Hills) took the Girls’ contest at 10:48 for two miles (La Jolla Country Day team girls winner), with Mike Melendez (Norco) 15:19 to lead the Boys’ race, and Simi Valley 47 points for the Boys’ win.

1978 Madera Elks Invitational - Renee Ortiz (Tulare Western) 11:17 Girls two mile winner, with Shelly Nieto (Merced) second. Cloivs 32-40 over Merced in Girls’ team contest. Freddy Castillo (Tulare Western) took Boys’ race at 14:46 over Scott Thornton (Hoover) 14:53, with Gary Gonzales (Clovis) 14:53 in third. Hoover 64-68 over Madera for Boys win.

1978 Soquel Invitational - Trujillo (Gilroy) over Soto (Mt. Pleasant) 12:00-12:03 with Madera 119 points to win the team title. Balderas (San Jose) 12:18 Small Schools winner. Goldthorpe (Half Moon Bay) 14:15 over Koudela (Monte Vista) to take the Girls race, with HMB 37 to win the team title there.

Mid-October 1983 (20 years ago)
1983 Soquel Invitational - Danny Valdez (Merced) 15:55 winner over Darin Slade (Valley, Sacramento) 15:59, with Merced 57-79 over Sacramento in the Boys’ team contest. Colleen Donovan (Lodi) 18:58 over Londa Mobley (Tracy) 19:42 on the Girls’ side, with Merced 63-65 over Turlock for the team win.

1983 Crystal Springs Center Meet - October 20 - James Green (Gunderson) 15:22 winner, with Richard Clark (Mountain View) 15:54 in second, as Carlmont (Belmont) 64-78 over Menlo-Atherton for the team win. Shannon Clark (Mountain View) 17:56 Girls win over Sabrina Han (Westmoor, Daly City) 18:16. Mountain View 67-87 over Palo Alto for the Girls win. Shannon and Richard were children of recently deceased Stanford and Saratoga HS Coach Marshall Clark.

1983 Atascadero (SS) Invitational - Sanger soph David Naranjo, who had run 9:18.8 3200 as a frosh the previous track season, raced 15:49.5 to win, with his team totalling 40 points (81:50) to win the team title over Simi Valley 53 (83:49). Wellington (Simi Valley) took the Girls’ race at 19:51, with her squad 30-35 win over Westlake (Westlake Village) for the Girls team win.

Mid-October 1988 (15 years ago)
1988 Atascadero Invitational - McFarland blew into town, with victories at the Small Schools level for Boys (29 points) and Girls (52 points). McFarland had won the State Small Schools title the previous year in the first state meet ever, with Adolfo O’Campo (Wasco 16:52) the Small School individual Boys winner and Nicole St. John (St. Joseph, Santa Maria) 21:01 the Girls Small School winner. Louie Quintana, just a soph, took the Boys’ Large school title at 16:49, with Madera an impressive 34-74 team win over AG. Madera also took the Girls’ Large School title with a 42-72 win over AG behind Angela Orefice (AG) 21:05 individual winner. With the first California State Prep meet in 1987 the sport now had a much more of a "statewide" feel to the action when squads raced "cross-section!"

1988 Orange County Championships - Defending State Girls’ Div II Champion, Newport Harbor, came out charging here, with Kim Robinson (1st 18:22) leading the team with the squad totalling 56 points to win the Girls Sweeps event. Martha Pinto (Katella) took Tania Brix (University) 18:11-18:20 in another race. On the Boys’ side it was Corona del Mar, the State’s #1 Ranked Div II squad (3 divisions at state these years), with Eddie Lavelle (15:02 CDM individual winner) leading CdM’s 82-102 win over Santa Ana for the team win.

1988 Los Angeles County Championships - Soph Dave Hartman (Canyon, CC) won at 16:36 on the Boys’ side, with Canyon taking Belmont (LA) 35-56 in the Boys’ team contest. Palos Verdes, the nation’s top ranked Girls Team in 1987, took the top six places in the Sweeps race behind Ashley Black’s 20:54 winner. PV was so strong in those days that the JV team took the Medium Schools’ Varsity race title!!

1988 Mariner Invitational (NCS) - Todd Lewis (Burbank) set a Course Record of 15:53 in winning the Boys’ Champinoship contest, with Kevin Holbrook (Vacaville) next at 16:04. David Welsh of Jesuit was next at 16:22, with De la Salle (Concord) 70 for the team title, with Antioch 73 and Los Gatos 83. Vacaville took the Girls Championship division race at 31, with Ann Wedum (San Leandro) 20:27 the Girls winner and Jennie Dempsey (Analy, Sebastapol) next at 20:43.

Mid-October 1993 (Ten Years ago)
1993 Orange County Championships - National CC prep finalists Carrie Garritson (Buena Park) 17:33 and Jaime Martinez (Orange) 15:02 were the individual winners this year, with Santa Ana Valley taking Katella in the Boys’s sweeps race 59-76. Edison and Esperanza (Anaheim) tied at 108 on the Girls’ side, with the top-twenty nationally ranked Edison group winning with a better sixth runner (Carrie Quinn that scorer - today the co-coach at Edison with husband Jim Roldan).

1993 San Luis Obispo Invitational - Julia Stamps, a ninth grader at Rincon MS came south looking for competition during a torrid first prep season in the sport, but romped away once again, winning by over a minute in 18:20. Eric Dunn (Arroyo Grande) was the day’s quickest boy at 15:56 ver teammate Pat Garrity (16:03), with Arroyo Grande nipping Madera 30-32 in the Large School Boys’ contest. McFarland 29-36 over Morro Bay in the Boys’ Small school contest, with David Mitchell (16:08) over Galvin Gonzalez (McFarland) 16:15, with the two schools top ranked at that level. Ursuline (Santa Rosa) Girls came south and upset the top-ranked Morro Bay Girls Div IV 60-72.

1993 Mariner Invitational (NCS) - Keith Kennedy (San Leandro) 15:15.4 Large Schools winner over Gregt Phister (Davis) 15:30.5, with Bellarmine Prep 71-78 winners there. Jeremy Mattern (Irvington, Fremont) 15:29.8 Small Schools winner with Gunn (Palo Alto) 45 to win that level. Lyle Gozal (Beverly Hills) 18:12.7 took the Girls team contest over Kristen Gordon (Carondelet,. Concord - eventual national prep champ years later) 18:18.0, with Clayton Valley 40-43 winners over Carondelet.

Link to past History Pages DyeStatCal