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1978 California Section Cross-Country
Action - Back Through the Years -
Section Champions - 25-20-15-10
years ago Statewide!!
California's best 1978 squad - Second behind famed South Eugene, Oregon
in their only meeting, they averaged a super 9:25 in a postal two mile
that season (five times on the track added up). Mission San Jose (Fremont)
- NCS and Nor Cal Champs!!
(back) Rich Read, Steve Strangio, John Marden (front) Bruce Mulcahy,
Hohn Carey, and Jay Marden - Strangio was 9:04.8 for two miles that fall
and 4:13.7 for a mile during the 1979 spring track season. The team recorded
the nation's #2 prep 4x1 1600 in the spring of 1979 at 17:24.8, with interestingly,
Leigh (San Jose) 17:23.6 to lead the nation that year.
25 Years ago 1978 - No State meet for another decade, a Northern Cal Championship
we will talk about in a week, but Section Championships that seemed usually
just made up of one division in most areas, highlighted the end of season
action. No National prep championship or regional races, so the fall harrier
sport kind of had a disjointed feeling, as there was some good cross-section
Invitational running mid-season, but folks never came together at the
end, when you hoped everyone was racing at their peak. Girls distance
running had arrived at the prep level after just a few years of actual
sanctioned competition in some places, with the State having six two milers
the next spring track season run 10:35.0 or under, so the ladies were
gettiing into some quality running as the sport looked to turn to the
decade of the 1980's (tomorrow).
Southern
Boys:
Jeff Nelson (Burbank) got ready for Track by winning the Section 4A contest
at 15:06. (Mike Lansdon reports that yes, this was a "rain course"
year, bit of a shame, since Nelson probably was ready to go after his
14:32 at Mt. SAC, since he won by like 20 seconds in the record run!).
I think this may have been run on a rain course out at Mt. SAC or had
some weather conditions affect the competition (as Jeff had set a CR of
14:32 in the Mt. SAC Invite there a month earlier). Chuck Assuma of Eisenhower,
Rialto was 15:18 in second behind Nelson, with Ed Diaz (Redondo) the 3A
Champ at 15:22. Jeff Vandereems (Mission Viejo) was 15:30 behind Diaz.
Palos Verdes, back under Coach Bob Latham in those days, took the Section
4A title run with 69 points over University (Irvine) with 91, coached
by Bob Messina, currently a Principal in the Santa Clarita/Saugus area.
Villa Park was third in the 4A race with 138 points, with Quartz Hill
the 3A Champ at 110.
Girls:
Andrea Kirkhorn (Edison, Huntington Beach), part of a group of age-group
flyers who arrived at the beach school in that period only a few years
after the prep sport had started for the ladies, took the 4A SS race at
12:03 in leading her team to a 64-96 win over Newbury Park. Palos Verdes
was third, with Corona del Mar 4th in the Section title race. Cindy Schmandt
(Santa Barbara) was second behind Kirhorn at 12:07, with Vickie Cook (Alemany,
Mission Hills) the 2A Champ at 12:12.
San Diego
1978
Boys:
Helix, led by current West Hills HS Coach, Bill Cleves, the individual
Champ at 15:13, took the Section 3A Race over rivals Monte Vista (Spring
Valley) 46-84. Mike Pope (Henry) was second in the Section 3A title run
at 15:20, with Ron Roberts (Morse, SD) third at 15:22 (Roberts ran a 4:10.0
mile the next spring).
Girls:
Valhalla, led by Cheryl Flowers, the individual 3A Champ at 12:58, took
the Area Large School title run with 55 over Helix (La Mesa) 61 and Monte
Vista (SV) 64. The Burbank connection carried south to Valhalla, with
mid-1960's Burbank star, Jim Peabody, Coaching the Valhalla team in the
late 1970's period. Sue Gelley (Monte Vista) was second individually at
13:00.
Los Angeles
1978
Boys - Paul Medvin (University, LA), who had the nation’s leading
mile the next 1979 spring track season of 4:05.3, was the Section Champ,
with Venice the leading team that 1978 fall season.
Girls - Sherry Torrens (El Camino Real, Woodland Hills) was the tops in
the Section that 1978 Fall, with Chatsworth the top ranked squad that
season.
Central
1978
Boys - Corcoran, with soph Shawn Smallwood the Section Champ at 14:15,
took the team title contest also, with a 58-119 swamping of Hoover and
the field. Freddie Castillo (Tulare Western) was second individually at
14:31.
Girls -
Bakersfield HS took the team contest with 69 points over Clovis with 76.
Linda Goen (North Bakersfield), who had a super prep career, was the individual
winner at 10:07, with second, Rene Ortiz (Tulare Western) back over a
minute at 11:28–Ortiz ran a 10:49.1 two mile the next spring track
season, so Linda’s performance was amazing! Goen, who set a National
Prep 800m record along the way during her prep carrer, and had a 4:46.4
as the nation’s #3 prep miler in the 1979 track season, was one
of the top early prep female distance runners in California history to
did not seem to have an age-group start. She had a 2:05.4 800m best from
1977 (=#14 US All-Time prep at the time), and her 4:46.4 mile was the
#10 Prep performance in US high school history up until 1979 so she was
dynamite at the time!!
Central Coast
1978
Boys - Homestead of Sunnyvale took the Section title run with 74 points
over Westmont (Campbell) 147 and Mills (Millbrae) 153. Felix Soto, a junior
at Mt. Pleasant, took the Section Championship run at 14:54, with Danny
Hernandez (Independence) 15:06 in second.
Girls - Kim Schnurpfeil (San Mateo) raced 17:48 to take the Girls CCS
title run, with Kathy Koudela (Monte Vista) next at 18:12 and Anne Hamitlon
(Capuchino) next at 18:16. Schnurpfeil went on to take the Northern California
Championship that year, a regional race that probably helped lead up to
the idea of the State Championship comeptition a decade later in 1987.
Half Moon Bay took the close Team Girls race with 85 points, with Homestead
87 and Soquel 134 in third.
North Coast
1978
Boys - Another of coach Jack Marden’s powerhouse groups, the 1978
Mission San Jose (Fremont) team, led by a wicked trio (Steve Strangio
NCS Champ at 16:00), John Marden (2nd 16:04), and Rich Read (4th 16:08)
was the NCS champs with 45 points over Pleasant Hill 95 and Castro Valley
120. Livermore’s Rob Wentworth squeezed into third at 16:04 in the
NCS Championship run. MSJ had run 47:05 for the postal two mile (9:25
average) during the year on the track (5 athletes each covering eight
laps).
Girls - Mission San Jose made it a sweep, taking the Girls team title
in the Section affair at 69 points over Miramonte (Orinda) 100 and Carondelet
(Concord) 121. Soph Chris Manning of Carondelet took the Section title
at 10:45, with Liz Strangio (junior grade sister of senior Steve at MSJ)
second at 10:49 and soph Dana Flint (Ukiah) next at 10:51.
Oakland
1978
Boys
Skyline HS of Oakland, a super all-around track and distance power in
those days, took the Section race with 17 points, with Tom Downs, the
OAL Champ at 9:49 (assume for two miles). Tom clocked 9:05.4 in a postal
two mile that fall season, so he was ready to roll!
San Francisco
1978
Boys
McAteer took the area boys title with 46 points, with Terry McNulty (Wilson,
SF) 15:45 the Section champ.
Girls
Lowell swept the field with 15 points, with Diana Gong of the winners
the area champ at 12:49.
Sac Joaquin
1978 -
Boys - Jesse Saldana (Riverbank) was the Section CC Champ at 15:10, with
Mira Loma (Sacramento), led by Section individual runner-up John Shoemaker
(15:15) was the Section champs with 38 points over Jesuit (Sacramento)
58.
Girls - Rio Americano won the Section team title with 63 points over Bella
Vista (Fair Oaks) 86, with frosh Jeannie Fuller (Mira Loma) the Section
champ at 11:45 over Krista Roberts (RA) 12:10 and soph Shelly Nieto (Merced)
12:26.
Northern
1978
Boys
Chico High School, led by individual winner Greg Williams (16:49) took
the Section Championships with 52 points.
Girls
Cindy Claiborne (Pleasant) Valley took the Girls’ championship race
at 15:17, with Shasta (Redding) a strong team effort to win with only
26 points.
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