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Looking Back
in California Prep History - 25 (1978) - 20 (1983) - 15 (1988) and 10
(1993) years ago!!
1978 mid-September
A look at “Where they are going for 4 Year Colleges” had
some interesting names who were either prep seniors or community college
students would later move into the coaching ranks statewide.
--Greg Flenory - currently Athletic Director at new El Diamante HS in
Visalia was moving on from Sequoias JC to Cal State Hayward as a sprinter.
(Listed as 9.7 for 100y)
–Mark Conover - current Cal Poly/SLO distance coach was going to
Humboldt State from Miramonte HS) (listed as 9:07 for 2 miles)
–Joe Fabris–eventual sub-4 minute miler was headed at that
time from San Jose CC to Cal Poly/SLO - latest known for his work with
the Reebok Aggies and the Black Fab Foundation that has made so many grants
to high school and community college programs (listed as 3:51.3 1500m)
–Bill Tokar - current Ventura HS Coach was headed from Saddleback
JC to Cal Poly SLO (listed as 3:59.9 for 1500m)
–Mike O’Reilly - OOPS! Ernie Lee of Gunn HS pointed out that
this Mike O'Reilly was not Mike Reilly, the Stanford Assistant who just
moved with Vin Lannana to Oberlein College in the midwest.
–Anthony Curran - Vault Coach at UCLA was a 17-04.25 prep vaulter
in the spring of 1978 for Crespi HS in Encino (with a ton of brothers
there), and he attended Bruinville after HS!
Mid-September 1983
--The Lowell Invitational was held in Golden Gate Park. Martin Higginbotham
(Berkeley) took the Boys’ race at 17:19, with Bellarmine Prep (San
Jose) 33 points to win that contest. Sabrina Han (Westmoor, Daly City)
set a Meet Record in the Girls’ run at 19:48, with Half Moon Bay
winning the team race with 61 points over Lowell’s 65. Han was later
an All-American over 10,000m in Track at UC Berkeley!
–The Stinson Beach Invite had Ron Symons (Drake, San Anselmo) the
winner at 9:29, with Redwood (Larkspur) top team time for Boys at 49:35.
Wendy Tillman (Tamalpais) took the girls run at 11:52, with Terra Linda
team time winners at 61:42.
–The Arroyo Grande Invite at UCSB’s Lagoon course had Chantal
Plante, who had just moved from Ventura HS to Arroyo Grande, blaze a 17:58
Course Record to win by over a minute, with Dos Pueblos (Goleta) the girls
team winner with 45 points. David Baca (San Marino), the son of LA County
Sherriff Lee Baca, took the Boys’ run at 15:40, with DP nipping
Newbury Park 41-46 in the team contest.
Mid-September 1988
–The “Big Ditch” Cross Country classic, sponsored by
Arroyo Grande HS and run in San Luis Obispo, had a great team battle on
the Boys’ side between Arroyo Grande (48) (77:17) and McFarland
50 (77:56), with McFarland the Boys Div III winners in the first California
State CC Meet in 1987! Louie Quintana, who was 7th Boys Div I statewide
as a frosh in CC in 1987 and 4:19.6 in track for 1600m, was the winner
at 14:48 over Jonathan Coe (Santa Barbara) 15:04. Angela Orefice (AG)
took the Girls’ race at 18A;23, with Lompoc the team winners with
60 points.
–Las Vegas Invitational - Laura Doering (Villa Park) took the girls
race at UNLV in the early season meet at 16:04, with her squad second
to Monument Valley Arizona 51-75. Alex Zamora (Coachella Valley, Thermal)
took the Boys’ Small school race at 15:04 in the day’s quickest
time, winning by nearly 45 seconds.
Mid-September 1993
Early season prep Invitational action north and south. The Lowell (San
Francisco) Invite in Golden Gate Park had St. Ignatius (SF) win the Boys’
title, with Rich Erkkila (SI) take the race (2.8 miles) at 15:08.8. SI
also book the Girls team contest with 19 points, with SI’s Ann Baldelli
the winner at 17:56.3. The Ed Sias Invite had Joe Menchaca (Pittsburg)
win the Boys Varsity race at 10:50 (2 miles) with Wood (Vacaville) the
team champs with 63 points. St. Francis (Sacramento) took the Girls team
contest with 70 points over Wood with 77, as Kristen Schreiber (Miramonte,
Orinda) was the fastest Girl of the day at 12:46. Ann Baldelli led St.
Ignatius to a team win at the Lowell Invitational with her 17:56.3 run
over 2.8 miles at Golden Gate Park, with Rich Erkkila (SI) taking the
Boys’ race at 15:08.8, with SI scoring 57 points there for the victory.
Down south, in the Seaside Invitational at Ventura, the nation’s
#6 ranked Boys team from 1992, Thousand Oaks, returned a lot, and with
Brandon Del Campo leading by racing 14:53, the squad was 75:37 for five,
with Hart (Newhall) next at 76:52. Mebrahtom Keflizighi (San Diego HS)
was 14:15 for the day’s top time, with the San Diego star moving
to UCLA and the world open level eventually (he just ran in the 2003 World
Track Championships in Paris). Meb just missed Louie Quitnana’s
CR of 14:14 (with Louie a Kinney National CC champ his senior year). Jessica
de la Cerda (Hart) had the day’s quickest girls’ time over
Molly Mehlberg (Peninsula, RH) 17:23-17:27, with the Peninsula group totalling
94:37 over Hart’s 95:48 team time. In the Bronco Invite at Cal Poly/Pomona,
Chino’s Tania Nunez was 19:32 to win that side of the Meet, with
her team totalling 66 (103:34) for the win. Mike Moreno (Katella, Anaheim)
was 15:56 for the Boys’ win, with Diamond Bar 154 (84:45) to take
that side of the meet as a team. Over in Las Vegas, Rubidoux’s Rhondie
Gibbs was the Boys’ winner at 15:28, with Kim Nelson (Canyon, Anaheim)
taking the Girls’ race at 13:28 (2.3 mi). The big Laguna Hills Invite
had Carrie Garritson (Buena Park) take the Girls’ contest at 17:48,
with Joel Orosco (Santa Ana Valley) 15:24 on the Boys’ side. Edison
(Huntington Beach) was the day’s quickest Girls team time at 96:48,
with Chula Vista 81:34 on the Boys’ side. The Garritson clan had
all kinds of Southern Cal publicity prior to Carrie arriving at the prep
level, with the training exploits of the family members very young publicized
all the way to the national level. Dad had some quotes along the way that
Carrie might by-pass the prep scene to go straight to the pro's, and it
all caused a big hub-bub in the Sou Cal running scene for a few years.
In the Rosemead Invite it was Coach Phil Ryan’s San Marino group
that looked sharp, with Allison Twist (18:46) and Warren Wolf (15:14)
taking the individual wins for the Titans.
Link to past History Pages DyeStatCal
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