Mt. SAC History - 1980 Invite

Lookin' Back-25 Years Ago!!

The 1980 Mt. SAC Cross-Country meet featured some of California’s best ever athletes! Vickie Cook (Alemany, Mission Hills) was a three-time State 3200 Champ with a best of 10:12.31 from those contests. Cook was 6th in the 1979 Kinney Nationals (they later changed name to Foot Locker), 3rd in 1980, and 6th in 1981! Polly Plumer (University, Irvine) was a two-time California State 1600m Champ, and still has the National Mile Record of 4:35.24 from her senior 1982 year, with that mark going on almost 25 years now as the prep all-time best!! Jon Butler (Edison, Huntington Beach) was the 1981 State 3200 Champ in Track by nearly five seconds, with what we remember as a 57 second final 400 capping his 8:46.78 effort there. Jon was 2nd in the 1980 Kinney National Finals!!

There were some good teams to match, with Plumer’s University squad (see the description of their race effort this day below) one of US prep History’s all-time great squads. Their National Distance Medley Record of 11:43.53 lasted 18 years (I remember Plumer getting the baton with the clock at 7:00 and popping a solo 4:43.6 for the record), with a 4x1500 meter relay best (Mt. SAC ran this distance a few years) of 18:52.5 which would have been the National 4x1 mile record for another twenty years had they covered the extra distances that day!! There were some great Boys’ team also covered in the results below

Fun to take a glance backwards sometimes!!!
Doug Speck

Mt. SAC Invitational
October 24-25, 1980

On Friday, October 24th, and Saturday, October 25th, the west’s largest High School Cross-Country meet, the Mt. SAC Invitational took place. 269 schools competed in Junior High, Frosh, Soph, Junior Varsity, and Varsity races. The contests are set up with attention paid to school size and relative team strength, with special team and individual sweepstakes races for squads and athletes.

On Friday an individual match-up overshadowed everything else involving the young ladies. Undefeated stars Vickie Cook (Alemany) and Polly Plumer (University, Irvine) were state Champs in track last year in the 3200 and 1600 meters, respectively, and each had started like a house afire this cross-country season. Their duel highlighted the Team Sweepstakes race. The duo broke away from the pack after a hundred yards, and traded challenges over the first half-mile, ending at the top of “Reservoir” hill. On the long downhill coming off that grade Vickie edged ahead, and increased her lead to fifteen yards on the relatively flat “horseshoe” loop that led them through the mile. The final 1320 of the two mile course goes up and down the challenging “switchbacks” and on into the finish. It was here that Vickie steadily pulled away to her decisive ten second margin of victory at 11:29.3. Vickie’s time was a new course record, breaking Susie Sanchez’s (Eisenhower, Rialto) 11:31 (set in 1977 when she placed high in the Senior Women’s AAU race). Back in third place was aggressive Uni frosh Teresa Barrios, whose excellent 11:58 helped lead her squad to an awesome 61:50.7 time for five and 43 points to easily win the team sweepstakes affair. University’s team time topped the 62:13.2 Meet Record of the nation’s number one ranked squad of 1978, Edison of Huntington Beach. The team that could top University this year would have to be very special–the Trojans may be the country’s best in 1980.

Top individual times: Combined races - Cook (Alemany) 11:29.3, Plumer (University, Irv) 11:39, Barrios (Uni) 11:58, Hazlett (Saugus) 12:03, Ehlen (Santa Barbara) 12:16, White (Sonora, La Habra) 12:18, Lachel (Monte Vista, Spring Valley) 12:19, Kutner (Pasadena Poly) 12:20, McClelland (San Marino) 12:21, Karamitsos (Righetti, Santa Maria) 12:27, Lopez (Sacred Heart, LA) 12:29, Mason (Buena, Ventura) 12:30, Ferro (Irvine) 12:33, Wolf (Costa Mesa) 12:36, Armentrout (Uni) 12:38, Sauerwein (Uni) 12:39, Durrand (Laguna Beach) 12:41, Truscott (Santa Fe Christian) 12:43, Booth (Laguna Beach) & McLeod (Skyline, Oakland) 12:45.

Top Team times: (combined races) - University (Irv) 61:50.7, Costa Mesa 65:04.2, San Marino 65:31.5, Santa Brabara 65:31.8, Saugus 64:42.0, Newbury Park 66:00.4, Tustin 67:07.2, Buena (Ventura) 67:18.8, Edison (HB) 67:28, Irvine 67:47, Walnut 67:51.6, Mt. Carmel (SD) 67:58.8.

On Saturday, October 25th, the guys took over the Mt. SAC facility with another individual duel the day’s highlight. Last year in the Section Finals Barasa Thomas (Santa Barbara) handed Jon Butler (Edison, HB) his first defeat of the yar–they are both back and unbeaten in 1980! They met in the Individual Sweepstakes race. After a relatively flat first mile in the 4:45 range, the duo had broken away form the pack and battled up and down the challenging “Switchbacks.” Butler’s strategy included bursting up “Poop-Out” hill, a relatively short, but initially very steep grade at 1 3/4 miles. Thomas could not respond to this “upping of the ante” and Butler was home free–powering over Reservoir Hill and into the finish an easy winner at 14:55.1. Gary Gonzales (Clovis) was well back in 4th at the mile and a half, and he charged the second half of the course to move up to a second place at 15:10.8. Thomas dropped back to fourth as El Modena’s Steve Valen raced a steady effort for third at 15:16.9.

The other interesting race was the Team Sweepstake affair, with this year featuring the best from the San Diego, Southern, and Central Sections. At the finish all three areas acquitted themselves well as Costa Mesa and Valhalla (El Cajon) tied point-wise for the team title at 98, and Corcoran was third with 117. Costa Mesa was a bit stronger up front, and their 80;33-80;48 team time settled who took home the trophy for first. Corcoran’s 81:02 was the fourth fastest of the day, as Fountain Valley put together a fine effort in its race to record an 81:00.

Top individuals (combined races): Butler (Edison, Hunt Bch) 14:55.1, Gonzalez (Clovis) 15:10.8, Valen (El Modena) 15:16.9, Thomas (Santa Barbara) 15;23.5, Carlton (Northview, Covina) 15:24.2, D. Orr (Upland) 15:24.8, LaCrosse (Costa Mesa) 15:25.1, Seeman (Helix, La Mesa) 15:26.3, Parker (Tustin) 15:27.4, Smallwood (Corcoran) 15:31.4, Hartford (Corona del Mar, NB) 15:32.0, Atkinson (Mira Costa, MB) 15:32.9, Meyer (Univ, Irv) 15:35.0, Cadena (Montebello) 15:35.2, Schweikart (Barstow) 15:34.5, Erickson (Fountain Valley) 15:38.8, Cammack (South Hills, W. Covina) 15:40.1, Vaughn (Brea) 15:40.5, Mcdonnell (Burroughs, Burb) 15;43.3, Satterwhite (Irvine) 15:43.6, Walter (La Serna, Whittier) 15:43.7, Bowlus (Rolling Hills) 15:44.8, Obloud (Irv) 15:45.2, Souza (Wilson, HH) 15:47.0, Planta (Mater Dei) 15:48.4, Olson (Hawthorne) 15:48.9, Gallagher (Corona del Mar) 15:49.3.

Top Times (combined races) Costa Mesa 80:33.8, Valhalla 80;48.3, Fountain Valley 81:00.3, Corcoran 81:02.3, Corona del Mar 81:38.7, Mira Costa 81:40.8, helix 81:4.2, University (Irv) 81:51.5, Thousand Oaks 81:56.1, Mater Dei 82:03.8, Clovis 82:20.8, Irvine 82:33.6, Rolling Hills 82:34.4, Simi 82:34.6, Bonita Vista (CV) 82:35.2, Mira Mesa (SD) 82:35.2, Hawthorne 82:40.2, Burroughs (Burb) 82:45.2, Tustin 82:51.3, Amador Valley (Pl) 83:02.3, Barstow 83:03.1, Canyon (Ana) 83:17.0, Newbury Park 83:25.2, Grossmont 83:30.9, El Dorado (Plac) 83:32.4, Sherman Indian (Riv) 83:32.7, Upland 83:34.7, Monte Vista (Spr V) 83:39.0, Santa Barbara 83:39.8.