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1987 - 20 Years Ago 1987 Twenty Years ago in California Prep Cross Country Historyville - Two decades ago was a magical period in Golden State Prep Cross-Country, with the season marking the first ever California State High School Cross-Country Championships. The three-division, yes read three, division meet was the result of a couple of years of work of folks like Steve Spraker, then the coach at Saugus HS and how most lately shows up on a google search as an Assistant Superintendent in the Menifee area, Peanut Harms of Reebok and that shoe company, and people like Jim Crumpton of International Sports Exchange, who promised financial help if needed. The state had a very, very wide spread sense in the days prior to the State competition, with a Northern California Championship bringing folks together from the Central Section north for an end of the season competition, which was nice for them. You could kind of piece things together based upon who showed up in good numbers at the Kinney Regional in Fresno, with myself and Howard Willman attempting to rank the State’s top ten squads Boys and Girls piece-meal off the results of team members who ran in that early December Woodward Park competition. But there was nothing of an all-encompassing nature at the end of the season, and so each season was kind of left with a big hole. Teams would gather for the very large Invitational meets, but those were usually separated from end of season peaking periods, so it was really tough to make sense out of the end of a season before the state competition.
But all that would change, so great anticipation was in the air for 1987. There was a reason for season-long interest and rankings in the different divisions were started and from early September through the state meet folks suddenly had real interest in what was happening from Yreka in the north all the way to San Diego in the south. The decision of the state CIF offices to hold the State title meet was probably the most important change ever in the sport for the state. Now the State CIF is not a charity, so there had be some financial accountability to all this, and the affair could not be losing tens of thousands of dollars each year, as the CIF is not a “for profit” business and the budget is never too far into the black category. While never a big profit-maker, the State Cross Country meet has at least maintained itself as a financial entity, and continued to thrive, despite a bump or two along the way, at Woodward Park in Fresno, one of the nation’s great venues for running. The crew from Clovis High School, back in the days before they had a High School named for every point in the compass in that town, did a fine job of running the competitions for a number of years, with Coaches Steve Ward and Carlo Prandini and crew having their nice crew of typists listing those results in nice columns that ended up about 4 font size in the day before computers and computerized finishes. For some of us from the spoiled weather climates, those 1980's late fall, early winter trips to Fresno, first for the Kinney Regionals and in 1987 for State, always had an interesting sense to them. Chilly weather that was maybe overcast mixed in with some fog and the constant smell of burning fireplaces around town bring to mind a sense of the Fresno area November/December meets. The meets at Woodward have always been super, a tribute to the cross-country community there, with the weather-Gods generally and thankfully shining down in a positive way. The 1986 season ended with some very, very good California teams. The Palos Verdes Girl's group was generally felt to be the top team in the nation, and they would travel in the fall of 1987 to prove that, and we will get to that in a few weeks in our later summaries of that great year. Thousand Oaks was a close second to Palos Verdes in the 1986 Southern Section Finals, racing a super 93:22 at Mt. SAC and putting a scare into the Sea Kings, losing 42-52 in a battle of famed mentors, Joe Kelly for PV and Jack Farrell for TO. Joe Gomez at Hesperia HS was also a tremendous Coach, with his SS 3A Champs missing out on three in the top fifteen of a Kinney Regional when 4:49 1600 star Robbyn Bryant dropped a weight on her foot the week of the Regionals. Nicole Houle was sixth and frosh Nicole Robbins fourteenth in the 1986 Kinney Regionals, with Bryant a second behind Houle in the SS Finals, and all returned for 1987. Three in the top fifteen of a Kinney Regional is pretty darn good. Leland was the top Nor Cal team in 1986 with their championship in that part of the state.
On the Men’s side Arroyo (El Monte) in 1986 had taken Casa Roble (Orangevale) at Stanford, with the Northern crew taking Arroyo at Mt. SAC, with the Arroyo group finishing the rest of the year undefeated. Vacaville had nipped Casa Roble in the Nor Cal title run, with Arroyo, Casa Roble, and Vacaville filling the first three spots in our year-end State rankings. Thousand Oaks nipped Palos Verdes in the Men’s 4A level Southern Section that year and was fourth statewide, with traditional power, Bellarmine Prep (San Jose), spliting them at fifth in the final rankings. 1987 would mark a return of an amazing four Kinney National (name before the change to Foot Locker Nationals for that competition) Finalists to the State on the Girls’ side, with Brigid Freyne (Riverside Poly), sixth the year before nationally, Tracy Williams (Mountain View, El Monte) ninth, Nicole Houle (Hesperia) 24th, and Rayna Cervantes (Montebello) finalists back for the 1987 Fall. Robbyn Bryant (Hesperia) was the nation’s #2 miler returning, Tayna Thayer (Serrano, Phelan) was a 10:43 3200 star, with Ashley Black (Palos Verdes) 10:44 for the distance. Katy McCandless (Castilleja, Palo Alto) had won the Nor Cal 1986 Cross Country Championships, with Tina Gorbet (Lassen, Susanville) sixth and also back from that race. David Scudamore (Palos Verdes) was fifteenth in the 1986 Kinney Nationals, with Bryan Dameworth (Agoura) the first ever frosh national finalist in 1986 and 9:09.78 for 3200m in track in the spring. Scott Hempel (Walnut) had raced 9:09.04 for 3200m as a soph in the 1987 spring track season. Scott Cole (Yosemite, Oakhurst) was second behind Mason Myers (Vacaville) in the Nor Cal Championship CC race and Scott returned at under 9:10 for 3200 in track. Arroyo HS (El Monte) was touted as potentially among the State’s best ever for the 1987 season with a #11 All-Time 79:14 from 1986 at the Mt. SAC course with everyone on the team returning. Upland, Walnut, Palos Verdes, and Corona del Mar were highly touted from the south. On the Girls side, Palos Verdes, Thousand Oaks, Westlake (Westlake Village), and Hesperia were ranked as the state’s top four squads coming into the season. The three divisions at state would result in more powers at their enrollment level rising to historical successes. It was so neat to have the state meet. Excitement about the sport hit a new level with the programs in our sport now given the ability to show folks how you rated outside of your local pecking order. Individuals and teams kind of compete at the level of their competition, and with area affairs having a real tradition to them, the state meet has been a real eye opener to coaches and athletes everywhere, with the competitive level of the sport steadily rising in the two decades since the state title meet started. We have some folks who were involved as coaches and athletes from around the state who will be helping us go through how the season went for them and their teams during this fall as we review that 20 year ago old season. First installment later this week and it should be fun—Tune back in soon-------- Doug Speck |
