June 17-18, 2005

***Boys Meet Synopsis***
Edison's boys claim the favorite's role, with a steady balance of distance and speed,
plus a few potential bonus points in the field events. Even while shorthanded, the Chargers
knocked off county power Los Alamitos in Sunset League dual meet action on Wednesday.
Senior Joe Gatel and junior Jayson Hayes will be counted on to supply plenty of points in
the multi-lap events, with gleaming credentials to their credit. Additionally, Edison has the
deepest sprint relay corps in the County, able to run 3:28 and change while missing three
key runners earlier this week. Surprisingly, Esperanza did not enter a 4x400 relay for the meet,
and that could very well be the difference, with the Aztecs otherwise within striking distance of
Edison should the favored squad falter. As it is, Esperanza should score well with Wes Williams
in the sprints and Aaron Dan in the throws. Los Alamitos has nice balance as well, with Justin
Woods leading a fine Griffins crew that also has Ross Gierczak, Tim George and a fine 4x4.
With Garland West now back and healthy, Cypress is the fastest-improving team of late,
with excellent relays and dashes accounting for nealry all of its projected points!

Photo courtesy of Rich Medellin
Seniors Justin Woods of Los Alamitos and Wes Williams of Esperanza
are two of the premier talents in Orange County this weekend! They
will square off in the 100 and 200 along with Cypress' Garland West and
Sage Hill's Zach Chandy. Los Alamitos and Esperanza will aim to chase
down Edison for the overall team title in the 10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring system!

Projected Boys Team Scores

1. Edison                   58
2. Esperanza             44
3. Los Alamitos        42
4. Cypress                 34
5. Dana Hills             33
6. Santa Margarita   32
7. El Modena            28
8. Mission Viejo        27
9. El Toro                   22
10. Villa Park               21

***Girls Meet Synopsis***
It should be a two-team race to the title, with Corona del Mar counting on
distance points and Kennedy of La Palma relying on speed points. A big key
will be if other County runners can break up CdM's vaunted tandem of Anne St. Geme
and Hilary May from going 1-2 in the multi-lap races. Kennedy relies on Janice Nsor and
the Reid siblings to generate the core of its attack. Truth to be told, the gap between
both these teams and third place would be even greater if not for the fact that County
Championship meet rules limit schools to two entries per event. Both CdM and Kennedy
have a third projected scorer in their specialty events that won't even make it to the start line!
Fans can treat themselves to great competition by heading over to the pole vault runway,
where many talented ladies will clash for annual bragging rights on the statewide scene!
No region in the entire nation is as loaded as "The OC" when it comes to the girls' pole vault!

Photo by John Dye
Orange County's lone state leader in 2005 is Newport Harbor's
Allison Stokke, whose 13-05.75 clearance is also the U.S. High School
sophomore class pole vault record! Orange County boasts four of the
top eight vaulters in the state in Stokke, Huntington Beach's Lyndly Tamura
and the Edison duo of Tori Pena and Kelly MacLean -- all at 12-01 or higher!

Projected Girls Team Scores

1. Corona del Mar    52
2. Kennedy               50
3. Aliso Niguel          36
4. Dana Hills             31
5. Mater Dei             30
6. Esperanza             29
7. Newport Harbor    29
8. Capo Valley           29
9. Santa Margarita    28
10. Mission Viejo         24