April 8-9, 2005

April 2, 2005

March 26, 2005

September 10, 2005

*Eagle Invite*
Saturday, March 5, 2005
At Santa Margarita Catholic HS
-A DyeStatCal Featured Meet-

INTRODUCING THE BOYS COMBATANTS...

By Rich Gonzalez
Editor, DyeStatCal.com
             (--) When meet director Dave Zeitler puts on this meet in deep South Orange County each year, he usually has just one criteria in mind when selecting teams: "Strong Programs."
            The 2005 version of the Eagle Invite does not disappoint, with several of the Southland's top squads converging on the picturesque Rancho Santa Margarita locale to kick off the invitational portion of their seasons in a well-managed and low-key yet competitive atmosphere.
           Although the meet is non-scoring, we will score the meet for the DyeStatCal audience, using the new 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system being used on the CIF-Southern Section level this year - a move that rewards depth and pushes the sport a bit further toward the team end of the spectrum and a bit away from the individual end.
          The field events headline this year's meet, with the action being most impressive at the pole vault pits, in particular. An amazing 10 preseason all-state selections will converge on that runway, with five ranked aerialists apiece in the boys' and girls' competitions. Newport Harbor 10th-grader Alison Stokke leads the field, with her 12-foot, 8-inch clearance a year ago setting the national freshman high school record and recognized as the top returning mark in the state this Spring. With Rancho Bernardo's Kate Mattoon and Edison's Tori Pena also in the fray, half of the state's female 12-footers are in action here.
          On the boys' side, Mater Dei's Greg Woepse leads the crew and is anxious to return to outdoor action after missing much of last season due to a back injury. Woepse, younger brother to multi-time All-CIF vaulter Elizabeth Woepse (now compting at UCLA), has come out screaming in 2005 in posting a lifetime-best 15-6 clearance to place third in the featured section of the Vault Summit in Reno. Murrieta Valley's Miles McDowell is a second 15-footer in the field, with vault power Rancho Bernardo also courting a few quality gymnasts here.
          The distance medleys should highlight the multi-lap action, with four cross-country state finalist girls teams and three state finalist boys teams being represented Since success in the DMR is powered by excellence at the 4-lap and 3-lap segements, Edison's boys get the clear nod (bot need to shore up at 800m) while the girls' side is interestingly close and tough to handicap. It does appear that many of the top distance runners will focus on the relays here, robbing fans of the chance to see one of America's best (Joe Gatel, Edison) in individual action. Also, Murrieta Valley's Patrick Milloy exhibited very notable improvement during cross-country season, creating anticipation for his capabilities this Spring. Individually for the girls, three superb talents should lock up at 1600 meters, with San Diego star Lindsay dela Montaigne returned from injury to battle the Orange County tandem of Newport Harbor's Whitney Blue and Mater Dei's Samantha Constantini.
         Esperanza's Wes Williams is the top dash talent here, but has the versatility to step in on the hurdles as well. Edison's David Taff closed out the season well to emerge as one of the state's top hurdling returnees as well. On the girls' side, Santa Margarita's Lauren Collins (signed to UC Irvine) has excellent technique over the high hurdles and is also an accomplished high jumper, while Esperanza's Emily Dunn was among the Southland's frosh-year surprises at 400m (where she was the Orange County champion) and 800m a year ago.
         In remaining field events, it might be worth wandering over to the throws rings, where national-class shotputter Aaron Dan of Esperanza will battle a few standouts from Newport Harbor now under the coaching guidance of recently-lured throws guru Tony Ciarielli. For the jumps, a lead performer to keep an eye on will be Murrieta Valley's Lance Gonzales, who splits duties from the horizontal runways to the high jump apron.
No matter which part of the track and field facility you end up at, you're bound to be watching talent, with 38 preseason all-state designations in attendance. After all, as Zeitler will tell you, these are "strong programs"!