LB Poly Boys win tough Meet with Lakewood - 25-30 - Lakewood soph Dan Clifford individual Boys winner - LB Wilson takes Girls contest with Bina Gold (LBW) the individual titlest!

Moore League Preview No. 1
3 miles at Discovery Well Park

The Poly High boys cross country team's reign atop the Moore League isn't over yet.
The seven-time defending champion Jackrabbits lost six of its top seven runners to graduation from a team that was fourth in the 2002 CIF State Division I final and the retirement of longtime coach George Wright.
Poly still had enough to go undefeated in the Moore League Preview meet No. 1 at Discovery Well Park in Signal Hill on Thursday.
Poly did not taper for the meet and wore training flats but still had enough to defeat runner-up Lakewood, 25-30, to go 5-0 in a combined race with all league schools scored as individual dual meets. Lakewood was second at 4-1 and Millikan was third at 3-2.
Thursday's meet was far more dramatic than last year's league finals when Poly swept the first seven places.
Lakewood sophomore Daniel Clifford won in 16 minutes, 56 seconds over the hilly 3-mile course run over rocky dirt trails for a four-second victory over Millikan senior Vincent Rojas. Poly senior Ulices Pina, the 2002 league runner-up, was third in 17:26.
"This year, we have to work a lot harder but our main goal is to make it to state," said Pina, the younger brother of 2000 and 2001 CIF Southern Section Division I champion Ozzie Pina. "It hurt today but we were confident we could win. We have a young team so over the year, we're going to develop a lot."
In the early stages, Lakewood had four runners ahead of Poly's second man. But senior Pedro Ramos (17:31), junior Luis Lopez (17:37) and sophomore Ethan Durham (17:42) moved up in the final half to finish fifth, sixth and ninth for Poly, who placed four runners ahead of Lakewood's third runner.
"At the front end, it didn't work out as planned, but this is a gauge to see where we stand'' said first-year Poly coach Mike Fillipow. "We want to win league and not take it half-heartedly, but these have to be training races if our goal is to make it to state. If we would have lost, we would have to reevaluate it and adjust our strategies."
Wilson solidified its status as the team to beat in the girls competition. The two-time defending league champion Bruins, who qualified for the state meet for the first time since 1992 last fall, took the first three places with junior Bina Gold (20:28) and seniors Casie Mota (20:48) and Jasmine Collins (20:58) to go 5-0.
Poly was second at 4-1, led by sophomore Tava Tedesco in fourth in 21:08. Lakewood was third at 3-2, lifted by sophomore Miriam Cortez in sixth (21:08).

Boys
1. Daniel Clifford (Lakewood) 16:56; 2. Vincent Rojas (Millikan) 17:00; 3. Ulices Pina (Poly) 17:26; 4. Henry Meza (L) 17:27; 5. Pedro Ramos (P) 17:31; 6. Luis Lopez (P) 17:37; 7. Francisco Rodriguez (M) 17:40; 8. Danny Gonzalez (W) 17:40; 9. Ethan Durham (P) 17:42; 10. Alex Ramirez (L) 17:48.
Records: 1. Poly 5-0; 2. Lakewood 4-1; 3. Millikan 3-2.
Girls
1. Bina Gold (Wilson) 20:28; 2. Casie Mota (W) 20:48; 3. Jasmine Collins (W) 20:58; 4. Tava Tedesco (Poly) 21:07; 5. Miriam Cortez (Lakewood) 21:08; 6. Amber Rollo (W) 21:11; 7. Maria Damian (L) 21:13; 8. Gabrielle Bournes (P) 21:22; 10. Briana Powell (P) 21:36.
Records: 1. Wilson 5-0; 2 Poly 4-1; 3. Lakewood 3-2.

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