Clovis Invitational Features another super field as State's top Teams and Individuals Test the State Meet Course!!! - Bill Buettner

Clovis Cross Country Invitational
Rob Brenner
Meet Director
559-327-1230
www.clovisxc.com/invitational.htm

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Saturday, October 11, 2003 marks the 25th running of the Clovis High School Cross Country Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, California. In recent years, this meet has gained the attention of many top CA high schools who hope to race at the State Championships. These are held at Woodward Park each Thanksgiving weekend. As a result, the field is filled with some of the best talent in California.

The Championship races, the most prestigious of the day, begin at 10:00 for the girls race, and 10:30 for the boys. These races will again include many top ranked teams from throughout the state, as well as last year’s Nevada state girls runner-up, Centennial High of Las Vegas.

Featured in the girls championship race is Canyon High (Canyon Country) which is ranked 16th in the nation by Harrier Magazine and 4th for Division 1 in the state by DyeStatCal.com. They are the defending Clovis Invitational team champions. Challenging Canyon will be Thousand Oaks (#5 D1), Ayala (#6 D1), Buchanan (#8 D1) and Ventura (#3 D2).

Rachel Bryan of Laguna Creek High School returns to defend her individual title. Brea Olinda’s Anne Gustafson and Oakmont’s Michelle Born will add their talents to the lead pack.

Buchanan and Clovis East headline the local girls talent with two impressive line-ups that should battle it out in November for the Central Section Title. Buchanan is lead by Freshman Lauren Saylor and Senior Jessica Laslovich who have been fighting it out over the team’s #1 position. Lauren was eighth at the Stanford Invitational, leading her team to a third place finish in a very tough field. Clovis East is lead by Senior DiDi Chan and Freshman Jenifer McEntire. Their team is coming off a resounding victory at the Trailblazer Invitational last weekend in Visalia.

The boys championship race features an equally impressive lineup with Royal High School of Simi Valley, the 2001 state runner-up, entering as the #3 ranked team in the state in Division 1. Madera is ranked #4 and will also mix it up with Canyon (#5 D1), and Marina (#6 D1). Perennial D2 powerhouses St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and defending Clovis Invite champion Jesuit (Carmichael) enter as the #2 and #3 teams in Division 2, respectively.

Individually, this year’s field showcases Jake Schmitt of Redwood (Larkspur) and Scott Balcao of St. Mary’s (Stockton) who will be up against Menlo-Atherton’s Jeremy Mireau who was third at Stanford two weeks ago. Joining them are Blake Schlotzhauer of Centennial (Nevada) and the duo of Dallin Roedahl and Scott Bauhs, who lead the dark horse team of San Ramon Valley. This team could surprise.

All races begin and end at the Mountain View Shelter. Admission to the park is $3 per car.

Clovis XC Invitational Schedule
7:30 f/s girls
8:00 f/s boys (small school)
9:00 f/s boys (large)
9:00 varsity girls (large)
9:30 varsity boys (large)
10:00 Championship Girls
10:30 Championship Boys
11:00 Varsity Girls (Medium)
11:30 Varsity Boys (Medium)
12:00 Varsity Girls (Small)
12:30 Varsity Boys (Small)
1:00 JV Girls
1:30 JV Boys

Written by Bill Buettner – Asst. Coach Clovis High XC