Day One Recap

By Rich Gonzalez -- Editor, DyeStatCal
       WALNUT – Jake Schmitt has never been one known for employing pedestrian pacing along the cross-country courses, but the Redwood High senior had extra incentive to motor through the famed Mt. SAC layout on Friday afternoon. The plane was waiting.
       Schmitt rode a concerted clip from the outset of the Division III Sweepstakes Race and then dropped his main competition during the first hill en route to a lifetime-best 14:47 clocking on the 2.91-mile layout, earning him top time honors on the opening day of action at the nation’s largest cross-country event. Then the likeable teen hurried off for the airport and the trip back to Northern California, where planning for Saturday’s Homecoming festivities awaited the multi-time all-state honoree.
      "I’m just about out of here,’ chimed Schmitt minutes after his cool down. “I hope tomorrow is as fun as today was!”
As both senior class president and a member of the leadership committee at school, the 6-foot-1 teen already expected to have a busy Saturday this weekend, but his recent appointment to the Homecoming Court and its related festivities only compounded his planner.
      On this day, Schmitt was already crowed a king of sorts. Despite heavy rains pelting the course at the start of the week, meet officials did a marvelous job in prepping the running path for this weekend’s onslaught of an estimated 13,000 runners (4,333 finished the course on Friday). That paved the way for Schmitt’s conditioning superiority to come out.
Schmitt helped carry the pack off 120-plus runners out quickly, then bolted like a billy goat up the zig-zagging Switchback Hill in gapping the competition. Exiting the base of the first hill some three minutes later, Schmitt had opened about a 25-meter lead over Campolindo junior standout Chris Vizcaino, with Servite’s Nick Mosey about another 20 meters behind.
       Schmitt continued to apply the pressure on his opponents, barreling across the Poop-Out Hill and Reservoir Hill challenges with great success, able to maintain excellent posture and pace over the last 300 meters to the finish, with his 27-second margin of victory over Mosey easily being the largest winning gap among the three boys sweepstakes races.
      "My legs were with me today! It looks like my work has been paying off, Schmitt beamed. “It felt really easy going up the switchbacks. I have had a crazy week, but I was here and PR'd, and with everything pointing to the end of the season it's great!”
       Mosey excelled to emerge as the runner-up in a high-profile meet for the second consecutive weekend (trailing only El Toro’s Brandon Bethke at the finish of the Orange County Championships just six days before.
The Division III boys race was perhaps the most exciting of the afternoon, with the top four teams (Servite, Page of Arizona, Campolindo and Miramonte) being separated by a mere nine points. Servite prevailed thanks to Top-25 placings from Mosey, Peter Robie and Nick Chavez.
        The Division IV boys contest conjured up experiences of deja vu as Big Bear sophomore Chad Hall retraced the same footsteps of his All-American brother, current Stanford phenom Ryan Hall. Hall assumed the lead position early into the second mile, the glided his way to a 21-second victory over Carpinteria’s Joaquin Gomez in 15:26.
       "I wanted to do well going in, but the race turned out to be a lot harder than I thought,” the youngest Hall explained. “I talk to my brother all the time (Ryan calls) and he said to not worry about time, but just enjoy the running."
Hopi HS or Arizona claimed the team crown, with a 26-point edge over well-bunched Laguna Beach in a 9-team scoring race.
        Woodcrest Christain of Riverside pulled off a major double upset, toppling favored and state-#1-ranked Flintridge Prep in the Sweepstakes Division IV race, along with four other top-five-ranked squads. Woodcrest Christian beat Flintridge Prep by six points (83-89), but also worth noting is the fact that FP had one of its top runners compete in the lower levels this weekend. If his performance time were computed into the varsity race, the Rebels would have edged past Woodcrest Christian in the team standings.
         In the Division V Girls Sweepstakes race, Woodcrest Christian employed another clutch grinding with a 56-77-82 decision over previous #1 Flintridge Prep and #2 Maranatha. Individually, Woodcrest Christian’s Ashleigh Pratt outkicked Maranatha’s Rachel Gil for the narrowest of victories, 19:30-19:31.
         Half Moon Bay pulled off perhaps the highest-quality surprise of the opening day, with the Central Coast Section power stuffing the chute with 4 of the top 13 finishers en route to a 41-52 decision over a San Lorenzo Valley squad running two varsity teams with a split roster. Even when combining the results, HMB still held a narrow victory. Individually, Half Moon Bay’s Liz Hitchner claimed top honors over SLV frosh Taylor Johnson (18:14 to 18:30), with Half Moon Bay boasting three of the top four finishers.
         Miramonte dialed up another fine effort in Girls Division III Sweepstakes action, with a 34-point decision over Corona del Mar further boosting the North Coast Section’s statewide power ratings among top schools.
There were multiple reports that CdM’s Anne St. Geme did not complete the race, with the sub-4:50 miler in track repeatedly battling an injury in recent weeks. Here, it was Harvard-Westlake’s Anna Farias-Eisner who powered her way from the competition for a 17-second victory.
         Five other squads finished within 10 seconds of each other for the third- through seventh-place team positions.