Channel League Cluster Meet #1
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at Dos Publes HS (SS)

Results?

         With the usually mild weathered Dos Pueblos course being heated up by Santa Ana winds, the Channel League schools encountered very dry mid 80 degree weather on Wednesday, making for a little excitement for the first Channel League meet of 2004. Comprised of beach area schools, the Channel League schools usually perform a little better when the coastal fog visits the races.
         With no fog, but plenty of school construction in sight, the quality of the races would match the weather. There certainly were some hot performances on this warm day.
         Leading off the schedule was the junior varsity girls. Usually a race noted for its screaming start and sluggish finish, the race decided to be dyslectic today. With the majority of girls going out in a conservative but sensible pace, the second half of the race would heat up. Still, by the 800 mark, Ventura High occupied the top 3 spots in the race and 7 of the top 10 positions. Breaking up the gold rush of Ventura yellow jerseys was Blanca Lua and Natalie Smith of Buena. Still, the Cougars of Ventura had a comfortable presence at the front of the race, led by sophomore Laura Mason. By the halfway point, a string of Cougars held the first 6 spots in the race and the numbers in the top 10 and top 20 continued to grow. By the end of the race, Ventura would occupy the top 8 spots and 13 of the top 20 with cross town rival, Buena, holding down the other 7 spots. Out racing the field, Laura Mason won in 19:19. Second was Lauren Martinez at 20:00 and Reilly Wagner was third at 20:03. Ventura scored a perfect 15 with Buena second with 63 points and San Marcos third with 127 points. The team time for the Ventura Junior Varsity team was a very credible 100:12. That would be the third fastest time ever for a Ventura Varsity team for this course, ahead of the 1996 team that was fourth in the state.
          The junior varsity boys race went out with a far more aggressively with Spencer Speich of Dos Pueblos, Jon Barnes of Ventura and Dylan Stewart of Buena taking charge early. By the 1 mile mark, Jon Barnes and Greg Woodburn of Ventura were in control of the race. By the halfway point, freshman Woodburn had used the downhills effectively to open up a 10 second lead on his teammate, Jon Barnes. Meanwhile, just a little farther back, the team race was being taken over by Ventura. With Ventura and Buena holding 18 of the top 20 spots, it did not take Rich Gonzales to figure out that the race would come down to these two Ventura schools. Over the last mile, Ventura moved up strongly, with 5 of the top 7 spots. Greg Woodburn would win the race in 16:54 with teammate Jon Barnes holding off Spencer Speich of Dos Pueblos to earn the runner up spot. Ventura also controlled 5th, 6th and 7th to score 21 points to run away with the team title. Buena was second with 61 points while Dos Pueblos was 3rd.
          Next up were the varsity girls. In recent years, the Ventura Cougars have had a stranglehold on the league title, winning the last 6 championships in a row. However, Buena had won the 13 years prior to that. While the league has always had strong individuals from the Santa Barbara area schools, the team trophy usually makes the trip down the coast to a Ventura school. Today, in the first league meet, the trend did not appear ready to change. Ventura, the #2 rated team in Division I and Buena, highly ranked in Division II appeared to once again be the league favorites. As the gun went off, Kimberly Donatelli of Buena, a state place winner and Channel League champion last year, jetted to the lead. In her wake were Miranda McCune of San Marcos, a sub 11 minute 3200 meter runner during the track season, Amy Chandos of Dos Pueblos and the four pack of Ventura runners, Emily Spiker, Molly Bailey, Jessica Bryant and Tara Bryant. Through the early portions of the race, Donatelli dictated the pace, as the four Cougars lurked close by. As the course ascended a hill just prior to the mile mark, the Cougars went by as a group and gradually opened up a little gap. Hanging just out of the picture were the fifth and sixth Ventura runners, Becky Brinkenhoff and Edna Solano, closely followed by McCune and Chandos. By the halfway point, McCune and Chandos had moved into sixth and seventh place respectively with McCune closing the gap on the top five. Passing Donatelli at just over 1 3/4, she next set her sights on Tara Bryant who had dropped off a tad from the lead pack. Meanwhile, Jessica Bryant, Molly Bailey and Emily Spiker shared the lead and maintained about a 15 second lead on Tara Bryant and Tara McCune. With less than a mile to go, the trio worked their way up the last hill with McCune maintaining the fourth spot. There would be no positional changes in the top spots after 400 meters to go when Emily Spiker picked up the pace and ever so slightly moved away from her teammates. Finishing in 17:59, Emily was a mere two seconds in front of Molly, who was a mere 2 seconds in front of Jessica. Miranda McCune would finish fourth in 18:10 with Tara Bryant holding down fifth in 18:20. Teamwise, the Cougars would score 19 points with Buena in second with 60 points and San Marcos in third with 72 points.
           The boys varsity race had long been a Buena and Dos Pueblos playground. This year¹s Ventura team, however, came in ranked in Division I and ready to play. And play they did. While Buena, led by 800 specialist, Donovan Smith, got their top five out quickly. Tyler Rattray helped lead a strong Dos Pueblos team in the early going as Ventura hung back in the pack. By the time the race had reached the 3/4 mile point, Taylor Garret and Chris Gurney of Ventura had assumed the lead, with Rattray, Smith and Eli Kupperman of San Marcos not far behind. 5 to 10 seconds behind the early leaders, four Ventura runners hid in the pack. Led by freshman Michael Barnes, the Cougars pack looked strong and determined. Garrett opened up a slight lead through the half way point with Gurney and Rattray within striking distance. As the course moved off asphalt back on to the dirt trails, the Cougar pack, as a group, moved past all of the runners except for the top four in the race. From the 1 1/2 mile point to the end, this group of four would maintain the fifth through ninth spot. Kupperman of San Marcos would battle this group and eventually finish fourth. Meanwhile at the top of the race, Taylor Garrett would move away to his first ever Channel League victory, crossing the finish line in 15:43. Tyler Rattray and Chris Gurney would push each other hard over the last 400 meters with the second place finish not being secure until the last 50 meters when Gurney of Ventura opened up a slight lead, finishing in 15:48, two seconds in front of Rattray. The Ventura pack at 5 through 9 closed the door on this edition of the Channel League meet, running away with a 46 point victory over Dos Pueblos, the second place team. Scoring 21 points, Ventura was also 62 points in front of third place and defending Channel League champions, Buena.
            Thus, the Ventura teams will hold onto first place for all four divisions at the present time. With the second Channel League meet scheduled on October 14 at the hilly Arroyo Verde course in Ventura, things could change.