FRESNO --
Saturday October 8, 2005 marks the 27th running of the Clovis High School
Cross Country Invitational. The meet will be run on the State Championship
Course at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA. The first of the day’s
13 races begins at 7:30 am with each race starting at 30-minute intervals
through 1:30 PM. Entrance to the park is a city fee of $3 per car.
The most anticipated
races of the day will be the Championship Races. These will feature
many of the top programs and individuals in California and Nevada in
a mid-season showdown. Here's a glimpse:
The girls race, beginning
at 10:00, has had running fans drooling at the possibility of the season’s
first head-to-head meeting of three of the biggest names in West Coast
cross country. Marie Lawrence of Reno High (Nevada) finished last season
as the #2 runner in the nation, taking the silver medal at the Foot
Locker Cross Country Championships. Local standout Lauren Saylor, who
earned All American honors in the same race, is even stronger this year
and leads California’s #1 team, Buchanan (Clovis) through the
3.1 mile course. Newcomer Jordan Hasay, a freshman at Mission Prep High
School (SLO) has been the talk of age-group running circles over the
past 13 months. She set numerous age-group records on the track this
last summer and Saturday will be her first large meet situation at Woodward
Park. At of this writing, Jordan had been entered in the Championship
race, but will most likely be running with her team in the small schools
varsity race at 11:00.
Buchanan’s girls
team has made a name for itself by rolling into the Woodbridge Invitational
in Irvine (with three freshmen and no seniors) and setting the meet
record. The following Saturday, the Bears rolled into Stanford and beat
Corona del Mar of Newport Beach by one point. As a result, Corona Del
Mar, led by Annie St. Geme, the defending state track and field champion
at 1600 meters, is now the #2 ranked team in all of California. The
field of talented teams also features defending Nevada state champion
South Lake Tahoe, which is currently ranked #4 in the Southwest US.
Brea Olinda, ranked #3 in division II in California, and Thousand Oaks,
ranked 5th in California’s division I, add more strength to the
19 team field that boasts eleven state or nationally ranked teams.
Royal's lethal junior tandem of Hudson
Andrews (left)
and Michael Cybulski will pace a shorthanded crew as
three members of Royal's state championship team will
be taking the SAT college admissions test this weekend.
The boy’s
race will be run at 10:30 and has the potential to put stability in
state rankings that have been as solid as Jell-O this season. Defending
California State Champion Royal High School of Simi Valley, led by 3200
meter champion Michael Cybulski, has provided the most stable season
to date in a state that is overflowing with competitive talent. Jesuit
(Carmichael) brings a #1 division 2 and #3 statewide ranking to the
table. Central Section powers Madera (#8 overall in CA), host Clovis
High (#5 division II), and McFarland (#2 division IV) are eager to test
their strength against the 22-team field.
Madera has reloaded
this season to post impressive victories over Jesuit at the Granite
Bay Invitational and at the Earlybird meet in September. The Coyotes
are currently ranked #1 overall in the Central Section. Clovis High,
led by the junior tandem of Mikel Thomas and Jonathan Peterson, are
looking to see how they stack up in the Central Section, currently holding
the number 2 overall ranking after narrowly escaping McFarland’s
charge at the Golden West Invitational on Sept. 30. Thomas and Peterson
will be challenged by Cybulski, Evan Watchempino of Jesuit, Iolani Invitational
champion Russell Pfaff of Clovis East, Clovis West’s Andrew Campbell,
and Reno’s Joseph Parker. Local small school standout Erick Garcia,
who beat Peterson last week in Visalia, will also toe the line in the
Championship race.
See you
at Woodward Park!
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