By Rich Gonzalez
Editor, DyeStatCal
      (Walnut, CA) -- (WALNUT) -- Based on the latest outcomes over the weekend at Mt. SAC -- and all season long, for that matter -- the weekly CIF-SS Division I boys standings are a makeshirt whirlpool.
     The continued interchange of top teams resembles those pulsating forces found in your typical jacuzzi, with teams such as El Rancho, Valencia, Arcadia, Trabuco Hills, and Dana Hills at times caught in the right cyclical jetstream to make a forceful move in the rankings and at other times merely just being left soaked.
     Arcadia is second overall at Woodbridge... only to place 10th in SuperSweeps at Mt. SAC. El Rancho is 14th overall by time at Woodbridge... but then places 7th in SuperSweeps at Mt. SAC. Crescenta Valley loses by one to Arcadia a recent Pacific League cluster meet... but then turns the tables to cream the Apaches by 51 in SuperSweeps. Trabuco Hills loses the title by four points to Dana Hills at the Orange County Championships last weekend, but would have been nearly 150 points in arrear in a power merge of results this weekend. Valencia of Placentia was eight points from winning at Orange County last weekend, but did not even rank in the same area code with top adversaries when it came to this weekend's results.
     In fact, with the top 14 teams in CIF-SS Division I consistently performing among the top 17, the identity of the top squads is not in question. Only their consistency is.
     Then there's Murrieta Valley. Number One in mid-September... Number One by the end of September... and now Number One after the Mt. SAC extravaganza.
     The Nighthawks were as strong and equally as impressive as in their jaw-dropping performance at the Woodbridge Invitational on September 15th, this time overpowering a collection of 13 section- or state-ranked teams and two non-ranked teams to win the featured SuperSweepstakes Race at the 60th Annual Mt. SAC Invitational.
     Murrieta Valley, ranked atop the CIF-State Division I rankings, scored 103 points to win by 45 points over vastly improved area rival Vista Murrieta, with no other team within 50 points of the victorious Nighthawks. Their team-time clocking of 77:15 (a 15:34 average) also was a meet-best, with their 33-second scoring gap behind senior all-state candidate David McCutcheon making it very difficult for any challengers to find a weakness.
     Vista Murrieta might be the exception. As members of the Southwestern League, the two teams are very familiar with each other. Also, Vista Murrieta coach Karen Candaele has made an inquiry (the outcome still pending) about the placement of one of her runners in the results from Saturday. If she is correct, Vista Murrieta would have a revised score possibly drawing her team to within a dozen or so points of Murrieta Valley!
     Loyola, ranked atop the CIF-State Division II poll and also the top team in last week's DyeStat California Region poll, had mixed results in placing third. The Cubs were bolstered by a great run from freshman star Elias Gedyon, who ran the fastest 9th-grade time since course renovations took place eight years ago, and among the best grade 9th-grade performances ever at Mt. SAC. Loyola scored 161 points to lead the chase pack against the Murrieta schools.
     Six more teams finished within 21 points of each other in a tight battle for fourth place, with Crescenta Valley getting the nod over San Diego powerhouse Rancho Buena Vista, competitive Central Section performers Buchanan and Clovis East and Southern Section foes El Rancho and Royal.
     The race exhibited a swift feel from the outset, with nearly 30 runners parading through the half-mile mark clumped together at 2:15. By the end of the second Valley Loop and reaching the mile, it was Arizona's Jim Walmsley (Horizon HS) that began to string the field out as he crossed in 4:35. The strength runners moved into position over Switchback Hill, with Walmsley, Fallbrook's Bret Hasvold and Clovis West's Andrew Campbell reaching the 'crossover' at right about 7:50. Walmsley made a big move on Poop-Out Hill to increase the gap, which saw Highland senior Jeremy Acosta make serious headway to lead the pursuit group, with Walmsley reaching the two-mile mark in 9:53 and a 10-second lead over Acosta.
     The final half mile saw a great battle begin to play out, with Walmsley trying to hold on and Acosta showing admirably persistence. The race leader ascended Reservoir Hill at 12:25 with a half mile to go, but Acosta closing in. The gap continually shrank along the airstrip, with Acosta bearing down all the way to the finish, where Walmsley capped the race of his life with a stellar 14:58 win and Acosta just missing a heroic comeback in taking second at 14:59.
     The Boys Team Sweepstakes Race had a pair of teams that could have easily held their own in the SuperSweeps Division, but instead were left to tangle with one another for bragging rights in a race held directly after SuperSweeps. Dana Hills, still fresh off its big win at the Orange County Championships the weekend prior, showed tremendous depth in taking 7 of the top 25 places, with all seven runners for the Dolphins clocking at 16:05 or faster! (To boot, Dana Hills had three others at sub16:15 in the featured junior varsity race!).
     The "blue crew" scored 68 points to best Orange County rival Newport Harbor (112 points) in a strong field that showcased six teams racing 81:15 or faster. Tyler Valdes, who also paced Dana Hills at the county meet, was fourth in the race in 15:25 and was a the front end of a 40-second scoring gap. Newport Harbor had Rex Nelson and Michael Puncel finish 7-8 (15:34/15:38) to spearhead their attack. Upland and Chino Hills, a pair of squads just off the cusp of the CIF-SS rankings this fall, beat out Division II power Foothill of Santa Ana for the next two spots while Woodcreek -- with its runners on the course for the first time -- was a distant sixth.
    The battle at the front of the race was a mob scene at first, with a very large group purring throguh the first Valley Loop in a very comfortable 2:22. By the mile, Dana Hills had a trio of runners among the top ten with a pack of about 20 runners crossing through at 4:45. Woodcreek had the unofficially quick-score lead at the crossover point (about 1.65 miles, on pure estimation), 64-73 at 8:11 into the race, over Dana Hills. Woodcreek frontrunner Chris Romo was clearly unsure of the race path and was visibly motioning course marshalls for instructions on where to turn next.
    By two miles, Rancho Bernardo's Parker Stinson and Woodcreek's Garrett Seawell gained clear of the rest of the clear, with Stinson grabbing the lead with a half mile remaining (12:48). Seawell responded well, however, along the airstrip, slipping past Stinson and scampering away for the win, 15:09 to 15:12.
    The Individual Sweeps Race saw Indio's Joshi Ankur bring the pack out at 2:24, with the Glendora duo of Thoman Finnigan and Joey Divizia close behind. It was the same threesome at the mile, with Ankur leading them across in 4:45. Santiago of Corona's Steven Crum made a nice move along Switchback Hill to join Troy's Jonathan Shawel as the new lead pack that upped the tempo as they reached the crossover point in 8:06. Crum and Shawel reached two miles in 10:20 and started to open the gap on Finnigan and Leuzinger's Jose Lezama.
    Nearly stride for stride while cresting Reservoir Hill, Crum pulled slighty ahead of Shawel on the final descent, but the Troy senior kept close contact throughout and along the airstrip, then outkicked Crum along the final 10 strides to win, 15:01 to 15:02. Corona, turning the corner with a healthy Raul Arcos on board, won the team battle over Fountain Valley, 99-164.

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