2003 Coastal Conference Cross-Country Championships
Friday, November 14, 2002
Kit Carson Park, Escondido – 3.1 miles

It is fitting for a championship cross-country event to be held at Kit Carson Park. The park is named after the nineteenth century frontiersman who was known, among other things, for sneaking two soldiers and himself during the Mexican-American War in 1846 through enemy lines near the park and running approximately the distance of a marathon to San Diego where they brought help for US General Stephen Kearny’s pinned-down forces.

This year’s championships had all the makings of a western duel in the sun. The whistling theme song from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” could be heard off in the distance as the gun sounded the start of the boys’ race. One can’t really say who represents “the good”, “the bad” or “the ugly”, but there were ten schools ready to run today.

La Jolla Country Day came into today’s boys’ race having won the last two Coastal Conference Championships and having run a third season undefeated in dual meets. Their closest call was with Division V Tri-City Christian when the Eagles lost to the Torreys by only one point in October’s dual meet. The weather perfect and the course rolling with hills, the scene was set for a true battle between the two schools.

The first mile was somewhat conservative for this difficult course as a pack of about ten runners came through the split in 5:25. Up and down the roller coaster hills, the pack went for the next one-third mile. As the runners came back to the spectators, the race had shaped up as was expected. Taylor Searles of The Bishop’s School, this year’s Coastal Conference Athlete of the Year, led the race by a slight 20 meters. Following were Mitch Howell of Tri-City Christian, and behind him by another 20 meters was Timbo Stillinger, the Sophomore phenom from San Dieguito Academy. The harriers kept streaming by with Tri-City Christian’s second, third and fourth runners trying to keep their dreams afloat in a sea of Torrey blue.

By the second mile, the runners stayed somewhat constant, preparing for one last valiant effort up and down the roller coaster hills before finishing. As the runners made their way up the first hill, spectators screamed knowing this could be either the defense of a title held proudly or the beginning of a new era in Coastal Cross Country. Coaches, family and friends held their breath while the runners made their way up and down the hills in the distance, seeming as only specks in the setting sun.

Speeding towards the finish line, Bishop’s Taylor Searles captured his first Coastal Cross Country title. In second place, however, San Dieguito’s Timbo Stillinger made a strong move in the last half-mile to overtake Tri-City Christian’s Mitch Howell. With strong finishing kicks, it was Tri-City Christian in the next three spots, but the Torreys in the following four spots. La Jolla Country Day’s depth brought in all of their varsity runners in the top twenty spots overall while Tri-City Christian could only manage four runners in the top twenty. The Eagles’ soaring dreams began to lose altitude as the coaches quickly began tabulating the results before the last runner had even finished the course. The results produced a tie, and the Torreys’ depth gave them a victory with a faster sixth runner.

On the girls’ side, La Jolla Country Day kept their winning ways with a dominant victory over Division V Santa Fe Christian. The Bishop’s School looked strong as well with a close third place finish.

Coastal Cross Country Athlete of the Year Marie Raffray from San Dieguito Academy easily won the overall honors for the girls. LaToya Cunningham (LJCD) captured the runner-up place, holding off strong efforts from Bishops’ Robin Kuntz and Santa Fe Christian’s Katy Carlson.

It’s been another great year in the Coastal Conference. Now it’s time for the CIF Championships and Fresno! Congratulations and best wishes to all!!
GIRLS –

Individuals:
1. Marie Raffray, SDA (SR) 19.23
2. LaToya Cunningham, LJCD (JR) 20.27
3. Robin Kuntz, Bis (JR) 20.41
4. Katy Carlson, SFC (SO) 21.02
5. Jocelyn Jenks, LJCD (SR) 21.25
6. Hana Justice, LJCD (SO) 21.31
7. Corinne Daniel, FP (FR) 21.33
8. Dani Jackson , TCC (SO) 21.44
9. Jaclyn Christopher, SFC (FR) 21.47
10. Morgan Diefenbach, LJCD (JR) 21.57
11. Hilary White, Bis 21.59
12. Sarah Swigart, LJCD 22.04
13. Brooke Gerson, SDA 22.06
14. Sarah Bromely, Bis 22.14
15. Jenny Stripe, SFC 22.49
16. ? Pedroarena, FP 23.04
17. Savannah Bloch, SDA 23.33
18. Madeline Kramer, SFC 23.39
19. Mary Ostrander, FP 23.43
20. Britinee Yasukochi, Bis 23.59

Team Scores:
1. La Jolla Country Day (Div IV) = 2, 5, 6, 10, 12 = 35
2. Santa Fe Christian (Div V) = 3, 9, 15, 18, 21 = 66
3. The Bishop’s School (Div IV) = 3, 11, 14, 20, 22 = 70
4. San Dieguito Academy (Div III) = 1, 13, 17, 28, 30 = 89
5. Francis Parker (Div IV) = 7, 16, 19, 23, 32 = 97
6. Tri-City Christian (Div V) = 8, 29, 31, 38, 46 = 152
7. The Preuss School-UCSD (Div V) = 31, 38, 47, 52, 54 = 222
Calvin Christian (Div V) and Horizon (Div IV) did not score teams
BOYS –
Individuals:
1. Taylor Searles, Bis (SR) 17.18
2. Timbo Stillinger, SDA (SO) 17.27
3. Mitch Howell , TCC (SR) 17.40
4. Jon Keller, TCC (FR) 17.42
5. John Pfeil , TCC (JR) 17.50
6. Brian Sedwitz, LJCD (JR) 17.56
7. Lex Kiefhaber, LJCD (JR) 18.05
8. Eric Mothander, LJCD (JR) 18.06
9. Tyler Middleton, LJCD (SR) 18.12
10. Dustin Fiero, Hor (FR) 18.24
11. Cody Hunter, TCC 18.28
12. Michael Walters, CC 18.35
13. Fletcher Fields, SDA 18.38
14. Jordan Yerkes, Hor 18.38
15. Timmy Sedwitz, LJCD 18.39
16. Florian Scheulen, SDA 18.54
17. Scott McCracken, LJCD 18.57
18. Kent Morgan, SDA 19.06
19. Alex Alessandro, LJCD 19.12
20. Spencer Danielson, Hor 19.15

Team Scores:
1. La Jolla Country Day (Div IV) = 6, 7, 8, 9, 15 = 45 (wins with tie breaker – 6th runner)
2. Tri-City Christian (Div V) = 3, 4, 5, 11, 22 = 45
3. San Dieguito Academy (Div III) = 2, 13, 16, 18, 30 = 79
4. The Bishop’s School (Div IV) = 1, 21, 25, 29, 38 = 114
5. Horizon Christian (DIv IV) = 10, 14, 20, 47, 56 = 147
6. Francis Parker (DIv IV) = 27, 28, 31, 35, 36 = 157
7. Santa Fe Christian (Div V) = 24, 39, 42, 53, 54 = 212
8. Army-Navy Academy (Div IV) = 32, 34, 43, 49, 61 = 219
9. Calvin Christian (Div V) = 12, 50, 51, 52, 55 = 220
10. The Preuss School-UCSD (Div V) = 37, 40, 45, 58, 59 = 239
JV BOYS –
Individuals:
1. Shuhei Matsuo, LJCD (SR) 19.29
2. Ryan Vilas, TCC (FR) 20.22
3. Brian Davis, LJCD (JR) 20.43
4. Ben Killmer, LJCD (JR) 20.46
5. Rory Allen, SDA (SR) 20.56
6. Jon Salzberg, LJCD (SO) 21.06
7. John Major, LJCD (SO) 21.09
8. Kasra Sharifi, LJCD (JR) 21.15
9. Patrick Wemmer, Bis (FR) 21.30
10. Derek Clowes, FP (FR) 21.36
Team Scores:
1. La Jolla Country Day (Div IV) = 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 = 21
2. The Bishop’s School (DIv IV) = 9, 12, 14, 21, 22 = 78
3. Francis Parker (Div IV) = 10, 16, 17, 23, 29 = 95
4. San Dieguito Academy (DIv III) = 13, 24, 34, 39, 40 = 150
5. Calvin Christian (Div V) = 18, 20, 25, 26, 28 = 117
no other teams scored