STATE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS : Corona del Mar Girls Carry OC’s Banner

FRESNO —  Unlike some of his peers, Tom Cheese, Corona del Mar High School girls’ cross-country coach, never had any doubts that his team would be one of Orange County’s best this year. With five returning runners from last year’s squad, Cheese knew the Sea Kings had the nucleus of a very good team.

“I knew in August how good we could be, but I don’t think anyone else had a clue,” Cheese said. “All season, I’ve sort of felt like I’ve been carrying around this big secret.”

It’s no secret anymore. Corona del Mar, a team that was unranked in county polls until three weeks ago and then was ranked no higher than eighth, will be the only Orange County girls’ team to compete in the California Interscholastic Federation state cross-country championships today at Woodward Park.

The Sea Kings, ranked third in Division II--medium schools’ division (enrollment 700-1,599 students)--qualified as the Southern Section’s top team in Division II last Saturday at the Southern Section championships.

Corona del Mar’s first the trip to Fresno in the three-year history of the state meet caps a successful season. Last month, the Sea Kings won their first Sea View League championship since 1979. And last Saturday, the team placed fifth in the Southern Section 4-A final, its best finish in the past 10 years.

“The key has been their consistency in their training and their racing,” Cheese said. “No one has missed a race because of an injury. They work well together as a team. They help and encourage each other.”

Kirsten McFarland and Johanna Wallin are the team’s front-runners.

McFarland, a sophomore, played tennis last fall as a freshman, then decided in the spring to go out for track. She made the varsity team, placed fifth in the league 1,600-meter final, and then announced to Cheese she would leave tennis for cross-country this fall.

Wallin, the only senior in the top five, was the team’s No. 1 runner last year, but has had trouble this season with minor illnesses and is still not 100% healthy, Cheese said. Even so, Wallin finished as the team’s top runner Saturday, placing 16th overall in the 4-A final.

Junior Kristen Shryock, a three-year varsity member, freshman Heather Bray and junior Holly Hannam round out the top five.

Although Cheese, in his third year as Corona del Mar coach, admits that his past teams have never been exceptionally aggressive as a whole, this squad has developed into one that’s mentally tough.

“Ever since track was over, a few of the girls were talking about how great they wanted to do in cross-country this year,” he said. “They were really motivated, and that attitude has just spread among the whole team. All of a sudden, the ones who have been real tough are a little tougher, and the ones who weren’t as serious are turning into animals.”

One of today’s most interesting showdowns will be between undefeated runners Shelley Taylor of Edison and Becky Spies of Livermore in the Division I girls’ race at 10:35.

Taylor, a sophomore, placed eighth in this race last year, a performance she has referred to with disdain, even though last year was her first season of competitive running.

“I didn’t do very good last year; I think I’ll do a lot better this time,” Taylor said last week. “I’m really pumped up for it. Last year, I wasn’t even nervous before the race. I said ‘Oh, this is such a joke.’ I was this little freshman who didn’t know what she was doing.”

Although Taylor held off her strongest challenge of the year--Westlake’s Jeannie Rothman--last week to win the 4-A title, Taylor will need a much better race to outrun Spies, the favorite.

Spies, a junior, ran a two-mile race on the track in 10 minutes 35 seconds last month, beating her closest opponent by nearly a minute and a half. To find better competition this year, Spies competed as an unattached runner in several open, college-level invitationals before joining her team midway through the season.

Taylor also should face a strong challenge from Beth Bartholomew of Sunnyvale Fremont and Deena Drossin of Agoura, the state cross-country champion in 1987. Drossin, whom Taylor beat at the Mt. SAC Invitational in October, ran 17 seconds faster than Taylor last Saturday to win the 2-A final.

Along with Taylor, Orange County will be represented in the Division I race by Tanja Brix of University, 10th last year, Martha Pinto of Katella and Susannah Thrasher of Villa Park. Tish Williams of La Habra will compete in the Division II race.

Meet Notes

In boys’ competition, Saddleback and San Clemente will have their final chances to prove which is the county’s best; both will compete in the Division I race at 10 a.m. today. Saddleback, the county’s top-ranked team through most of the season, was defeated by second-ranked San Clemente in the Southern Section prelims two weeks ago but outran San Clemente by 15 points last Saturday to place third overall in the 4-A final. Of course, both teams have greater concerns than each other. Camarillo, which won the 4-A title with ease last week, is the state’s top-ranked team and De LaSalle of Concord is a strong second. In state rankings, San Clemente is fifth, Saddleback seventh. . . . Other county runners competing are Trabuco Hills’ Mike Cowdrey and La Habra’s Mark Gonzales in the Division II boys’ race. Laguna Beach will be in the Division III boys’ race. . . . The overall individual boys’ favorite is Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth, the two-time defending state champion.