HIGH SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY : Hoover Boys Break Invitational Drought

The Hoover High boys’ cross-country team, which has managed only dual-meet wins this season, was given extra incentive by Coach Greg Switzer for the Santa Clarita invitational Saturday.

Switzer’s words were worth about 35 miles of motivation to the Tornadoes as well as a course record by junior Margarito Casillas.

“I told them if we don’t beat Hart’s JV team, they’re walking home. And it’s a long way,” Switzer said facetiously.

Running scared, five Hoover runners placed among the top 20 at College of the Canyons to total 58 points in the Division I race and handily defeat the Hart B team (103 points). It was Hoover’s first invitational win in four attempts this season.

Canyon (105), Palm Springs (127) and Palmdale (137) rounded out the top five.

Hart Coach Gene Blankenship, whose boys’ team is ranked No. 1 nationally, held his varsity team out of the meet because the Indians race on the grueling, hilly course at Canyons several times a season in Foothill League meets.

Hoover, despite being ranked ninth in the state, had not been in sync all season until Saturday, Switzer said. “This was the first time we actually had a team race, thankfully,” he said.

Hoover nearly won the Kenny Staub invitational Oct. 5 by placing four runners among the top 12. But No. 4 runner Dave Ulloa was unable to compete and Agoura prevailed, 79-85.

Casillas surged with about 1 1/2 miles to go in the three-mile race and sprinted to a course record of 15 minutes 32 seconds. That time was two seconds faster than the year-old mark of Canyon’s Dave Hartman, now at Villanova.

Hoover’s Alvaro Lopez (10th in 16:46), Angel Casillas (13th, 16:51), Ulloa (14th, 16:53) and Jack Sallakian (20th, 17:04) helped the Tornadoes breeze without the aid of solid sixth and seventh runners.

In the girls’ Division I race, six of the seven Canyon runners ran personal bests for the course to post a runaway victory with 48 points. Ventura placed second with 102 points and Paramount third with 120. San Pedro and Saugus tied with 202 points, but San Pedro was awarded fourth because the Pirates had a faster sixth runner.

Robin Heidt of Canyon sliced her course record by 26 seconds, running 18:52 to win by 49 seconds over Paramount’s Marisa Avendando (19:41). Heather Giles finished fourth in 20:13 and TeriAnn Boggio was eighth in 20:48 for Canyon.

L. A. Baptist’s Carolina Castellanos won the girls’ Division II race in 20:12, and teammate Jennifer Overlock was third in 21:32 to lead the Knights to a 62-66 victory over Lakewood St. Joseph.