Boys and girls cross country: CdM girls to repeat?

Steve Virgen

IRVINE - Defending the Orange County Championships Division I title

won’t come easy for the Corona del Mar High girls cross country team

Saturday.

Nevertheless, Sea Kings Coach Bill Sumner says his girls won’t give it

away at Irvine Regional Park.

The meet starts at 8 a.m. with the first varsity race, the girls

varsity Division I sweepstakes with Corona del Mar in the mix, scheduled

to begin at 9:30 a.m.

The CdM boys team will run in Division II (at 10:30 a.m.), which

includes Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, last year’s Division I

sweepstakes champion. Both Costa Mesa squads compete in Division III and

Newport’s girls will enter Division II.

The Orange County Championships rank its three divisions based on

strength of program.

“For the last three years, the (CdM) girls have gone there to win ...

,” Sumner said. “And nothing has changed. I don’t think (the top teams

are) significantly better than we are. If they want to win this thing,

they’re going to have to earn it. I’m not prepared to give it away. I’m

prepared for them to take it. We want to give it a good whack.”

Last year, CdM senior Julie Allen won the Division I sweepstakes race,

while running for Fountain Valley (she transferred to CdM in the spring).

She finished ahead of Newport Harbor’s Amber Steen, in 17:22, but CdM won

the sweepstakes title by placing five girls in the top 29.

However, just one of the five return for the Sea Kings this year,

Katherine Morse, who was the fifth, placing 48th in 19:41. Season

Meservey, who led CdM (9th in 18:35), has relocated and the other three

girls were seniors.

So now the challenge of repeating falls on a young cast and its senior

leader, Allen, who won the Laguna Hills Invitational in September.

Allen, a three-time CIF Southern Section and state finals participant,

set a Division III course record at Laguna Hills in 17:35, 45 seconds

faster than the previous record.

CdM senior Becky Cummins also brings much-needed experience for the

Sea Kings, the two-time defending state champions who feature six

sophomores, including Keelan Culyer, and two freshmen, including Melissa

Swigert.

Newport Harbor, which races at 9:45 a.m., is also experiencing the

youth trend as the Sailors’ No. 1 runner is sophomore Lauren Paul. Lisa

Evans, another sophomore, is Newport’s second runner and freshman

Courtney Marshall is yet another young runner who Coach Eric Tweit says

is showing quick improvement. Sophomore Amanda Abbott returns from

illness which had her out for more than a week and her return means the

Sailors will be at full strength for the first time this year.

In addition to Newport’s youth and inexperience, senior Louisa

Alvarado will run her first varsity race Saturday. Tweit said her raw

talent might surprise and will definitely make the Sailors more

competitive.

“I’m very excited,” Tweit said. “We’ve improved greatly in practice,

by the end of the year we’re going to be pretty good. We’re going to have

six girls in this race. I look for us to run our best races of the year.

I think we can do pretty well.”

The Costa Mesa girls team, competing at 10 a.m., will be led by its

No. 1 runner sophomore Christine Bjelland. Coach Eric Davies said senior

Cynthia Tran, just as several runners from different high schools, will

not compete Saturday because she must complete her Scholastic Aptitude

Test. Mesa senior Eileen Bello is also one of the Mustangs’ leading

runners.

For the boys competition, Coach Bim Barry’s Sailors will be

hard-pressed to repeat in their title quest this year as they are still

recovering from injuries which helped lead to their first loss in the Sea

View League in five years at this same site last week.

Chris McMillen, who won the Division I boys sweepstakes race last

year, completed high school in the spring. Also, Jesus Santana, 11th in

15:35 last year, moved to Riverside.

Junior Alec Urtu now leads the Sailors. He finished 19th in 16:16 last

year, and, while nursing hip injuries, completed a similar course in

16:23 at Irvine Park last week in the Sea View League Invitational.

Sophomore Nick Miller and senior Joel Furman give the Sailors hope

that they will soon return to supremacy, or at least respectability.

The Corona del Mar Sea Kings, also coached by Sumner, will be led by

seniors Dustin Hodges, Ben Inouye and Mark Pomerantz. Junior Blake

Dillion and sophomore Kevin Artz will contribute efforts, providing

depth.

In Division III (starting at 10:45 am.), Davies’ Costa Mesa Mustangs

feature senior Irwin Salas. Davies said his boys have been training “very

hard” in the weeks leading up to the OC Championships and that sets up

Salas to compete at his best.

“It’s his race to make or break,” said Davies, who will not attend the

meet because of prior commitments. “He’s done real well in the past. I

believe he’s going to be ready. He has the talent. And now if he puts

that talent to what he does, the sky’s the limit.”