Revved up for more

Bryce Alderton

Losing a runner the caliber of a Julie Allen might make some

coaches cringe.

Not Corona del Mar High girls cross country coach Bill Sumner, who

begins his 19th season at the helm of the Sea Kings, who will try for

their 17th consecutive appearance at the State Meet.

With the Sea Kings returning five of six runners from last

season’s fourth-place finish at the CIF Division III State Finals in

Fresno, Sumner has reason to believe his team is destined for

greatness again even with the departure of the Stanford-bound Allen.

But he doesn’t take anything for granted.

“We have flat out the whole team back minus Allen,” Sumner said.

“We have the top five runners with experience coming back into it,

but we don’t take anything for granted. I change every year to see

what will take this team to state.”

During Sumner’s tenure, CdM has won three state championships and

two CIF Division IV titles before CdM moved up to Division III.

Last season CdM finished second in CIF Division III. Allen took

second at State (18:24.6) with returning senior Becky Cummins running

to seventh (19:05) and sophomores Ahlia Kattan, who ran to a

24th-place finish (20:53) and Melissa Swigert (59th) with the same

time at state finals.

Cummins, along with Allen, earned All-CIF honors to help the Sea

Kings win the Pacific Coast League title. Allen set the course record

in the league championship (16:53).

The Sea Kings return five of six runners from last season’s team,

including senior Keelan Cuyler and juniors Taryn Kawata, Jennifer

Logan, Kindie Cramer and Sarah Claster, who “forces everyone around

her to do better,” according to Sumner.

“We have the top five with experience coming back,” Sumner said.

Freshman Annie St. Gimme should also figure prominently in the Sea

Kings’ quest for another state-meet appearance.

Success has come differently each year for Sumner depending on the

types of runners he has.

“We have to do it differently each year,” Sumner said. “Most

people stick to the old plan if its working, but we have a system

where we find out what works and work that in right away. We start

identifying things in August. Each year there’s a different set of

kids and a different system. That’s what makes us successful, being

prepared to change.”