CdM packs away two crowns

Bryce Alderton

A runner from Laguna Beach High said it best, “The pack strategy

Corona del Mar (High) uses works well.”

His comments hit the bull’s-eye at the Pacific Coast League Finals

for boys and girls cross country Thursday at Irvine Regional Park,

where the Sea King boys and girls both took home team league titles.

The girls won a league title for the fifth year in a row, the

fourth in the PCL, scoring 33 points, topping second place Tesoro

(63), University (67), Northwood (75), Laguna Beach (128) and Calvary Chapel (162). The boys also scored 33, edging Laguna Beach (37).

University (94), Tesoro (102) and Northwood (111) finished out the

field.

Five Corona boys runners finished No.’s 4-5 and 7-9 while two took

11th and 12th place. J.C. Turner ran the fastest boys time to finish

fourth overall with a 16:05 and Blake Dillion came in fifth overall

with a 16:09. Jack Turner (16:19) and Bo Weidner (16:19) came on

strong to finish seventh and eighth, respectively, and Kevin Artz

took ninth place with a 16:20. Danny Quinlan and Brandon Borcorman

took 11th and 12th with 16:28 and 16:29, respectively.

J.C. Turner gave Brandon Borcorman credit for running strong at

the end to edge Tesoro’s Brett Buffington and University’s Gordon

Withes, helping the Sea Kings claim the PCL crown.

“The secret was the Borcorman finish,” said Turner, adjusting

Corona’s tent as the light rain began to fall after the race. “He

passed (those guys) and that saved us. It wasn’t the greatest race, I

didn’t get my guys, but it’s all right because we still won.”

Laguna Beach’s Brendan Bowler won the boys individual race with a

15:34 and teammates Nathan Greene and Sean Fuszard finished second

and third, respectively, with 15:59 and 16:01 before the onslaught of

CdM finishers.

Bowler never trailed, jumping out to a seven-second lead at the

1-mile mark and led by 15 seconds over Greene at the 2-mile mark, and

Artz was in third at that point before falling back to finis ninth.

“We basically knew it was us and Laguna,” said Weidner, who

finished eighth overall. “(Laguna) wanted to win big time, but we

held together in a pack and knew we could pull it off. We like to run

close. Blake Dillion stepped up big for us today.”

University’s Hadas Moser and Northwood’s Christie Farson took

No.’s 1 and 2, respectively, in the girls race with times of 18:09

and 18:11 before third-place Courtney Winovitch (18:29), of Tesoro.

Moser and Farson ran toe-to-toe for the three miles.

Becky Cummins led the CdM girls charge at fifth place with 18:49

and Sea King runners took the next four spots to claim the league

title.

Taryn Kawata (6th, 19:08), Ahlia Kattan (7th, 19:11), Keelan

Cuyler (8th, 19:12) and Melissa Swigert (9th, 19:15) ran in a pack

for virtually the entire race and were followed by CdM’s Jennifer

Logan (16th, 19:48) and Devin Ahearn (17th, 19:49).

Before the girls varsity race, CdM Coach Bill Sumner told his team

huddled around him to “prepare and stick to the plan.”

The plan seemed to work.

Runners on both CdM teams qualified for the CIF Division III

Finals at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut Nov. 16. The top three

teams and top seven runners individually also qualified for the CIF

finals.