The finish line awaits

Mike Sciacca

It is the final week of the Pacific Coast League cross country

season, with just a week to go before the all-important CIF Southern

Section prelims at Mt. San Antonio College. The State Championships

are looming at the end of the month.

It is this portion of the 2002 schedule that the Laguna Beach High

boys’ team has been aiming at all season, and this squad is on the

verge of something big.

“We have a chance here to do some things that haven’t been done at

this school in a long time,” senior runner Brendan Bowler said. “I

know all of us are going to give it all we’ve got.”

The Laguna Beach boys have not won a league title since 1989. They

went after the goal Thursday in the league final held at Irvine Park.

On top of that, Bowler is considered the favorite for the boys’

individual league title. Should he capture that title, he will

reserve a special place in the school’s cross country history.

“No one seems to remember the last individual varsity league champ

from Laguna,” Breakers coach Dave Brobeck said. “We have had scores

of outstanding runners come close over the past 15 to 20 years. I

think Brendan stands a great shot at doing it.”

Irvine Park’s flat course offered Bowler the chance for one last

personal record time.

“It’s the league championships, so everybody’s going to be running

at their best,” he said. “I’m a senior and this is my last time to

PR. That is one of my personal goals.”

As important as it is for him to win a team and individual title,

what is equally challenging to Bowler is making his way into the

cross-country program’s “Hall of Fame.”

The Top 10 list is the compilation of the all-time fastest

cross-country runners in school history.

The 10th top time is 15:30.

Bowler’s PR is 15:50, meaning he’d have to drop 20 seconds from

his personal best mark.

“It’s a stretch for anyone to make that list, but it’s a personal

goal of mine,” he said. “Twenty seconds is a lot for anyone to drop

off their time, but I’m going to give it a shot.”

Brobeck knows all about the Hall of Fame, as he holds down the No.

6 spot on the school list with a time of 15:22.

He recorded that time during the 1990 season.

“If Brendan breaks 15:30 he will make himself immortal in Laguna

Beach High running lore,” Brobeck said. “He would join a list of

runners primarily from the 1970s and 80s.”

While personal records are a key goal for any runner, Bowler said

another big push is to get the Laguna Beach boys’ cross-country

program back to the California State Meet.

The school has not qualified for that meet since its 1989 team won

the State Championship.

Brobeck knows all about that feeling, too.

“Being as I was a member of that 1989 team, returning to the state

meet as the Laguna coach has become a primary goal of mine,” he said.

“This is the ultimate desire for each of the seven varsity guys and

myself.

“In the past four years, we have come awfully close -- each year

being knocked out one step short at the CIF finals race.”

This year, the schools that finished among the top six in each

division at the CIF finals will qualify for the state meet.

In previous years, only the top four teams advanced.

The CIF finals will be held Nov. 23, also at Mt. SAC, and the

State Championships will be held Nov. 30.

Laguna Beach is ranked fifth in CIF-SS Division III.

The Breakers entered the final month of the season by claiming a

huge victory as they held off 20 other schools to capture the

Division IV team championship at the Mt. SAC Invitational.

It marked the first time a Brobeck-coached boys’ varsity team had

accomplished the feat.

One of the state’s premiere invitationals was held on Oct. 25.

Bowler finished second in the race at 16:03 and was within one

second of taking top honors. Senior Nathan Greene, Laguna’s No. 2

runner, finished third at 16:14 in a run held on a hilly, rainy

course.

“This is easily the best performance I have had for a varsity

squad on this course,” Brobeck said. “It bodes well for our immediate

future, too. This should strike the guys as a source of confidence

going into the CIF races.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. He can be reached at 494-4321 or by e-mail at

michael.sciacca@latimes.com.