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.
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