Newport Harbor boys edge Wolverines

Steve Virgen

There are no buzzer-beaters in cross country, no last-second

touchdowns. But what the Newport Harbor High boys cross country team

accomplished at the Sea View League finals Friday was quite dramatic.

The Sailors knew they had to finish ahead of Aliso Niguel to grab

third place in the league standings and automatically qualify for the

CIF Southern Section Division II preliminaries. They did so by one

point.

Sophomore Adam Mayfield wasn’t the Sailors’ top finisher, but he

proved to be the difference-maker, passing two Aliso Niguel runners

over the last half mile. That helped Newport edge Aliso Niguel,

74-75, to finish third and automatically advance to the CIF Division

II prelims Nov. 15 at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Newport girls team also advanced, finishing second to

Woodbridge and were led by senior Lauren Paul, who finished fourth

(17:56), and sophomore Whitney Blue, who finished fifth (18:01).

Running in just her second race of the season because of foot and

hip injuries, junior Courtney Marshall also contributed to the

Sailors’ team performance, by finishing 10th (18:38).

“The biggest thing for us was how well Adam Mayfield did,” said

Nowell Kay, the Newport boys coach. “That was just desire [shown in

passing the two Aliso runners with a half mile remaining]. He’s

really competitive in races. He’s just been the biggest, most

pleasant surprise for us. I was proud of him.”

Kay was basically pleased with all his runners, and he remains

hopeful that they can advance to the CIF finals. With sophomore Kenny

Rakestraw aboard, the Sailors definitely have a chance to achieve

their goal.

Rakestraw led the Sailors with a fourth-place finish (15:31).

Woodbridge senior Michael Haddan won the race, his third straight Sea

View League title, in 14:45, 43 seconds faster than the second-place

finisher.

Foothill won the Sea View League boys title because its sixth

runner finished three spots higher than Laguna Hills’ sixth, as both

teams were tied, 56-56.

In addition to Rakestraw’s performance, the Sailors were able to

finish third because of junior Nick St. Andre, who finished 11th

(16:15) and senior Nick Miller, who finished 14th (16:26). Mayfield finished 19th (16:41), while senior Martin Bernard (26th in 16:56),

senior Mike Donald (29th in 17:16) and junior Cameron MacLaren (30th

in 17:18) also contributed.

On the girls side, Woodbridge won the Sea View League title, as

the Warriors had a 1-2-3 finish, led by sophomore Jesse Babcock

(17:42). Paul said the Sailors did their best in trying to defeat

Woodbridge, so to help them perform at their best.

Newport girls coach Eric Tweit was impressed with his team’s race,

but has also carried the same reaction for his girls off the course.

“This is -- from top to bottom -- the best bunch of young ladies

to be around,” Tweit said. “As far as overall teams go, this is one

of the best groups we’ve had all-time. They just listen real well and

they are great people.”

Next year, Newport will only lose Paul, who will graduate next

spring, so Tweit knows he has much of the same group back next

season.

“I’m really excited [for the future],” Tweit said.

Freshman Lauren Maddox finished 17th (19:11), junior Caitlin Mai

followed in 20th (19:24), while freshman Lily Dierkes (26th in 19:57)

and freshman Taylor Bryson (38th in 21:09) also pleased their coach

and provided great promise for the future.

The Sailors appear to be closing the gap between Woodbridge and

the Sea View League’s second-place team, and might actually contend

with the Warriors next year.

“I like our chances,” Tweit said.