Running toward a goal

Mike Sciacca

A huge, convincing victory by the Laguna Beach High boys’ cross

country team has thrust the program back into the limelight.

Coming oh-so-close to claiming a Pacific Coast League championship

the past four years, Laguna finally nailed down the crown when it won

the league finals race at Irvine Park.

The triumph was big in that it was the school’s first boys’ league

cross country title since 1989.

It was convincing in that it came over defending champion and

arch-rival Corona del Mar, a squad many thought would run away with

yet another league banner.

“They were the heavy favorite coming in, and nobody really gave us

a chance,” said Laguna coach Dave Brobeck, who was a member of

Laguna’s last boys’ league cross country championship team in 1989.

That ’89 group also went on to claim a state championship -- the

only state championship won in school history.

“This group really believed in their abilities and chances, and

they really came through,” Brobeck said. “More than being just a big

victory for the guys and the program, in general, beating CdM was a

huge shot of confidence. We believe in each other more than ever and

know that we can write our own story throughout CIF.”

The Breakers won the Pacific Coast League title by placing high as

a “pack of runners,” Brobeck said.

Although Corona del Mar senior standout Kevin Artz won the race,

as many expected, four Laguna athletes placed among the Top 10, and

two others were in the Top 15.

Maybe it was Brobeck’s “fiery pep talk,” as he put it, that did

light a fire under his team.

“We had lost a tough race the previous week to Northwood, so

winning league was a great accomplishment and really a breakthrough,

crowning moment for us,” he said.

With junior Sean Fuszard finishing second at 15:45, sophomore Max

Mullender third at 15:58 and juniors Shawn Pfendler (16:14) in

eighth-place and Shane Riehl (16:14) finishing ninth, Laguna’s young

squad assured their coach that the program would not finish second to

Corona del Mar for a fifth consecutive year.

Junior Ryan Hedden came in 13th-place and Grant Hofmeister, the

only senior among Laguna’s top six runners, finished in 15th-place.

Another senior, Marcus Claar, set a personal record and placed

second overall in the junior varsity race.

“I really excited for our team and happy to see all the good

accomplishments of my teammates, and I’m especially happy for

Marcus,” Fuszard, 16, said. “Nobody was really expecting much from us

but we had confidence and knew we could do it.”

Fuszard’s victory was especially sweet because it came just weeks

after he had suffered a hip injury in a late October meet. He missed

two weeks of heavy training but was more than ready for league

finals.

On Saturday, Laguna will run the CIF Southern Section Division IV

Prelims at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

Two, 12-team heats will be held in the division, with the top six

teams from each heat advancing to the CIF finals, set for Nov. 22,

also at Mount SAC.

The big meet -- and final run of the 2003 season -- is the State

Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 29.

“We had circled on our calendar the date of Nov. 22 -- the day of

the CIF finals,” Brobeck said. “The focal point of our season has

been to advance past the CIF finals to the State meet. That’s been

our goal since the beginning, and it hasn’t happened with this

program since 1989. We’re looking to change all that.”