Sea Kings still running strong

Both squads are undefeated in Pacific Coast League action going into league final today.The Corona del Mar High boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are on a roll as they head into today’s Pacific Coast League finals at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

Both teams are undefeated this season in league meets. Both teams hope to win the Pacific Coast League finals today and go into the CIF Division III Preliminaries with a full head of steam.

“We feel like we’re in a good position, we’re on a high ride right now,” Corona del Mar Coach Bill Sumner said. “We feel both teams will go to CIF. Our goal is to run fast and stay healthy.”

The Corona del Mar boys -- led by seniors Jack Turner, Ryan Guthrie and Kenneth Wong and juniors Tommy Hutchison and Tim Scott -- have won every CIF Southern Section Division III race they’ve been in this year.

Paris Salgado and Brian Licorish, along with emerging sophomore Thomas Dialynas, are also key runners for the Sea Kings, who are ranked No. 3 in Division III.

“All of the boys are at least one minute faster now than they were a year ago,” Sumner said. “And they are all very close. Four different guys have been our No. 1 runner this season.”

Annie St. Geme, the top runner in the county, leads the way for the Corona del Mar girls. The Sea Kings are ranked No. 1 in the nation and in Division III after taking first place and setting a course record at the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno with a time of 91:21.

The only team Corona del Mar has lost to this season is Buchanan at the Stanford Invitational. The Sea Kings avenged that loss by beating Buchanan by 30 points at the Clovis Invitational.

St. Geme leads a deep, talented squad that includes juniors Sarah Cummings, Nichole Slykhous and Christie St. Geme, and sophomores Shelby Buckley and Allison Damon.

The Corona del Mar girls are slated to run at 2 p.m. The Corona del Mar boys start at 2:30 p.m.

* The Newport Harbor High girls’ field hockey team, which advanced in the Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn.’s Tournament of Champions by defeating Chaminade, 4-0, on Tuesday, takes on Glendora in the semifinals today at Glendora High at 3:15 p.m.

The Tartans took first place in the Golden West League this season.

The winner advances to the finals on Tuesday at a place to be determined.

The Sailors are trying to reach their sixth consecutive title game. Last year, they reached the finals before falling to Harvard-Westlake, 1-0.

* The Pacific Coast League girls’ tennis finals, originally scheduled to start today at Corona del Mar, were postponed until Friday at 11 a.m.

The finals were delayed because Tesoro and University finished tied for fourth place. The two programs have a playoff match scheduled for today to determine the fourth-place team and final qualifier for the CIF Southern Section playoffs.