A spot on the podium

In a year plagued by injury, Laguna boys are thrilled to finish third at state meet.A year after winning it all, the Laguna Beach High boys’ cross-country team once again reached the podium at the State Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno -- but not as champion.

Laguna, which captured the 2004 Division IV state title, finished in third place this year.

Led by a ninth-place finish by Alex Crawley, the Laguna girls’ squad placed 12th out of 23 teams in Division IV.

BOYS

Finishing as high as third was “entirely unexpected,” Breakers coach Dave Brobeck said.

“After winning it all last year, this year turned into a bit of a hangover. No league championship, no CIF team awards, too many injuries and sickness. In many ways, I had a difficult time not living in the past.

“Coming into the state meet we were ranked sixth, and the four teams ahead of us were what I considered untouchables. They were undefeated McFarland, Piedmont, Southern Section winner Big Bear and CIF Finals champ Orange Lutheran.”

Max Mullender was the highest finisher for Laguna. He ran 16:19 and placed 12th overall. Other times and places for Laguna runners were as follows: Aman Bhatia (16:48, 18th); Andrew Raub (16:56, 28th); Yann Panassie (17:06, 38th); Jeremy Eaton (17:07, 40th); Corey Hedden (17:35, 75th); and Matt Ross (17:42, 82nd).

Piedmont won the Division IV state title with 96 points. Big Bear placed second with 120, Laguna third with 134, Orange Lutheran fourth with 153 and McFarland fifth with 171.

“In my mind, getting third this year was as great an accomplishment as winning it a year ago,” Brobeck said. “We overcame even more obstacles: assorted injuries to each of my top five runners, illness that ran through our entire team just one week ago, and a high, palpable set of expectations from last year’s performance. It was a true recipe for disaster.”

Eaton, a junior, had not raced -- or even run, Brobeck said -- in two months due to a knee injury. He made a race-time decision to give it a try.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to even see him still in the race at the first 800 meters,” Brobeck said. “Sure enough, he was there, running on talent alone and no doubt a lot of pain. Jeremy’s was one of several courageous and gutsy races that led us to this great finish.”

GIRLS

Junior Alex Crawley exceeded expectations by running to a ninth-place finish in the Division IV race.

At the 2004 state race, Crawley finished 10th.

“She really stepped it up to finish All-State after a setback in midseason,” Laguna coach Earl Towner said. “She was not predicted to finish in top ten after her fifth-place finish at CIF finals. She ran a smart and gutsy race and passed four runners in the last mile to seal the deal.”

“This was a fun year getting the girls to the state meet for the third year in a row,” Towner said. “It’s never been done before here at the high school.

“We, like most teams, had our share of ups and downs with injuries and sickness during the course of the season. The season got off to a slow start, but the girls ran fast when they needed to most -- at CIF finals. A couple of girls had subpar races at state, or we could have done better. All in all we all had a great time on the state trip.”

The trip to Fresno, Towner said, should bode well for next year’s team.

“The team got to experience what it’s like to run against the top 23 teams in our division at state,” Towner said. “With no seniors on the varsity this year, it should pay big dividends for next year’s big race.

“I think the girls are ready to work harder to improve at state next year and will give a shot at going for the podium. This team is young, and we have a lot of eager runners who want the team to improve, so when we return to state next year, we can finish up on some unfinished business.”