Sage boys are strong

The future of the Sage Hill School boys’ cross country team appears bright.

The Lightning have a corps of runners with experience competing at the CIF Southern Section finals, where the team finished seventh in Division V last season, and the state meet, where three returning runners finished in the top 100.

It has been three years since the team’s last Academy League title. The last two seasons, Coach Nate Miller’s squad has finished second.

With four of the five top runners returning and league champion Whitney graduating a fair amount of seniors, the league title is in sight.

“The guys are pretty motivated,” said Miller, who is entering his fifth season. “We’d love to get a league championship. It’s always one of our goals.”

Last season’s top runner, Connor Rose, who finished ninth at the Southern Section Division V finals, returns after posting a strong track season in which he won league titles in the 800 meters and the 1,600.

“He has been putting in a good summer and he is probably our No. 1,” Miller said of the junior.

Senior Tyler Ellis was the fastest at the cross country league meet last year, finishing fourth.

“He was our consistent runner,” Miller said.

Junior Sean McElroy and senior Conrad Whitaker are additional returners.

“Conrad and Sean will probably be very strong,” Miller said. “Both of these kids have a chance to qualify for CIF individually.”

Zach Chandy, who finished 10th at the league meet, is the only runner in last year’s top five to have graduated.

“We’ll certainly miss [Chandy, the CIF Southern Section Division V champion in the 200 and 400 last spring who is bound for Stanford],” Miller said. “But he was not our top runner. He was more of a consistent guy for us.”

Sage Hill’s search is not for a top runner, but for depth.

Freshman Lion Wintemute stepped on campus before his first year and has made a strong push for the fifth spot.

“It’s a great surprise to get,” Miller said. “[Wintemute] is looking good. He has never run cross country before. The top five I’m confident about.”

Vying for the final two spots will be sophomores Kyle Simon and Brian Sun, junior Michael Beitman and senior Luke Droulez.

“Last year at this time, I wasn’t expecting anything,” Miller said. “This year, we’re a lot more experienced. We’re more of a veteran team, a stronger team.”

The goal before serious progress can be made will be to have everyone running on nearly the same level.

“We have to try to take the bottom varsity guys and get them to the level of our top three to five guys,” Miller said. “That’s pretty much the key to our success. We don’t have a ton of depth so six through eight will be pretty important.”

Injuries also play a factor in any team’s success and depth will be determine how detrimental injuries can be.

Sage Hill opens its season Sept. 9 at the Laguna Hills Invitational.

THE LIGHTNING

Connor Rose Jr.

Sean McElroy Jr.

Tyler Ellis Sr.

Conrad Whitaker Sr.

Lion Wintemute Fr.

Kyle Simon So.

Michael Beitman Jr.

Luke Droulez Sr.

Brian Sun So.

Coach: Nate Miller (fifth year)