Newport moves on

WALNUT — The Newport Harbor High girls’ cross country team demonstrated Saturday that you do not need a strong running background to find success in the sport.

Senior Taylor Bryson came to cross country from the soccer field, senior Melissa Mead and junior Kelly De Young stepped off the volleyball court, junior Jennifer Cain came from water polo and, along with junior Sophia Ditty and sophomore Desiree Alexander, came together to finish second in the CIF Southern Section Division II final at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Sailors, along with the Corona del Mar boys, Sage Hill School girls and Sage Hill’s Connor Rose, advance to Saturday’s state meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.

“Out of everyone maybe one girl thought this would be the sport they would be competing in,” Newport Harbor Coach Eric Tweit said. “Most of them were probably just doing it to get out of P.E. Their chemistry is great. The different things they do, they’re a very eclectic bunch.”

Taking the top spot for the Sailors was Bryson, who finished eighth in 18 minutes, 19 seconds. Before the race, she tried not think os much about finishing in the top 10, but once she started up the first hill that changed.

“I was passing a ton of runners,” said Bryson, who will run for UC Berkley next year. “I said ‘OK, this is nice.’ I was really excited but I wasn’t expecting to finish in the top 10.”

The second-place finish was a slight letdown for a team that won the section title a year ago and then had its top runner Whitney Blue graduate and move on to Arizona State.

“Obviously we all want to win because we won last year,” Bryson said. “But how are you all going to be on at the same time? I think we have a stronger team than last year.”

Tweit said the team has a chance to make an impact at the state final next week.

“It was nice to see Taylor step up and have a breakthrough day,” Tweit said. “I’m proud of all the girls.”

Mead was 28th (19:02) and Ditty was 29th (19:04) for the Sailors. Alexander (19:18), Cain (19:37), De Young (19:43) and Maddox (20:43) ran for Newport.

While the CdM boys’ team came up short of the section title it was aiming for, the Sea Kings’ edged Pacific Coast League rival Laguna Hills by 18 points, the same team that won the league title over the Sea Kings by one point. Junior Thomas Dialynas finished 14th in 16:05 for the Sea Kings.

Senior Tommy Hutchison was 19th for the Sea Kings in 16:14 and senior Tim Scott was 22nd in 16:18. Senior Tri Nguyen (16:49), senior Bret Grainger (16:55), senior Brian Licorish (17:04) and senior Converse Curtis (17:35) also competed for the Sea Kings.

The Sage Hill girls’ team had to overcome some unexpected obstacles to advance to the state final. Sophomore Aiyana Bobrownicki was nearly disqualified and senior Kara Percival had to bow out of the race because of heat exhaustion.

Sophomore Cait Williamson led the way with a fifth-place finish in 19:46.

Bobrownicki finished ninth in 20:02 and junior Katie McKeon was 10th in 20:07.

Erica Faris (21:43), Jackie Dion (22:18) and Mackenzie Muhonen (22:49) also contributed for the Lightning.

On the boys’ side, injuries were just too much to overcome for Sage Hill, which finished 10th. Connor Rose qualified for the state final with a fifth-place finish in 16:18.

He said it will not be the same though.

“Our third runner [Lion Wintemute] was out for two weeks,” Rose said. “It was disappointing as a team. I really wanted to see our team qualify for state. Even though I qualified it isn’t as fun without the team.”

Sean McElroy was 16th in 16:54. Conrad Whitaker (18:36), Kyle Simon (18:47), Wintemute (19:01), Chris Lee (19:31) and Alex Jimenez (20:21) also competed for the Lightning.

The Estancia boys’ team finished 12th. Sophomore Fernando Orozco was 38th in 16:37. Junior Adriel Robles (16:54), sophomore Wes Barloon (17:08), junior Cesar Casillas (17:17), sophomore Damian Leon (17:29), senior Enrique Vivar (17:48) and junior Andy Navarrete (18:43) competed for the Eagles.

The Estancia girls’ team, which won its first league title in the Orange Coast League this season, was 13th. Senior Sydney Barloon (20:40), junior Paula Negrete (20:42), sophomore Sydney Ramirez (21:13), junior Eunice Ramirez (21:16), junior Karina Rios (22:20) and Magali Onofre (24:01) competed for the Eagles.