Teams cruise to OCL titles

They came, they saw and they dominated.

Both the Laguna Beach High boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams were considered favorites to win the Orange Coast League title, and they both did that going away on Nov. 5 at Centennial Park.

The boys’ team easily outpaced Estancia, 24-65, while the girls topped Costa Mesa, 22-59.

Coach Dave Brobeck’s boys team, the top-ranked Division IV squad in the state, was missing seniors Blake Hofmeister and Sean Pigden, both out sick. But junior Matt Neev won the race in a time of 15:10, a personal record by nine seconds. Neev also won league two years ago as a freshman.

“We knew going in that we were going to win,” Brobeck said. “Most of the kids wore training shoes, and Matt still runs that time. That was a big surprise. He basically ran that time completely on ability.”

Senior Tommy Newton-Neal was second in 15:23, followed by senior Andrew Shapero in fourth (15:44). Junior Aaron Swartz and senior Richard Mattingly finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in times of 16:07 and 16:09.

“They were all pretty much right on [their goal],” said Brobeck, whose team goes into CIF Southern Section Division IV qualifying Saturday at Mt. SAC.

“There’s 14 teams and we’re the No. 1 seed, and I think the top seven teams advance,” Brobeck said. “It’s not a championship race, it’s a qualifying race, but I certainly expect to win our heat.”

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GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY

The Breakers won their third straight league title with some big performances.

Sophomore Natasha Strickland and senior McKenna Nokes finished one-two with times of 18:22 and 18:23, respectively. Sophomore Marisa Merchant was fourth in 19:36, senior Gerry Artman took sixth in 19:45 and junior Beverly Ronses was ninth in 20:02, as the Breakers took five of the top 10 spots.

Laguna Beach is ranked ninth in Division IV in the last of the CIF Southern Section polls.

“The girls ran great,” Coach Steve Lalim said. “I’m really proud of their efforts. If we stay healthy, continue to work hard and maintain our competitive focus, we’ve got a good chance of achieving our goal as a team, advancing to the state meet.”

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GIRLS’ TENNIS

Senior Maddie Jaeger won the Orange Coast League singles title Nov. 5 with a 6-1, 6-0, victory over Estancia’s Kendra Fisher in the final.

Jaeger breezed through her three matches to advance to the CIF Individuals tournament, which begins Nov. 20 at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club in Newport Beach.

She’ll be joined there by a pair of Breakers doubles teams. Claire Jaeger and Bianca Sganga won the OCL doubles title with their default win over teammates Alison Azera and McKenna Nokes. Nokes was running in the league cross country finals and wasn’t able to get back in time for the doubles championships, but both teams will also advance to CIF Individuals.

“Bianca and Claire did really well, and Maddie played great,” Coach Alec Horton said. “She’s had a good year. It’s nice to go out on top as a senior.”

Horton was missing both a top singles and doubles player in Taylor Nederlander and Haley Moss, respectively. Both were sick last week and since they didn’t play in league finals they can’t advance individually.

The Breakers, finally healthy for perhaps the first time all year, can now focus on the Division I team playoffs. They played host to Brentwood, the No. 3 team out of a tough Olympic League, Thursday in the first round. With a win, they’ll play either Simi Valley or Mira Costa on Saturday.

“I would imagine [Thursday] would be a very tight match,” Horton said. “If we’re fortunate, we’ll live to fight another day.”