Landgraf, Herberg make history with Dana Hills Invitational victories

Reporting from Dana Point —  Followers of the local cross-country scene probably had Saturday’s Dana Hills Invitational marked on their calendars.

It presented the first opportunity for Newport Harbor High’s Alexis Garcia to oppose Dana Hills’ Jack Landgraf this season.

Last year, Landgraf took the title at the Orange County Championships. That was the meet that Garcia made his presence known as a serious contender in the sport, as he finished as the runner-up in the sweepstakes race as a sophomore.

The pecking order in Orange County remains the same, as Landgraf became the first runner in the 44-year history of the Dana Hills meet to win the invitational heat three times.

Landgraf, the Orange County Cross-Country Athlete of the Year last fall, crossed the finish line in 14:17. His time was one second shy of the meet record, set by Pasadena’s Jesus Gutierrez in 1983.

“Our state is such a competitive state, and this area is such a competitive area,” Landgraf said. “The fact that I can come in and win it, I’m just thankful because these guys are just as amazing as I am.”

From its rich history in competition to the blue-and-white striped polo shirts scattered across the grounds, Dana Hills is one of the most easily recognized high school running programs. The tradition of the school is a motivating factor for Landgraf, who has come close to doing it all in his prep career.

“I think the last time that they didn’t go to state was eight or nine years ago,” he said. “We just know what we have to do, and we know that we have to make the alumni proud.

“Not only that, but we’ve been training super hard. To not hit our goals would just be a bummer.”

Although he finished a close third to Granada’s John Bennett (14:27.2), Garcia’s performance did not go unnoticed. The Sailors ace clocked in at 14:27.8, breaking Landgraf’s junior meet record by six seconds.

Garcia also posted the fastest three-mile time ever by a runner at Newport Harbor. The previous mark was 14:31, established by Jim Geerlings in 1987.

“I saw the PRs from Woodbridge [last week], and I saw the JSerra kid [Peter Herold] run 14:40,” Garcia said. “My goal was to run faster than him.”

Anthony Grover, another JSerra runner to watch, ran 14:27 at the Woodbridge Classic. He was an All-County selection as a freshman.

Dana Hills dominated the boys’ meet, 39-116, over Granada. Newport Harbor was 10^th with 272 points.

The course on the campus of Dana Hills High, much like the Woodbridge Classic, is one that athletes come to hoping to obtain their new personal-best times. Michael Davey was able to accomplish that for Newport Harbor after a disappointing outing in the Sunset League Preview.

“On Wednesday, I had a really bad race, so I was kind of nervous going into it,” Davey said of Saturday’s race. “I went out and ran 15:13, got it [his personal record] by more than 50 seconds.”

New faces have been asked to lead after Ocean View’s remarkable rise brought the boys’ team its first league title since 1983. Senior David Brito and juniors Edwin Montes and Jason St. Pierre have been named captains of this year’s squad.

Brito (15:27) and Montes (15:13) won their Division 3 grade-level races. Their times may have been hampered by their races beginning after noon, but Brito was happy with the result. Pushed into the spotlight with his first interviews, the senior indicated it was a feeling he could get used to.

“It’s a different experience,” Brito said. “I’m not used to it, but I like it a lot. We’ll see how it goes, and hopefully I keep improving.

“I never thought that I would be running 15:27 alone. It’s just surreal that it is happening.”

Another one of Orange County’s well-known stars, Capistrano Valley’s Haley Herberg, made headlines on the girls’ side. She did what Landgraf could not, establishing a new overall meet record with a time of 16:15.

The Cougars senior obliterated the previous record of 16:33, which had been held by San Clemente’s Alex Dunne since 2008.

Herberg was able to outkick La Costa Canyon’s Kristin Fahy in the final 200 meters. Her strong finish on Saturday morning is a small sample of what she hopes will play out in the big picture. Last year, Herberg was eighth in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Finals and 21^st in the CIF State Championships.

“I’m happy with how [the season] is going so far, but I’m really focused on the end of the season,” Herberg said. “My end goal this year is just to finish strong. I feel like last year, I wished that was the one thing I could have improved on.”

Newport Harbor’s top girl, Mia Matsunami (hip), remained held out of action. She was cleared by a physical therapist to resume running on Friday.

Sailors freshman Isa Glassen continued to impress, going under 19 minutes with a time of 18:55 (fourth in Division 2).

Ocean View’s Adriana Gil (19:33) and Micayla Shook (19:35.2) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Division 3 junior/senior race.

BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY

Dana Hills Invitational

At Dana Hills High

Team Results

1. Dana Hills 39; 2. Granada 116; 3. Great Oak 179; 4. Ayala 197; 5. Sage Creek 205; 6. Tesoro 227; 7. Aliso Niguel 227; 8. Brea Olinda 241; 9. Del Norte/SD 259; 10. Newport Harbor 272

Division 1 Senior/Invite

1. Landgraf (Dana Hills) 14:17; 2. Bennett (Granada) 14:27.2; 3. Garcia (Newport Harbor) 14:27.8; 4. Benitez (Serra/SD) 14:30; 5. Fuller (Dana Hills) 14:32

Division 1 Junior

1. Hough (Dana Hills) 15:21; 2. Barajas (Del Norte/SD) 15:22; 3. Beatty (Mt. Carmel) 15:31; 4. Martinez (Paramount) 15:34; 5. Savely (Capistrano Valley) 15:35

Division 1 Sophomore

1. Carter (Clovis North) 15:39; 2. Garcia (Dana Hills) 15:41; 3. Robertson (Capistrano Valley) 15:44; 4. Reza (Great Oak) 15:58; 5. Allen (Clovis North) 15:59

Division 1 Freshman

1. Adams (Corona Santiago) 16:06; 2. Jackson (Clovis East) 16:12; 3. D’Esopo (Del Norte/SD) 16:22; 4. Mordy (Capistrano Valley) 16:23.2; 5. Montez (Great Oak) 16:23.6

Division 2 Senior

1. Rasmuson (Mira Mesa) 15:03; 2. Cohen (Santa Monica) 15:10; 3. Orozco (Rancho Verde) 15:13; 4. Jackson (Arbor View) 15:24; 5. Wong (Peninsula) 15:29

Division 2 Junior

1. Nunez (Valley View) 15:23; 2. Gonzalez (Patriot) 15:30; 3. Katson (San Marcos) 15:30.5; 4. Trozzi (Sultana) 15:30.9; 5. Ayala (Arbor View) 15:32

Division 2 Sophomore

1. Garcia (Vista) 15:46; 2. Beck (Mira Mesa) 16:00; 3. Alcerro (Villa Park) 16:05; 4. Ramos (Escondido) 16:06; 5. Pueschel (La Costa Canyon) 16:16

Division 2 Freshman

1. MacFarlane (Peninsula) 16:15; 2. Magana (Santa Ana Valley) 16:23; 3. Wakefield-Carl (Peninsula) 16:33; 4. Shreckengaust (San Marcos/SD) 16:34; 5. Sanchez (Perris) 16:50

Division 3 Senior

1. Brito (Ocean View) 15:27; 2. Garcia (Southwest) 15:41; 3. Allen (Yorba Linda) 15:56; 4. Abbasi (La Jolla) 16:17; 5. Gazich (Yorba Linda) 16:18; 6. Molina (Ocean View) 16:21

Division 3 Junior

1. Montes (Ocean View) 15:13; 2. Prince (Orange Glen) 15:16; 3. Gonzalez (Arlington) 16:00; 4. St. Pierre (Ocean View) 16:28; 5. Hannum (Brea Olinda) 16:32

Division 3 Sophomore

1. Burns (Maranatha Christian) 15:50; 2. Acosta (Bonita) 16:16; 3. Benson (Bonita) 16:20; 4. Rioquinto (Rancho Alamitos) 16:21; 5. Mitchell (Sage Creek) 16:25; 6. Flores (Ocean View) 16:29

Division 3 Freshman

1. Brown (Pacific Ridge) 16:29; 2. Echeveste (Bonita) 16:37; 3. Flores (Tustin) 16:40; 4. Hernandez (Southwest) 17:24; 5. Cuevas (Western) 17:27

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY

Dana Hills Invitational

At Dana Hills High

Team Results

1. Granada 54; 2. La Costa Canyon 70; 3. Fountain Valley 104; 4. Canyon Crest Academy 109; 5. Corona Santiago 123; 6. Ayala 141; 7. Los Alamitos 208; 8. Tesoro 239; 9. Long Beach Wilson 247; 10. Northwood 286

Division 1 Senior/Invite

1. Herberg (Capistrano Valley) 16:15; 2. Fahy (La Costa Canyon) 16:16; 3. McCandless (Granada) 16:45; 4. Cornell (San Marcos/SD) 16:48; 5. Watkins (Country Day) 16:57

Division 1 Junior

1. Keyvan (Dana Hills) 17:40; 2. Meng (Dana Hills) 17:52; 3. Jones (Mt. Carmel) 17:57; 4. Richter (Great Oak) 18:14; 5. Kredo (Capistrano Valley) 18:35

Division 1 Sophomore

1. Gaitan (Dana Hills) 17:37; 2. Griffiths (Great Oak) 17:38; 3. Corsinita (Capistrano Valley) 17:49; 4. Fodor (Dana Hills) 17:52; 5. Schuerger (Aliso Niguel) 17:59

Division 1 Freshman

1. Weidler (Great Oak) 18:29; 2. Ayala (Paramount) 18:35; 3. B. Steinhardt (Tesoro) 18:36; 4. Oliver (Los Alamitos) 18:52; 5. K. Steinhardt (Tesoro) 19:01

Division 2 Senior

1. Harper (Rancho Bernardo) 17:56; 2. Nye (Peninsula) 18:09; 3. Farrell (Mission Viejo) 18:25; 4. Bleakley (Rancho Bernardo) 18:47; 5. Peterson (Villa Park) 18:53

Division 2 Junior

1. Hines (Mission Viejo) 17:29; 2. Hansen (San Juan Hills) 17:57; 3. Boaz (Rancho Bernardo) 18:25; 4. Simons (Mission Viejo) 18:35; 5. Leal (Mira Mesa) 18:38

Division 2 Sophomore

1. Johnson (Mission Viejo) 17:24; 2. Brown (Ramona/SD) 17:46; 3. Brehmer (San Juan Hills) 18:09; 4. Rangel (San Bernardino) 18:16; 5. Duldulao (Mira Mesa) 18:34

Division 2 Freshman

1. Bruestle (Arbor View) 17:54; 2. Learn (Rancho Bernardo) 18:30; 3. Paino (Canyon) 18:38; 4. Glassen (Newport Harbor) 18:55; 5. Lowengrub (University) 18:58

Division 3 Junior/Senior

1. Peralta (Tustin) 18:24; 2. Janish (Yorba Linda) 19:22; 3. Montoya (Southwest) 19:27; 4. Gil (Ocean View) 19:35; 5. Shook (Ocean View) 19:35

Division 3 Frosh/Soph

1. Contreras (Brawley) 18:10; 2. Kraft (Valhalla) 18:23; 3. Wachter (Yorba Linda) 18:53; 4. Pandey (Sage Creek) 18:54; 5. Claxton (Bonita) 19:04

Andrew.Turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner