Locals shine at Mt. SAC Invitational

WALNUT — Just to reiterate, the CIF Southern Section postseason meets will not be held on the famed Mt. San Antonio College Cross Country Course this year.

The sectional championships will be run on the Riverside Cross Country Course, making this weekend the only time that teams will compete at Mt. SAC.

That did not prevent teams from honoring the traditional determinant of champions with their best effort.

In several cases, runners walked away feeling quite confident about their team’s chances at later success following their performances.

Among them, Costa Mesa High’s Elliot Hachac rolled to a top-five showing against a deep field on Friday in the Division 4 Boys’ Sweepstakes of the 69th Mt. SAC Invitational.

Hachac finished the race in 16 minutes flat for fifth place. He was running against the likes of San Luis Obispo’s Callum Bolger (15:31, 1st) and JSerra’s Anthony Grover.

One might say that together, those two opponents represent both the past and the future. Bolger was the runner-up in the Division 3 state meet last year, and he is the odds-on favorite to claim the Division 4 title this season.

Grover, a standout freshman, took second in 15:47 for the Lions, who won the team title, 50-73, over Sage Creek of Carlsbad.

Hachac missed making the state meet by one position last season. Friday’s outing made him optimistic that his luck is about to change.

“It gave me the confidence to know that I’m up there with the big guys,” he said. “It would definitely be nice to go as an individual and represent my school.”

The senior ace added that the Mustangs continue to work toward the goal of making state as a team. If successful, it would be their first appearance since 1996.

Ocean View’s boys took eighth in the Division 3 Sweepstakes, and they were sixth among the Southern Section programs in the race.

A team must finish in the top seven of their division at the CIF-SS Finals to extend its season to the state meet.

Upon learning of the results, Seahawks captain Ryan St. Pierre declared his team “state-bound.”

While the reaction may be a little premature (the CIF-SS Finals are Nov. 19), the confidence and the team’s placing are both good for the future.

Edwin Montes paced the Seahawks at 15:57. He reasoned that the team’s success is due to their willingness to stand up to the obstacles in front of them.

“It’s all mental,” Montes said. “This course is really fast and hard. You have to push yourself to the limit to be the best. I know that we have each other’s back.”

The course challenges those who take it on with its vaunted inclines. Runners face “Switchbacks” at the end of the first mile, knowing that “Poop Out Hill” and “Reservoir Hill” lie ahead.

The physicality of the course is feared by many, but Corona del Mar freshman Julia Tung (19:30, 21st) turned heads with her evaluation of the course after her first attempt. She called the double revolution around the “Valley Loop,” which is on flat ground, her least favorite part.

“The rest of it I liked because there’s all those hills,” Tung said. “That’s when I started to pass people, especially on the downhill. I went fast, and it was fun.”

“In the beginning, I was in the back, and by the end, I was moving my way forward.”

Corona del Mar received solid individual efforts from seniors Raquel Powers (18:11, 3rd) and Leif Hellgren (15:42, 17th).

Hellgren echoed Tung’s sentiments that the downhill is the place to make a move.

“As a runner, I tend to really excel on the downhill,” he said. “That’s where I find myself passing five or six people every [hill].”

Sage Hill’s girls program remains well-aligned for another state berth after taking fifth in the Division 5 Sweepstakes.

The Lightning have remained relevant despite limited experience. Julia Lowe (21:52) is the only senior on the team. She has done what she can to impart her knowledge to her teammates.

“I’m kind of like the mother,” Lowe said. “I’ve had a lot more experience than them in cross country. I’m telling them what the races are going to be like with my experience in the races.”

It’s working. The senior leader was joined by Ashton Carroll, Maya Jaffe, Alice Warden, and Olivia Lowe in the scoring five, all of which finished in the top 50.

Sage Hill is third in the CIF-SS Division 5 rankings.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

69th Mt. SAC Invitational

At Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut

2.93-mile course

Friday Races

15 – Division 3 Varsity

Team Results

1. Beverly Hills 57; 2. Ridgeview 121; 3. Centennial (BAK) 126; 4. Cathedral City 133; 5. Oakmont 140; 12. Los Amigos 292

Individuals

1. Jo. Cohen (Beverly Hills) 16:09; 2. Ja. Cohen (Beverly Hills) 16:25; 3. Desanti (Vista Grande) 16:34; 4. Nevarez (Cathedral City) 16:38; 5. Cervantes (Nogales) 16:40; 44. Cabrera (Los Amigos) 18:25; 49. Andrade (Los Amigos) 18:44

34 – Division 5 Varsity

Team Results

1. Francis Parker 75; 2. Julian 100; 3. Thacher 103; 4. Academy of Academic Excellence 126; 5. St. Paul 143; 6. Sage Hill 158

Individuals

1. White (Whittier Christian) 16:25; 2. Highducheck (Hawthorne Math/Science) 17:08; 3. Elisara (Julian) 17:17; 4. Reid (Bishop Union) 17:21; 5. Penrose (Francis Parker) 17:27; 19. Patel (Sage Hill) 18:28; 26. Nataupsky (Sage Hill) 18:42; 33. Suhr (Sage Hill) 19:03; 38. Warden (Sage Hill) 19:15

36 – Division 5 Varsity

Team Results

1. Valley Christian 24; 2. Stuart Hall 82; 3. North Tahoe 130; 4. Heritage Christian 164; 5. The Meadows 178; 11. Brethren Christian 277

Individuals

1. Rupprecht (Valley Christian) 16:10; 2. Horwitz (Stuart Hall) 16:17; 3. Vreeke (Valley Christian) 16:39; 4. Tamminga (Valley Christian) 16:57; 5. Schoonmaker (North Tahoe) 16:58; 20. Reiser (Brethren Christian) 18:31; 25. Kutscher (Pacifica Christian) 18:38; 41. S. Montgomery (Brethren Christian) 19:40; 48. E. Montgomery (Brethren Christian) 19:52

46 – Division 4 Sweepstakes

Team Results

1. JSerra 50; 2. Sage Creek 73; 3. Page 97; 4. McFarland 99; 5. San Luis Obispo 129; 10. Costa Mesa 258

Individuals

1. Bolger (San Luis Obispo) 15:31; 2. Grover (JSerra) 15:47; 3. Cutter (Hercules) 15:51; 4. Fierro (Miramonte) 15:55; 5. Hachac (Costa Mesa) 16:00; 39. Cortez (Costa Mesa) 17:07

50 – Division 3 Sweepstakes

Team Results

1. Brea Olinda 86; 2. West Torrance 87; 3. La Costa Canyon 147; 4. Paso Robles 155; 5. St. John Bosco 172; 8. Ocean View 226

Individuals

1. Gonzalez (Rubidoux) 14:37; 2. Martinez de Pinillos (Cathedral Catholic) 14:37; 3. Ramos (Rubidoux) 15:01; 4. Berti (Paso Robles) 15:04; 5. Corcoran (St. John Bosco) 15:16; 17. Hellgren (Corona del Mar) 15:42; 28. Montes (Ocean View) 15:57; 35. St. Pierre (Ocean View) 16:06; 42. Arteaga (Ocean View) 16:19.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

69th Mt. SAC Invitational

At Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut

2.93-mile course

Friday Races

14 – Division 3 Varsity

Team Results

1. College Park 48; 2. Rio Americano 54; 3. Will C. Wood 122; 4. Kimball 144; 5. Los Altos 151; 11. Los Amigos 234

Individuals

1. Medina (Ridgeview) 20:30; 2. Tseng (College Park) 20:40; 3. Nguyen (Will C. Wood) 20:51; 4. Mahoney (Rio Americano) 20:51; 5. Smith (Hilltop) 20:53; 37. Vazquez (Los Amigos) 24:07; 48. Gutierrez (Los Amigos) 24:29

18 – Division 3 Varsity

Team Results

1. Yorba Linda 53; 2. Torrance 96; 3. South Torrance 122; 4. Carondelet 124; 5. South Pasadena 160; 8. Ocean View 190

Individuals

1. Hartke (Oakmont) 18:37; 2. Hagerman (Merced) 19:06; 3. Galvez (Sierra Vista) 19:41; 4. Leos (Baldwin Park) 19:42; 5. Lee (Yorba Linda) 19:56; 12. Newman (Ocean View) 20:37; 22. Gil (Ocean View) 21:20; 44. Shook (Ocean View) 22:01

31 – Division 4 Varsity

Team Results

1. Piedmont 63; 2. Covina 82; 3. Sage Creek 93; 4. Harvard Westlake 94; 5. Notre Dame/SO; 6. Costa Mesa 190

Individuals

1. Santiago (High Tech/SD) 18:46; 2. Wallace (Sage Creek) 18:51; 3. Moro (Notre Dame/SO) 18:58; 4. Crosson (Harvard-Westlake) 19:04; 5. Gracian (Covina) 19:09; 22. Molina (Costa Mesa) 21:22; 36. Devlin (Costa Mesa) 22:23; 44. Olvera (Costa Mesa) 23:03; 50. Castillo (Costa Mesa) 23:27

37 – Division 5 Varsity

Team Results

1. North Tahoe 47; 2. Bell-Jeff 82; 3. Bishop Union 129; 4. Orcutt Academy 134; 5. Academy of Academic Excellence 135; 15. Brethren Christian 367

Individuals

1. Zavala (Bell-Jeff) 19:22; 2. Couch (Bell-Jeff) 19:35; 3. Lehmkuhl (North Tahoe) 20:11; 4. Golik (Sierra Canyon) 20:43; 5. Ferre (North Tahoe) 20:53; 73. Jow (Brethren Christian) 25:18

47 – Division 5 Sweepstakes

Team Results

1. Flintridge Prep 45; 2. Francis Parker 85; 3. Pacifica Christian/SM 124; 4. St. Joseph (ALA) 130; 5. Sage Hill 173

Individuals

1. Marshall (St. Joseph/AL) 17:53; 2. Trossen (Francis Parker) 18:19; 3. Gitlin (Flintridge Prep) 18:37; 4. Perez (St. Joseph/AL) 18:39; 5. Codiga (Flintridge Prep) 18:49; 26. Carroll (Sage Hill) 21:12; 33. Jaffe (Sage Hill) 21:46; 35. J. Lowe (Sage Hill) 21:52; 37. Warden (Sage Hill) 22:00; 47. O. Lowe (Sage Hill) 22:41

49 – Division 3 Sweepstakes

Team Results

1. La Costa Canyon 60; 2. Moorpark 84; 3. Esperanza 91; 4. Cathedral Catholic 106; 5. Royal 113; 7. Corona del Mar 130

Individuals

1. Fahy (La Costa Canyon) 17:35; 2. Brown (La Costa Canyon) 18:00; 3. Powers (Corona del Mar) 18:11; 4. Dholakia (Esperanza) 18:13; 5. Mac Kellar (Esperanza) 18:18; 21. Tung (Corona del Mar) 19:30; 31. Lee (Corona del Mar) 19:52; 32. Gerken (Corona del Mar) 19:52; 50. St. Geme (Corona del Mar) 20:50