Woodbridge: Arcadia Still #1, But the Water is Rising

With the first two-day Woodbridge Invitational in the books, the rising quality of California Cross Country, and San Gabriel Valley XC is evident.  38 SGV boys were sub 16:00 (seven sub 15:00) and 22 girls were sub 19:00, with 7 below 18:00!

The Arcadia boys successfully reloaded, declaring their intent to defend all of their titles with a strong 73:25 win in Saturday’s Sweepstakes race, putting six runners under 15:00.  The California boys continued their climb into Div. I contention with a solid 10th place, and 14th overall, 76:29 finish, and 14th overall.  The Arcadia girls confirmed their CIF ranking with an 8th/89:20 result in the girls Sweeps, good for 9th overall.

Damien and South Hills both showed that they’ll be contenders in Div. III – the Spartans were 4th/76:37 in the Rated race, 15th overall, and and the Huskies were first at 78:22 in a power merge of the Red (3rd) division.  The Bonita girls were solid winners in the White (4th) division in 93:08, with junior Marissa Scott winning in 17:25 – 32nd best in the meet.  Bailee Henry (Jr, El Rancho) won the girls Blue division race in 17:45

Arcadia’s lead pair of Veronica Yamane and Alejandra Quintero, both at 17:17, =21st overall in the meet.  On the boys side, Arcadia put four in the Top 25 in a meet that saw 51 athletes under 15:00 – seniors Ryan Vargas (7th), & Sergio Gonzalez (12th) and sophs Estevan de la Rosa (20th) & Josue Gonzalez (22nd).

Dyestat’s coverage is here.  Complete meet results (with photos and video) are here.

Coverage by Day and Division and SGV Top Teams and Individuals after the jump.

Friday

The Bonita girls were a last minute switch from the Sweepstakes to the Divisional race, and that switch meant a 93:08 win, 3rd best among CIF-SS Div. III teams in the meet.  The Bearcats came into the season returning their top four, but two of the four opted to play soccer full-time and another is behind in her training.  This left only junior Marissa Scott fully ready go, and she responded with an excellent 17:25 win, running alone for most of the race.  She was joined by excellent peformances from her frosh sister Kailyn Scott (7th/18:20) and soph Diana Garcia (26th/18:59.  CIF ranked Flintridge Sacred Heart was 9th/97:08 in the same race, led by seniors  Stephanie Vargas (12th/18:29), and Paulina Antaplylan (16th/18:40).  Rapidly improving Northview was 10th/97:05, with junior Devinie Elizondo (19:11) leading a tightly grouped first four.

The South Hills girls were a solid 2nd/94:10 in the Red Division with four under 19:00!  Their time was 6th best among Div. III SS teams.  They received solid performances from Alex Borunda (17th/18:36), Sureshni Surendranathan (18th/18:37), Carly Sargent (28th/18:46), & Danielle Murrietta (28th/18:51).  Covina ran a bit below their expectations, but received an excellent performance from Alondra Elizalde (31st/18:52).

The South Hills girls were a solid 2nd in the Red Division with four under 19:00!  The Boys raced by class, but a merge of all four boys races puts South Hills (78:22) first in the division over Yucaipa & Indio! 

In the divisional races, the boys race by class (no varsity) race, but a merge of all four races put South Hills in first over Yucaipa and Indio, despite being a bit off of their opening effort of the year. Their time of 78:22 was 5th among D3 teams in the meet. Top for the Huskies was Miles Sustayta (8th Seniors/15:30).  Other notable boys performances came from Kieren Hayes (La Serna, 6th Juniors/15:34), Paul Gonzalez (Covina, 12th Seniors/15:45) in the Red division and Chris Bates (Whittier Christian – 7th Seniors/15:35), Dillon Nobbs (Bonita – 1st Sophs/15:41) in the White.

Saturday

As mentioned above, the SGV was strongly represented in the featured Sweepstakes and Rated races.  Because we race by divisions at the CIF and State level, these races and the big races at Mt.SAC are the only times the best can go head to head.

Besides their win the Sweeps race, the Arcadia boys showed incredible depth, with six under 14:00, including seniors Charlie Shen (29th/14:55) & Francis Lee (32nd/14:59) and twelve under 16:00!  With two sophs in their top four and only six seniors in the twelve, the Apaches will be good for a while.  California, 10th in Sweeps, was perhaps a bit below their high expectations, but were still 6th among SS Div. I teams.  They were led by with senior Tim Guzman (51st/15:10) and juniors Sam Bautista and Josh Roldan (both 15:13).  La Serna senior Michael Munoz was 70th in 15:24, and Div. IV leaders Don Bosco chose not to compete after being scheduled for the Sweeps race.

In the Rated Race, Damien continued their bid for Div. III respect, their 76:37 was a strong fourth, and tops overall among SS D3 schools.  Senior Tom Ebiner (13th/15:01) was again the Spartans’ frontrunner, joined by big 15:17 PR’s from seniors Connor Brandt and Moses Brandon.  South Pasadena opened the post-Sam Pons era by confirming their CIF ranking with a 9th/78:03 effort led by senior Alexander Tranquada (17th/15:08), junior Paul Messana (15:09) and soph Joshua Wilson (15:11).

In the girls featured races, Arcadia ran their full team after an limited start at Don Bosco.  Their 8th place Sweeps results ranked them 3rd among SS Div. I schools.  Along with their top two, the Apaches received a stunning 17:29 debut from frosh Laura Guidolin.  The young Claremont team had what their coach Rob Lander called an “experience builder”, finishing 19th/94:51.  Their best was soph Megan Renken (61st/18:06).  Whittier Christian senior Kelli Hunt had an excellent night with a 27th/17:26 finish, while Anna Barcelo (Sr, Nogales) was 49th/17:58.  The South Pasadena girls opened the season with 94:50 effort, good for 14th in the Rated Race, led by an excellent 8th place, 17:33 from soph Helena Van Loan.

In the divisional races, El Rancho’s Henry Rodriguez (4th Seniors, 14:57) was best, leading the Dons to a 78:13 team time.  Santa Fe senior Christian Garcia ran a fine 15:14 and his team combined for 79:07 result.  David Galvez (Jr, Rowland) dropped a nice 15:20 effort. The El Rancho girls were 8th/95:56 in the Blue division race, highlighted Bailee Henry‘s win.

SGV Top Individuals and Team

Boys

1. 14:27  Ryan Vargas, Sr – Arcadia
2. 14:38  Sergio Gonzalez, Sr – Arcadia
3. 14:41  Estevan De La Rosa, So – Arcadia
4. 14:44  Josue Gonzalez, So – Arcadia
5. 14:55  Charlie Shen, Sr – Arcadia
6. 14:57  Henry Rodriguez, Sr – El Rancho
7. 14:59  Francis Lee, Sr – Arcadia
8. 15:01  Tom Ebiner, Sr – Damien
9. 15:08  Alexander Tranquada, Sr – South Pasadena
10. 15:09  Paul Messana, Jr – South Pasadena
11. 15:10  Tim Guzman, Sr – California
12. 15:11  Joshua Wilson, So – South Pasadena
13. 15:13  Sam Bautista, Jr – California
14. 15:13  Joshua Roldan, Jr – California

1. 73:25  Arcadia
2. 76:29  California
3. 76:37  Damien
4. 78:03  South Pasadena
5. 78:13  El Rancho
6. 78:22  South Hills
7. 79:07  Santa Fe

Girls

1. 17:17  Veronica Yamane, So – Arcadia
2. 17:17  Alejandra Quintero, Sr – Arcadia
3. 17:25  Marissa Scott, Jr – Bonita
4. 17:26  Kelli Hunt, Sr – Whittier Christian
5. 17:29  Laura Guidolin, Fr – Arcadia
6. 17:45  Bailee Henry, Jr – El Rancho
7. 17:58  Anna Barcelo, Sr – Nogales
8. 18:06  Megan Renken, So – Claremont
9. 18:07  Merin Artf, So – Claremont
10. 18:20  Kailyn Scott, Fr – Bonita
11. 18:23  Justine Romo, Jr – California
12. 18:29  Stephanie Vargas, Sr – Flintridge Sacred Heart
13. 18:31  Glindyll Mancilla, Jr – Arcadia
14. 18:36  Alex Borunda, Sr – South Hills

1. 1:29:20  Arcadia
2. 1:33:08  Bonita
3. 1:34:10  South Hills
4. 1:34:12  Claremont
5. 1:34:50  South Pasadena
6. 1:35:44  Flintridge Sacred Heart
7. 1:35:56  El Rancho