By Bob Ramsey, on November 2nd, 2018 The Rowland boys and Covina girls entered 2018 favored in the Valle Vista League, and confirmed that in the first two cluster meets. Both teams closed the deal on Wednesday with two wins in the Valle Vista Finals held on the rolling 3-mile course at Bonelli Park in San Dimas.
Results
 The San Dimas Girls Claim the Big Trophy. VVL Champ Katelyn Vuong is to the right of the trophy. Coach Andrew Tachias is the one with the beard The Championship Finals followed the same finish order from the last cluster meet. On the girls side, Covina’s  Katelyn Vuong pushed back a good challenge to win in 19:06 from Rowland’s Supriya Rawal – 2nd/19:19 and Dana Hernanez – 3rd/19:27. But their efforts up front were not enough to overtake Covina’s 44 points, who clinched with an 8-14 grouping of their next four, nor were they enough to hold off San Dimas, who moved up to edge the Raiders by two points, 57-59.
The Saints were led by a big step-up from junior Layla Graham, who was 4th/19:36 and a strong 6th/19:47 performance from the team’s usual #1 Caroline Cobo.Â
Wilson also made a big jump from the previous meets, halving the gap to third place, but were still fourth. Senior Daniela De La Torre Garcia led the resurgence, moving up fifteen spots from the second cluster meet to earn the final All-League spot at 7th/20:23.
 The Northview team, including CIF qualifier Charlie Arellano. Northview junior Charlie Arellano had run with the VVL leaders all year, and she will advance to CIF individually with her 5th/19:41 finish.  Baldwin Park was fifth in the scoring, led by Jeffifer Sanchez-Sumano – 31st/25:10.
On the Boys side, Rowland returned to full strength and dominated the race, putting four in the first six to score just 26 points. Baldwin Park junior Eduardo De Paz repeated his early win to take the individual championship in 15:36, His win sparked the Braves to almost overtake second-placed Covina, falling short by just one point – 75-76.
After De Paz, Rowland took four the next five spots in a controlled effort - Rafael Alcarez - 2nd/15:57, John Martinez – 3rd/15:57, Jimmy Lei - 4th/16:16 and Nicholas Acevedo – 6th/16:30. Covina was led by senior Daniel Hernandez – 7th/16:31.
Junior Daniel Pfeiffer – 6th/16:25 earned the final All-League spot, leading Wilson as he had all year. But with the rapid improvement of BP, the gap from Daniel to his remaining teammates was too big for them to move back into a CIF spot. Daniel will move on as an individual.
San Dimas, amazingly scoring three frosh and two sophs, were fifth, led by one of the SGV’s top frosh Raul Burris – 9th/16:35, just four seconds short of All-League honors. Northview was sixth, their best was frosh Aaron Ochoa – 24th/18:07
By Bob Ramsey, on November 1st, 2018 The Alhambra girls were expected the win the Almont League, they’ve more than fulfilled expectations all year, capping it with a big win Wednesday at Legg Lake in South El Monte. The boys side was more wide-open, with ten of the first fourteen finishers from the 2017 final graduated, but Schurr reloaded the best and defended their title.
Complete Results
Coming into 2018, the Alhambra girls returned four of their five scorers while nearest rival Schurr graduated four of their five. Plus the Moors had Serena Duenas, the defending champ, and they lived up to that promise, winning both clusters and the final. Serena repeated as individual champ in 18:59, a nearly 30 second win.
Schurr’s Marai Atanacio repeated her second place finish from 2017, running 19:25, and led her team to claim 3rd place on the day and third place in league, earning the final CIF spot. Alhambra showed their strength by taking the next three places, Alyssa Romero was 3rd/19:29, Palmoa Sanchez 4th/19:34 and Milan Cambon 5th/19:43.
Jimena Vaszquez 6th/19:55 was the best for Bell Gardens, who narrowly edged out Schurr for second, while Mark Keppel senior Kelsey Bustamante, who was sixth in the first two meets, fell to 7th/20:18, earning the final All-League, but falling one short of advancing individually.
Montebello was just two points shy of Schurr and finished a heartbreaking fourth, and out of the CIF spots. Their best was junior Victoria Frausto in 9th/20:54. San Gabriel, led by senior Tiffany Chung - 13th/21:14 was fifth and Mark Keppel was sixth.
While the girls season-long competition was pretty stable, the boys was more volatile, with the exception of the rise of Schurr soph Armando Morales. Frosh/Soph champ last year, Armando completed an undefeated league season with a commanding 29 second win in 16:28, and led the Spartans to the team title after a small stumble in the second meet.
Senior Jonathan Maya in his first and only season of XC for Montebello was second in 16:57, and he led the Oilers to second in the meet and second for the season. Third place went to San Gabriel soph Jason Phung in 16:59. His team was also third on the day, capping a season long rise from fifth in the first meet.
But the Almont League (like most leagues) counts all three meets in determining the final standings, so Bell Gardens, who placed fourth here, finished third in the league standings and will advance to CIF over the Matadores, while Jason will advance individually. Senior Emmanuel Valencia – 15th/18:04 was best for the Lancers.
Last year’s champ, Dustin Vu (Sr, Schurr) missed most of this season, but returned in time to finish 4th/17:08. The final three All-League spots went to Edson Arias (Jr, Montebello) – 5th/17:21, Adam Alvarez (Sr, Mark Keppel) – 6th/17:26, and Richard Flores (Sr, Schurr) – 7th/17:26.
Arias had a nice rise from 30th here last year, and moved up from 16th in the first league meet, while Alvarez qualified for CIF individually, as he did last year, by out leaning Flores for sixth.
Alhambra was 5th in the team standings – their best was senior Bryan Albarran – 9th/17:41 and Mark Keppel was sixth.
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018 The Hacienda League Final followed the form from the previous league meets Tuesday, when they competed again on the rolling 3-mile course at Bonelli Park.
2018 Hacienda League Finals Results
 Chloe Arriaga – Hacienda League Champ Walnut were the easy winners in the earlier league girls races, with West Covina & South Hills two and three, and they followed that order again. The Mustangs were missing one of their usual first four, but they still took the first four places to finish with just 17 points.
Chloe Arriaga won her 4th Hacienda Championship in 19:06, followed by Emma Arriaga – 2nd/19:10, Amanda Ghibaudo – 3rd /19:39 and in a nice step-up, Milo Santiago – 4th/20:27. Karla Galvan also stepped up to close out the scoring at 7th/21:01.
 Girls First Team Varsity: Chloe Arriaga, Emma Arriaga, Amanda Ghibaudo, Milo Santiago, Arissa Hatcher, Kaylee Sanchez, Karla Galvan and Alyssa Ruiz South Hills Arissa Hatcher – 5th/20:36 and Los Altos Kaylee Sanchez – 6th/20:56 took the remaining two All-League spots to break up the Mustangs. Arissa’s Huskies were 3rd, which was enough to hold off the Conqs. West Covina was second on the strength of their relatively close 1-5 grouping. Their best was Alyssa Ruiz – 8th/21:07.
Diamond Ranch edged out Charter Oak in the final two spots, and were led by Alyssa Blanco – 12th/22:18 and Guadalupe Perez – 22nd/24:17, respectively
On the Boys side, Walnut had won both previous races Mustangs also won the earlier boys races, while South Hills and Los Altos had traded the second spot. Walnut were again the winners, while the Conquerors regained second place on a six-man tie-breaker with the Huskies.
 Hacienda Champ Devin Hightower South Hills senior Devin Hightower finished the league season undefeated in 16:15, followed to the line as he was in the earlier races by Walnut’s Jesse Alvarado - 2nd/16:29, and brother Dillon Hightower - 3rd/16:39 in a race where the leaders were quite a bit spread out.
 Boys Varsity First Team: Dillon Hightower, Jesse Alvarado, Devin Hightower, Luke Francis, Chris Razo, Conner Parker, Fernando Padilla and Robert Arriaga Los Altos was led by a 4 & 7 finish from Luke Francis (16:48) and Fernando Padilla (17:17), with the remaining All-League Spots going to Walnut’s Chris Razo 5th/17:09 and Diamond Ranch’s Conner Parker – 6th/17:17, who will advance to CIF as an individual.
West Covina finished fourth, led by Francisco Murillo – 11th/17:41, Diamond Ranch was fifth, and Julian Mireles - 26th/18:57 led Charter Oak.
Photos of the Varsity 2nd-Teams, and Top 10’s of the JV and Frosh/Soph races after the jump.
Continue reading Hacienda League: Walnut Doubles Up
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018 Arroyo has been moving from strength to strength this season. They had a strong group of returners on both the boys and girls teams, and both teams have been helped by the seasonal rise of young runners, and they closed the deal Tuesday in the Mission Valley Finals at Legg Lake in South El Monte.
Complete Results
 The boys, led by an easy 15:10 win Noah Hibbard, hit the perfect 15 they’ve been chasing all year. Rosemead was second, led by Fausto Reyna – 8th/16:40. Gabrielino was third again, led as they have been all year by soph Nicolas DiConti, who after breaking up Arroyo in the first meet slipped to 6th/16:25.
Next to the line was Carlos Martinez of El Monte at 7th/16:30, capping a big seasonal rise after finishing 15th at the first MVL meet, and he led the Lions to the fourth and final CIF qualifying spot in this seven team league.
 The remaining three places were South El Monte, led by David Aguilar – 9th/16:43, Marshall led by Claudio Reynoso – 23rd/17:44 and Robinson Kao was up front for Mountain View - 42nd/21:43.
 MVL Champ Melanie Mach (third from right) leads out the front group early in the race. The Arroyo girls faced a stiffer challenge from CIF Div. 3 ranked Rosemead. The Panthers Melanie Mach added on more win to her extraordinary senior year with a big 18:37, and was helped by an excellent 4th/19:12 finish by senior Cassandra Chin. The Panthers narrowed their margin from the 2nd cluster meet, but that wasn’t enough to hold off the Knights, who put their scoring five in the first nine.
Arroyo was led by four girls in the All-League spots, Mollie Hake – 2nd/18:50, Amelia Rivas – 3rd/19:10, Kelly Luna-Flores – 4th/19:13 and Karina Felix – 6th/19:21, resulting in a strong defense of their title.
Frosh Kristen Song of Gabrielino grabbed the final All-League place in 7th/19:27, moving up from 11th and 9th in the first two meets, and her team was fourth, taking the final CIF spot. A young (four of five scorers were frosh or sophs) South El Monte was third, led by Karla Ortega – 12th/20:20.
 The remaining teams were El Monte, led by Arai Medina - 25th/22:02, Marshall – their best was Candace Fisher – 24th/21:56, and Jarethzy Roman – 30th/22:43 was best for Mountain View.
Great thanks to Gabrielino parent Andy DiConti for the photos.
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018  Natalia Zuniga at the Apache Invite La Mirada is the only SGV team in the four school Suburban League, and they claimed both league championships Tuesday at La Mirada Park.
Complete Results
The boys had a comfortable 39-51 edge, and Christian Santiago closed out this part of his senior year with a15:55 win for the championship. He was joined in all-league honors by soph Rainier Villanueva, who moved up from 11th & 12th in the first two league meets to finish 5th/16:47.
The girls had an even stronger team effort, putting their first five in the top ten and three in the first seven: Mia Gutierrez – 2nd/19:55, Kayla Zendejas - 4th/20:18, & impressive 5th/20:20 from frosh Natalia Zuniga, moving up from 15th & 10th in the cluster meets.
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018 Damien and St. Lucy’s are the only SGV schools in the Baseline League, and the only Div. 3 & Div. 4 schools, respectively in the a league of Div. 1 schools. So they faced an uphill battle all year.
Coming into the final Tuesday at Central Park in Rancho Cucamonga, the SGV #10 Spartans were fourth, and needed a top three finish to advance, since they’d (inexplicably?) fallen out of the Div. 3 rankings.
Injuries limited the Spartans chances, and they finished fourth (and nearly 5th). Their one bright spot was soph Danny Ebiner, who finished 6th/15:59 and will advance to CIF individually. Damien’s best races had come when they finished fairly close together, but with one runner out and another hobbled, they were too spread out to get the score they needed.
The Regals were fifth coming in to the meet, and finished there again, while frosh Sarah Gann capped her rapid seasonal ascent with a 5th place finish in 18:47, earning an individual CIF spot.
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018 The six small prep schools of the Horizon League held their Finals at the Cornfield in Los Angeles on Tuesday. This was the sixth (!) meet the league held this season, and this one followed the same order as the first five.
Full Results
LA’s Sacred Heart of Jesus won, as they had in all of the meets, and CIF ranked Ramona Convent finished second again in the closest finish of the year. Two Tigers made All-League – frosh Emily Silva – 5th/20:37 for 5000m and soph Isabelle Mix-Vachon – 6th/21:00
Alverno was once again third, and they will also advance to CIF from this six-team league. Their best was Katie Maruna – 15th/22:35. San Gabriel Mission was sixth, and their best was senior Ashley De La Cruz – 25th/24:29
By Bob Ramsey, on October 31st, 2018 The three league Catholic school Camino Del Rey Association held their finals Tuesday at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale. The Bishop Amat girls finished their season-long lead of the Del Rey League, while the boys return of Bosco Tech to CIF with the big news on the boys side.
Senior Olivia Paez scored a huge victory leading the Lancers, winning by nearly a minute in 17:29 on the flat 3-mile course. Frosh Janelle Santos continued her rapid rise, finishing 4th/18:46 as Amat put their scoring five in the first eight. This was a strong effort, but it was also the first time their first four was broken up the other teams.
St. Paul had moved from fifth to second in the second cluster meet, and had high hopes of advancing. They finished a disappointing fourth, so their season ends here, except for senior Reagan Lucero. Reagan completed her season-long rise up the Del Rey league, finishing 13th in the first meet, 8th in the second, and a CIF-qualifying 6th in 19:01.
Newly promoted Pomona Catholic struggled all year in the higher Del Rey and finished fifth. They were led by junior Brooke Burciaga at 11th/19:43, her best finish of the year.
On the boys side Bishop Amat were second, as expected, led by two excellent efforts from Isaiah Hernandez – 2nd/15:15 and James Leon – 4th/15:26. Don Bosco, traditionally one of the SGV’s best Div. 4 schools, was a solid third and will return to CIF for the fist time since 2014. They were led by Aaron Dominguez who was 8th/15:33 in this very competitive race, and they sealed the deal with a tight grouping of their 2-5 runners.
La Salle was fourth and St. Paul fell to fifth and will not advance. The Lancers were led by Daniel Piesik - 13th/16:01 and the Swordsmen by Owen Lozano – 7th/15:32, who heartbreakingly missed earning a individual CIF spot by 3/10th’s of a second.
In the middle level Camino Real League, the La Salle girls secured a CIF spot with a second place finish in this four team league. In a race where the teams ran mostly in groups, the Lancers earned their spot with a 5-6-7-8 finish led by Margaret O’Hagan – 6th/22:25 and Michelle Algiers – 7th/22:32. Cantwell Sacred Heart were a non-advancing third, and were led by Rivera Ciclari – 11th/24:03.
The CSH boys compete in the third level Santa Fe league. They were fifth in this five team league, but just missed advancing to CIF by 5 points. Their top finisher was Josue Banuelos – 17th/21:25
By Bob Ramsey, on October 29th, 2018  This was the third week of the CIF Southern Section Rankings expanding to 16, and the San Gabriel Valley increased its share in the rankings from 26 teams to 27.
Close readers will remember that we listed 25 SGV teams in the CIF rankings last week. It was actually 26 – we missed Ramona Convent‘s first week in the Div. 5 rankings (Sorry, Tigers!). This week, the South Pasadena girls enter the Div. 4 rankings for the first time this week at #7, probably due to an oversight by the CIF rankers.
Six schools clinched a CIF spot by earning their second ranking in the expanded polls – Flintridge Sacred Heart (D4), Vivian Webb (D5) & Ramona Convent on the girls side, and South Hills (D3), Pioneer (D4) and Maranatha (D5) on the boys.
The Bonita girls were the first team to officially advance via the rankings when they finished fourth in the Palomares League.
Four of the SGV Girls Top Ten were unranked: #4 Glendora, #5 California, #9 Arcadia & #10 Arroyo, while #8 Rowland, #9 Glendora and #10 Damien are unranked among the boys. Glendora finished 6th in both races in the Palomares Final, so their season is over. Damien is the only team unranked in CIF that is likely to need an at-large spot to advance..
You can view the entire rankings here
San Gabriel Valley Girls
*=Clinched At-Large CIF berth.
Div 1 – #6 – #Â Walnut*Â (Same as last week)
Div 2 – #1 -Â Claremont*Â (Same)
Div. 3 – #8Â Bonita*Â (Same); #12Â Rosemead*Â (13th)
Div. 4 – #5 – Bishop Amat* (Same); #7 South Pasadena (Unranked); #8 Mayfield* (7th); #10 Flintridge Sacred Heart* (10th) #11 -  La Cañada* (11th)
Div. 5 – #2 – #5 CAÂ Flintridge Prep* (Same); #6Â Poly* (7th); #12Â Webb*Â (12th); #13Â Ramona Convent*Â (13th)
San Gabriel Valley Boys
Div 1 -Â #6= -Â La Serna* (#6); #6=Â Arcadia* (7th); #14Â California*Â (Same)
Div. 2 - #2= - Claremont* (1st); 9th Arroyo* (Same)
Div. 3 – #10 Bonita* (Same); 12th Whittier* (Same); 16th South Hills* (Same)
Div. 4 – #4 – South Pasadena* (Same); #10 Pioneer*Â (Same)Â #12Â Bishop Amat*Â (Same); #15Â La Canada*Â (Same)
Div. 5 – #3 - Flintridge Prep* (Same); #12 Maranatha (11th)
By Bob Ramsey, on October 27th, 2018 Flintridge Prep has been one of the top Div. 5 programs in California this decade, especially the girls team, who are five-time CIF and four-time defending State champs. But in the Prep League, they’ve traded championships with Div. 4Â Mayfield. This year, the Rebels stepped up to win the championship, contested on the tough, hilly 2.96-mile course at Pierce College.
Full Results
Mayfield won the Prep Cluster meet in September, but FP was missing key senior Sasha Codiga. Both teams were at full strength today, and Sasha was the difference as FP edged Mayfield 41-43. Mayfield soph Audrey Suarez, the 2018 champ, defended with a 18:38 win. FP senior Haley Allen was 2nd in 18:47, Sasha was 3rd/19:06, and the Cubs Emma Cadena was 4th/1923.
Poly just edged out Chadwick, 67-70  with two in the first seven - Sophie Phinney 5th/19:26 and Alessia Checcone 7th/19:37 – and they will get the third CIF spot.  Westridge was 5th, led by frosh Jazlyn Gutierrez at 20th/21:56.
In the boys race, Flintridge Prep defended with a clear win at 25 points, while senior Carson Hasbrouck moved up from 3rd last year to claim the championship with a 15:57 win. He was joined in the first 7 by teammates  Bennett Oakes 4th/16:18, Hudson Billock 6th/17:04, and Ethan Moutes 7th/17:26.
The Prep League has only four boys teams, and Poly faced a stiff challenge to bump Chadwick out of the second and final CIF spot. They cut the gap from the cluster meet, but still fell short. Evan Hayes led the Panthers by finishing 5th/17:01 and he’ll advance to CIF as an individual.
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SGV Track & XC This site is maintained by Bob Ramsey – a SGV T&F athlete (Arroyo ’80), and former coach at Glendora HS and Meet Director of the SGV Champs. Bob is currently Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Whittier College
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