Cross-Country Preview: Bell-Jeff loses Couch, other members of state team
A season removed from qualifying for the CIF State Division Cross-Country Championships, Bellarmine-Jefferson High is trying to piece together enough runners to make a girls’ cross-country team.
The team is reeling from departure of its two top athletes, No. 1 Caitlyn Couch and Valarie Zavala, who have both transferred. In addition, the Guards, who placed 14th in the Division V state final and captured a Camino Real League championship, lost their third through fifth scorers after they decided to concentrate on volleyball.
“The team has been totally decimated,” said Bell-Jeff coach Jim Couch, who is also Caitlyn’s father. “It is just unfortunate because that team had such a tremendous amount of success last year. I know there were some hard decisions that were made by the girls.
“At this point it is going to be very difficult to even put together a team. But like usual, I’ll try and pull something out of my magic hat and see what I can find. I’m definitely not throwing in the towel and we will try and do the best that we can, but at this point it doesn’t look very promising.”
One state qualifier who is returning on the girls’ side is Burroughs senior Emily Virtue, who will be looking for her third berth in the elite meet. The Indian boys’ squad has a solid group of returners from a team that won a share of the league title in 2016.
Here is a closer look at how the teams are shaping up for the 2017 season.
BURROUGHS
Virtue has cemented herself as one of the most successful distance runners in city history and she still has a season to go.
The senior is a two time All-Area Girls’ Cross-Country Runner of the Year, two time state individual qualifier and two-time defending Pacific League champion. Last season, Virtue placed ninth in the Division I state meet. As a sophomore she was sixth in Division I.
“Emily has performed tremendously over these past two years, so it will be exciting to see what she can do this year to finish off her high school career,” Burroughs coach John Peebles said.
Returning for the Indians are seniors Kenna Guzman, Ana Villalpando and Catrina Villalpando, who will be joined by juniors Julianna Navarro and Vanessa Reveles.
The Burroughs boys are coming off a season in which they secured a share of their third straight Pacific League championship.
The Indians return their top athlete in senior Alexander Hirsch, who was nipped at the line in last year’s league finals, finishing second.
“As a group, we have not had the summer we were hoping for,” Peebles said. “However, now that school is back, we should be able to get back to consistently putting in the work that it takes to improve.
“We have work that needs to be done, so it is exciting to see how we embrace that challenge.”
Returning seniors Jagdeep Chahal, Andrew Hoxsie, Chris Hoxsie and Jeron Straker will be joined by newcomer Raymond Berrellez, a junior.
BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON
The loss of Caitlyn Couch is a big blow to Bell-Jeff athletics. Caitlyn was not only a standout in cross-country, but she was an All-CIF basketball player for the Guards and won three individual titles in track and field last season.
“It was really her decision to transfer,” said Jim of Caitlyn, who is now at Crescenta Valley. “She wants to see how she will do against Division I competition and she wanted to give it a shot, so we supported her decision.”
On the boys’ side, the Guards have their top runner returning in junior Nick Montijo, who earned all-league recognition by placing third in last season’s Camino Real League finals. Bell-Jeff should be bolstered by returning sophomores Sebastian Ceja-Solis and Eric Flores.
“Nick has been training and putting in the time and I think for sure he has a chance to win our league as an individual,” Couch said. “He is legit.”
BURBANK
The Bulldogs are coming off a season in which their boys’ and girls’ squads qualified for the CIF prelims. However, both squads lost impact runners to graduation.
“We lost our top two girls from that team and we also lost our one-two from the boys, as well,” said Kathryn Nelson, who shares the coaching duties with Robert Hammell. “We have some runners who we are hoping will be able to fill those spots of the people that we lost from last year.
“They have been working hard and I think they are going to be ready once the season starts.”
The top returner from the girls’ side is sophomore Sol Fernandez, who placed 10th at last season’s Pacific League finals. She will be joined by a pair of returners: senior Noemi Apreza and junior Natalie Danao.
Other potential scorers are sophomore Jordan Delgado and juniors Lydia Forsyth, Jamie Levin, Shalom Mejia and Raelene Aldana. A freshman who could make an impact is Elin Markarian.
On the boys’ side is returning junior Jahir Olvera. He will be joined by junior Peter Al-Hasani, sophomores Victor Goli, Tadeh Shanazari, Anthony Chiarazalle and Dayne Ellis, along with freshman Andres Leon.
“This is a very, very young boys’ team and with what we lost last year, we really lost any longevity that we had,” Nelson said. “This is a really good group of boys and it is a good group to be around.”
PROVIDENCE
The Pioneers girls’ team returns its top performer from a year ago, sophomore Carissa Guardado. In the 2016 Liberty League finals, Guardado placed third and qualified for the CIF preliminaries.
“We only have two returning girls from last year,” Providence Coach Michelle Boucher said. “We might be small, but we have some girls who have great attitudes and we hope they are going to be solid runners. We only have six girls, so if we can stay healthy, I think we’re going to be OK.”
Senior returner Lauren Gregorio and junior Stella Murphy are expected to be the team’s other top runners.
It’s a different story on the boys’ side, as the program features 25 runners. The Pioneers will be led by a trio of returners in seniors Ryan Donnelly, Brian Chan and Gavin McGroarty, who returns after not competing as a junior.
“The good thing is a lot of the boys who came in as freshmen have stuck around the program and they are seniors now,” Boucher said. “It is a really good group and we are expecting good things from them.”
Twitter: @jefftsports
