Step up doesn’t trip up Bellarmine-Jefferson cross-country

SOUTH GATE — There was some question as to how the Bellarmine-Jefferson High cross-country program would adapt after CIF Southern Section realignment moved it from the lower Santa Fe League to the middle-of-the-road Camino Real League.

Though longtime Guards Coach Jim Couch expected a steady transition, nothing was certain until Bell-Jeff opened the league season at Wednesday afternoon’s first Camino Del Rey Assn. meet at South Gate’s Hollydale Course.

On a fast, flat surface, the Bell-Jeff girls showed they were legit in defeating Pomona Catholic, 24-36, for the victory behind a winning effort from Caitlyn Couch, while Guards sophomore Nick Montijo took second for fourth-place Bell-Jeff in the boys’ race.

“You know, it feels good to step up and win one,” Jim Couch said. “You’ve got to be thrilled. They both stepped up today.”

Jim Couch advised his teams to watch their pace and not go out too fast since both will be back in action at Saturday’s 43rd Annual Bellarmine-Jefferson Invitational at Griffith Park.

Couch’s daughter Caitlyn certainly didn’t slow down.

The junior crushed the field with a mark of 18 minutes, 37.1 seconds and seemed a little disappointed at the lack of competition. The victory marked Couch’s seventh straight win in a Camino Del Rey Assn. meet.

“I don’t know, it seemed easy – easy course, easy competition,” said Couch, the two-time defending Santa Fe League individual champion. “We’re excited to step up because it means we’re getting better but, we want to be at the top of CIF.”

Couch posted the third-fastest time of any runner from the association’s three leagues (Camino Real, Del Rey and Santa Fe) and trailed only Bishop Amat’s Trinity Ruelas (17:13.4) and Lakewood St. Joseph’s Kaitlyn Natividad (18:27.7).

As a squad, last year’s Santa Fe League champion Guards finished with 24 points in their Camino Real debut, ahead of Pomona Catholic (36), St. Monica (66), Cantwell Sacred Heart (106) and Mary Star of the Sea (127).

Southern Section Division V fourth-ranked Bell-Jeff had more than one runner up front as junior Valerie Zavala took second (19:33.9) and junior Claire Borot was third (20:17.3). Sophomore Dalila Rincon (eighth, 21:49.8) and junior Cosette Balmy (10th, 22:03.3) closed out the scoring for the Guards.

“It was a weird race, because we were all kind of isolated up front,” Zavala said. “I felt like we were going slow, but then I looked around and didn’t see anyone else around.”

Last season, the Bell-Jeff boys had their share of struggles in the Santa Fe League as the squad eventually placed fifth in the six-team league.

A year later in a tougher league, the Guards showed improvement by taking fourth with 99 points behind St. Monica (32), Bishop Montgomery (38) and St. Genevieve (79).

Montijo, who finished sixth at last year’s league finals, also impressed in finishing runner-up to St. Monica’s Konnor Paris (15:52.3) in a mark of 16:04.9.

“It was really hard out there and I thought I was going to give up,” Montijo said. “When I wanted to quit, I heard Couch’s voice in my head saying, ‘You’ve got to push.’ Him and [assistant] coach [Jose] Diaz wanted me to keep going, so I pushed.”

Freshmen Eric Flores (18th, 20:11.9) and Sebastian Ceja-Solis (19th, 20:16.7) were the other Guards to place in the top 20.

“It’s a bit of a learning curve with the boys stepping up in a new league,” Jim Couch said, “but I think by the end, they could be top three in league.”