Arcadia bids raise stakes at Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational

The Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational already had a reputation for being a destination meet for distance runners.

Early risers fight for the limited parking spots and file into the stadium at Laguna Beach High to see the meet’s big draw – the Eric Hulst Invitational 3,200-meter races.

On this occasion, the Trophy Invite got another shot in the arm. Rich Gonzalez, the meet director of the nationally-acclaimed Arcadia Invitational, announced that a spot in the prestigious meet was on the line for those in the field.

Temecula Great Oak’s Gavin Korby (nine minutes, 18 seconds) and Carlos Carvajal (9:19.52) took the top two spots in the boys’ race, earning invitational heat spots for Arcadia. The No. 3-6 runners in the race qualified for the seeded 3,200.

Laguna Beach’s Ryan Smithers (19^th, 9:28.43) and Sebastian Fisher (27^th, 10:01.33), and Corona del Mar’s Joseph Cianfrani (26^th, 9:57.18) were the locals in the boys’ race.

As for the girls, Great Oak’s Tori Gaitan (10:34.76) earned a spot in the invitational heat at Arcadia. Downey Warren’s Nadine Gomez (2^nd, 11:02.39) and Santa Ana’s Maria Hernandez (3^rd, 11:02.75) will be entered into the seeded heat.

Despite not claiming spots on the starting line at Arcadia, the stakes made the race immensely exciting for locals involved.

Breakers senior Evie Cant finished eighth in 11:18.11, just behind Costa Mesa sophomore Diane Molina (11:09.59), who placed sixth.

“I went into the race not expecting myself to be in the top pack, so I didn’t really put myself there,” Cant said, calling it the most competitive race she has been in. “Looking back on it, I probably should have because I probably would have been able to stay with them.”

Cant added that freshman teammate Jessie Rose (19^th, 11:37.59) got invaluable experience in running the race.

“It’s incredible,” Cant said. “She’s only ever done one two-mile before that. She’s very lucky. I don’t think that she understands how fortunate she is to be in that race and how talented she is.

“She puts a lot of pressure on herself and is tough on herself. I think that’s great because it pushes her, and she’s very hard-working. It’s amazing that she’s in that race, and it will definitely help carry her confidence through all four years.”

Sage Hill standout Brooklyn Button (11:26.95) took second in her varsity 3,200 run. The senior said she was not mad about missing the Eric Hulst race.

“I think [Lightning coach Nate Miller] was expecting that I would make it to the first heat, but when I found out I was in the second, I wasn’t at all angry because there’s a different kind of motivation when you’re near the front of the pack,” Button said.

Costa Mesa twins Felicia and Tayla Crenshaw picked up where they left off as state qualifiers in their junior year. They finished first (144 feet, three inches) and second (121-9) in the discus, respectively.

“It was a lot of technique, getting stuff done, and making sure that it’s all in the right positioning so that when we get to season, I know what to do,” Felicia Crenshaw said of her offseason training. “Now that I’m in season, I’m getting ready for those big meets.

“I’m getting ready for Arcadia, CIF and league. These are all meets that are going to help me get to there and go against the best. That’s where I want to be is with the best.”

Ocean View’s Jason St. Pierre was the runner-up (9:57.25) in the boys’ Open Division 3,200.

CdM’s Cole White and Simona Bocancea placed in the top five in discus.

Estancia’s Jay Enciso took sixth in boys’ shotput with a mark of 46-11.5.

In the boys’ 800, Marina’s Luke Sutherland took fifth (1:59.65).

BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational

At Laguna Beach High

100 – 1. Fox (Bonanza) 10.83; 2. Irvin (Servite) 10.85; 3. Johnson (Harvard-Westlake) 10.97; 4. Martin (Vista Murrieta) 10.99; 5. Howland (Vista Murrieta) 11.00

200 – 1. Fox (Bonanza) 22.42; 2. Halvax (Dana Hills) 22.47; 3. Lapit (Corona Centennial) 22.88; 4. Scoville (Desert Oasis) 22.95; 5. Johnson (Harvard-Westlake) 23.06

400 – 1. Samaniego (Vista Murrieta) 48.37; 2. Borquez (Harvard-Westlake) 48.70; 3. Lapit (Desert Oasis) 49.80; 4. Scoville (Desert Oasis) 50.79; 5. Fatigate (Dana Hills) 51.46

800 – 1. Bush (Tesoro) 1:55.18; 2. Sarino (Servite) 1:57.15; 3. Dowdy (Dana Hills) 1:57.36; 4. Fulton (Santa Margarita) 1:59.44; 5. Sutherland (Marina) 1:59.65

1,600 – 1. Shields (Great Oak) 4:25.66; 2. Rubin (Sage Creek) 4:26.18; 3. Ramos (Rubidoux) 4:26.87; 4. Hough (Dana Hills) 4:29.20; 5. Crites (Tesoro) 4:30.73

3,200 Eric Hulst Invite – 1. Korby (Great Oak) 9:18.20; 2. Carvajal (Great Oak) 9:19.52; 3. Ophsal (Redlands East Valley) 9:20.64; 4. Woodward (Corona Centennial) 9:20.76; 5. Herold (JSerra) 9:20.77

3,200 Open – 1. Amezcua (Green Valley) 9:53.03; 2. J. St. Pierre (Ocean View) 9:57.25; 3. Nicanor (Santa Ana) 10:01.67; 4. Stevens (Murrieta Valley) 10:04.37; 5. Beehler (Trabuco Hills) 10:06.70

3,200 – 1. Casillas (Redlands East Valley) 9:37.32; 2. Duran (Santa Ana) 9:42.10; 3. Savely (Capistrano Valley) 9:42.99; 4. Lieberman (Roosevelt) 9:43.69; 5. B. Metoyer (El Modena) 9:44.12

110HH – 1. Robbins (Tesoro) 15.17; 2. Escorcia (Vista Murrieta) 15.38; 3. Ojeda (Servite) 15.74; 4. Wang (Harvard-Westlake) 15.84; 5. Johnson (Crean Lutheran) 16.13

300IH – 1. Borquez (Harvard-Westlake) 38.92; 2. Robbins (Tesoro) 39.90; 3. Kimble (Servite) 40.81; 4. Escorcia (Vista Murrieta) 40.88; 5. Spicer (Dana Hills) 41.44

400 relay – 1. Vista Murrieta 42.66; 2. Great Oak 43.06; 3. Harvard-Westlake 43.19; 4. Servite 43.34; 5. Corona Centennial 43.81

1,600 relay – 1. Dana Hills 3:28.16; 2. Crean Lutheran 3:32.69; 3. Corona Centennial 3:34.61; 4. Whittier 3:34.80; 5. Tesoro 3:36.38

HJ – 1. Fabiyi (Basic) 6-2; 2. Scott (Los Alamitos) 6-2; 3. Cormie (Santa Margarita) 6-0; 4T. Alverado (JSerra) 5-10; 4T. Davis (JSerra) 5-10

LJ – 1. Wesley (Santa Ana Valley) 22-10; 2. Ayale (Los Alamitos) 22-1; 3. Haley (Irvine) 21-2.5; 4. Duran (Servite) 20-8; 5. Reed (Tesoro) 20-6.5

TJ – 1. Victa (Laguna Hills) 45-4; 2T. Allen (Vista Murrieta) 44-2.5; 2T. J’Vonni Sanchez (Green Valley) 44-2.5; 4. Ayale (Los Alamitos) 43-9.5; 5. Wesley (Santa Ana Valley) 43-7

PV – N/A

SP – 1. Navarro (Great Oak) 56-6.5; 2. Gould (Great Oak) 54-2.75; 3. Meeker (Great Oak) 50-11; 4. McKhann (Dana Hills) 49-6.5; 5. Yukihiro (Los Alamitos) 47-0.5

DT – 1. Navarro (Great Oak) 174-4; 2. Gould (Great Oak) 164-8; 3. McKhann (Dana Hills) 159-9; 4. Meeker (Great Oak) 137-8; 5. White (Corona del Mar) 135-11

GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD

Laguna Beach Trophy Invitational

At Laguna Beach High

100 – 1. N. Merritt (Santa Margarita) 12.14; 2. Rivera (Green Valley) 12.40; 3. Grant (Green Valley) 12.41; 4. Mosby (Archer) 12.42; 5. Jocson (Tesoro) 12.43

200 – 1. Farias (Dana Hills) 26.68; 2. Dumas (Desert Oasis) 26.94; 3. Harris (Corona Centennial) 27.03; 4. Tyus (Laguna Beach) 27.05; 5. Shaw (Laguna Beach) 27.11

400 – 1. Mosby (Archer) 57.93; 2. Rivera (Green Valley) 58.15; 3. Rind (Dana Hills) 58.48; 4. Grant (Green Valley) 58.60; 5. Gibson (Desert Oasis) 58.74

800 – 1. G. George (Santa Margarita) 2:17.03; 2. Jacobs (Tesoro) 2:18.44; 3. Haskins (Dana Hills) 2:18.92; 4. Gibson (Desert Oasis) 2:24.72; 5. Mathes (Dana Hills) 2:25.27

1,600 – 1. Herberg (Capistrano Valley) 4:55.11; 2. Reece (Murrieta Valley) 5:07.37; 3. Griffiths (Great Oak) 5:08.97; 4. Werner (Vista Murrieta) 5:10.94; 5. Fick (Vista Murrieta) 5:10.96

3,200 Eric Hulst Invite – 1. Gaitan (Great Oak) 10:34.76; 2. Gomez (Warren) 11:02.39; 3. Hernandez (Santa Ana) 11:02.75; 4. Corsinta (Capistrano Valley) 11:02.91; 5. Wallace (Sage Creek) 11:06.92; 6. Molina (Costa Mesa) 11:09.59; 8. Evie Cant (Laguna Beach) 11:18.11; 19. Rose (Laguna Beach) 11:37.59

3,200 – 1. Chavez-Velazquez (Basic) 11:22.08; 2. Button (Sage Hill) 11:26.95; 3. Lucas (Great Oak) 11:39.02; 4. Konkel (Laguna Beach) 11:39.91; 5. Getz (Santa Margarita) 11:44.26

100HH – 1. Madrid (Green Valley) 15.94; 2. Witt (Great Oak) 16.50; 3. Shkel (University) 16.58; 4. Bartz (Corona del Mar) 16.81; 5. Ray (Dana Hills) 16.93

300IH – 1. Green (Great Oak) 45.11; 2. Ray (Dana Hills) 45.25; 3. Ales (Troy) 46.52; 4. Shkel (University) 46.86; 5. Applewhite (Troy) 48.09

400 relay – 1. Santa Margarita 48.84; 2. Dana Hills 49.66; 3. Great Oak 50.44; 4. Laguna Beach 50.67; 5. Desert Oasis 50.95

1,600 relay – 1. Dana Hills 3:56.93; 2. Great Oak 4:15.59; 3. Corona Centennial 4:16.96; 4. Tesoro 4:19.89; 5. Whittier 4:19.96

HJ – 1. Kaufman (Harvard-Westlake) 5-4; 2. Robinson (Capistrano Valley) 5-2; 3T. Whitten (San Juan Hills) 5-0; 3T. Griffith (Rosary) 5-0; 5. Bowe (Tesoro) 5-0J

LJ – N/A

TJ – 1. Stevenson (Great Oak) 36-9.5; 2. Robinson (Capistrano Valley) 36-0; 3. Stein (Great Oak) 35-0.25; 4. Jimerson (Vista Murrieta) 34-9; 5. Jocson (Tesoro) 34-6

PV – 1. Meier (Vista Murrieta) 11-6; 2. Portis (Great Oak) 11-0; 3. Wilmore (Chaffey) 11-0; 4. Bader (Vista Murrieta) 10-6; 5. South (Archer) 10-6

SP – 1. Sale (Los Alamitos) 44-5.5; 2. F. Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 37-3.25; 3. Arias (Warren) 36-7; 4. Chavers (Warren) 36-1; 5. Mitchell (Dana Hills) 35-8

DT – 1. F. Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 144-3; 2. T. Crenshaw (Costa Mesa) 121-9; 3. Wilkerson (Trabuco Hills) 118-9; 4. Bocancea (Corona del Mar) 113-0; 5. Ballo (Dana Hills) 108-11

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner