Crescenta Valley track tries to stay competitive, but loses meet to powerful Arcadia
LA CRESCENTA — Though the Crescenta Valley High track and field program entered as an underdog in Wednesday afternoon’s Pacific League home meet versus league heavyweight Arcadia, the Falcons still put on some pressure and a little show.
The Apaches rolled to a 98-38 victory in the girls’ competition to clinch another league crown, while Arcadia relied on star Phillip Rocha to pull out a win in the day’s final event for a 72-64 triumph.
With the defeat, the Falcons dropped to 4-3 in league in both the boys’ and girls’ standings, while the Arcadia girls improved to 7-0 and the boys upped their record to 5-2.
“Well, it certainly got exciting at the end and that’s all you can hope for,” Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Evans said. “I didn’t expect it to get that close on the boys’ side, but it was a last great race.
“You have to credit Arcadia. They went with their trump card Phillip Rocha and the guy doesn’t know how to lose.”
Arcadia led Crescenta Valley by four points going into the 3,200-meter run and that deficit was trimmed when Falcons sophomore Colin FitzGerald won the event in 9 minutes, 56.6 seconds.
The Apaches helped blunt some of the sting of losing by finishing second and third and holding a 67-64 advantage going into the final race.
With the prospect of losing a possibility, the Apaches entered the University of Colorado-bound Rocha in the 4x400-meter relay.
“I’m a cross-country guy, so running a sprint or relay isn’t something I’m used to,” said Rocha, who added he hadn’t run in a relay race in two years. “But I know I have better than average speed and I wanted to win.”
The CIF State Division I cross-country champion and long-distance runner was opposed by a Falcons team of Hye Kwang Kim, Anthony Zaragoza, Kenny Kang and Shawn Grinnell.
By the time the final baton was passed to both schools’ anchor runners, Rocha held a one-second advantage over Grinnell.
Both runners remained relatively even down the final 100 meters as the setting sun nearly blinded them.
Rocha and the Apaches won with a time of 3:28.92, which clipped the Falcons’ mark of 3:29.71.
Even in defeat, Grinnell was thrilled with the result, as Wednesday marked the senior’s final race as he’s sitting out the rest of the season for religious reasons.
“That’s the way to go out,” said Grinnell, who won the 400-meter dash in 52.26. “When does it ever come down to the last race? I had a chance to run the last leg of the last race and it was great - something I’ll always remember.”
Kim also claimed two wins for Crescenta Valley in the 100 (11:38) and 200 (23.35) dashes, while Kang won the 300 hurdles in 40.28, Arthur Akopyan captured the shot put (44 feet, 2 inches) and John Lapides claimed the high jump (5-10).
On the girls side, there were some bright spots.
Reigning All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year Alisa Shinn showed her versatility by winning the shot put in 35-6, while Liz Filipian claimed the 100 hurdles in 15.86 and Shea Bautista-Capol won the pole vault (mark was not available).
On the distance side, Crescenta Valley’s Grace McAuley picked up a victory in a time of 12:08.6.
“That wasn’t my best time, but there’s still time to get better,” McAuley said. “You know what Arcadia is going to do out here. They’re so big and deep. All you can do is try to focus on doing your best.”
