Cross-Country Preview: Flintridge Prep girls seek more CIF, state mastery
Last season proved to a memorable for a group of local girls’ and boys’ local cross-country teams.
Flintridge Prep’s girls’ team continued its dynasty by winning a fifth consecutive CIF Southern Section title and fourth straight Division V state championship. The boys’ team won another Prep League title and fared well in the postseason before seeing coach Ingrid Herskind step down to take an administrative position at the school following 20 league, six CIF Southern Section and five state championships since 1997.
The Crescenta Valley boys’ squad won the Pacific League title and saw Colin FitzGerald, who was named All-Area Boys’ Cross-Country Runner of the Year for the second straight season, graduate. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy captured the Mission League.
Now, all 12 local programs have defined their goals for the upcoming season.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
Armed with plenty of talent, lofty expectations have already been set for both Flintridge Prep squads.
Last season, the girls’ team completed a marvelous campaign by finishing second in the Prep League before embarking on further success.
Flintridge Prep will bring back the majority of its core, starting with seniors Sasha Codiga, Hope Codiga, Haley Allen and Caroline Wreszin in their quest for additional glory. Sasha Codiga picked up All-Area accolades last season following a fourth-place finish at state.
“We’ll have a strong senior class and and a group as a whole that will continue to get better,” said Flintridge Prep coach Jill Henry, the reigning All-Area Girls’ Cross-Country Coach of the Year. “With the previous success we’ve had, It’s made the girls that much more motivated to keep it going and we have a proud culture.”
For the boys, things will look a bit different.
The Rebels turn to Scott Jung, who served as an assistant last season under Herskind. In 2017, the Rebels captured the league championship for the 20th time in 21 seasons. They took third at the CIF Division IV finals and fourth in Division V at state.
The Rebels lost Evan Pattinelli, an All-Area pick who won CIF and state titles.
“My expectations aren’t any different from Ingrid’s,” Jung said. “We run the best we can and get to CIF and state. We have a very good group and a lot of experience.
“We have some big shoes to fill with Evan graduating, but we like who we have and we will keep the program’s tradition going.”
The squad will feature seniors Carson Hasbrouck, Sebastian Evans and Ethan Moutes and sophomore Bennett Oakes.
CRESCENTA VALLEY
The Falcons received an amazing effort from the boys’ team, which won the Pacific League championship for the first time since 2007 and finished seventh at the CIF Southern Section Division I finals. Crescenta Valley completed the campaign with a fourth-place effort at state.
Though some of the members from that squad graduated, the Falcons will likely contend for more league glory and a trip to the postseason.
“We were hit pretty hard by the people we lost to graduation,” said Crescenta Valley coach Mark Evans, the reigning All-Area Boys’ Cross-Country Coach of the Year. “We’ll look to some of the new guys to help fill in the spots.
“I think we’ll be a different team come October and November. There will be a lot of growth and we’ll be getting stronger and better every day.
Crescenta Valley will field a group consisting of seniors Manan Vats, Ethan Sharp and Grant Lauterback and juniors Dylan Wilbur and Erik Faeustle.
On the girls’ side, Crescenta Valley finished tied for third in league with Burbank last season.
The Falcons should be paced by senior Gaby Borraez, junior Sophia Atin and sophomore Sarah Nakama.
“We’ll look to bring some others up to go with our top three,” Evans said. “We feel like we can move up in league and we’ll see what happens. They are putting in the work to get better.”
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART ACADEMY
After finishing last in the Mission League in 2016, Flintridge Sacred Heart soared and captured the league championship last season. The Tologs then took 15th in the CIF Southern Section Division IV championships.
Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Kirk Nisjiyama and Co. would like to remain in the league penthouse, though the Tologs expect powerhouse Harvard-Westlake to challenge them.
“We think we have a shot at league again, but you know Harvard-Westlake will reload,” Nishiyama said. “We did lose some of our depth to graduation, but we like the group we have coming back.
“We had a real good summer in terms of workouts and we’ll look for our core from last year to lead the way.”
Looking to lead the charge for the Tologs are seniors Samantha Covey, Megan Koehler, Erika Wei and Joshlyn Aguirre, juniors Lauren Nettels and Chase Hayes and sophomore Alexandra Christoudoulou.
GLENDALE
Glendale’s boys’ and girls’ squads finished fifth in the Pacific League last season.
The good news for the Nitros is that many of their top runners have returned for both teams.
The boys will be paced by senior Arvin Sales and juniors Chadi Saklaway and Jordan Summerville. They could be joined by senior Joshua Dardon and sophomores Colm Daly and Parsa Sohani.
“This group of varsity runners is the most driven group I have had in many years,” Glendale coach Bob Bailey said. “By watching CV last year, they now have an understanding that a group that has a goal and a plan, and follows the plan can achieve great success. My goal is for this mentality to propagate through the team.”
For the girls, the key returners are seniors Vanneza Venzor and Kimberly Vizcarra and sophomore Chloe Pellegrini. Juniors Kaley Tien and Chloe Hansen, who will miss at least the first part of the season while recovering from injuries.
“With a couple of exceptions, the girls will not really know what they have until October,” Bailey said. “With two key injuries to start with, finding two to take their spots as they heal up will be top priority as we prepare for [the first] league meet.”
ST. FRANCIS
The Golden Knights turned in a fifth-place finish in the tough Mission League last season. Along the way, St. Francis gained plenty of experience and will look look to it to move up in a league that features state powers Loyola and Harvard-Westlake.
St. Francis will bring back seniors Sean Wilcox and Nico Ciranna, juniors Stuart Serventi and Jason Suh and sophomore Brady McNulty.
“Our goal is a top-four finish in league, so we can get to CIF,” St. Francis coach Pat Donovan said. “It’s always encouraging when you can bring back most of your team and they now have more experience. They all have a better idea of what to expect.”
HOOVER
Hoover’s girls’ squad finished sixth in the Pacific League last season. With another year of experience and the core of its lineup intact, Hoover coach Jack Sallakian said it’s possible the Tornadoes might be in line to move up in league in 2018.
The Tornadoes will bring back juniors Lia Yaghisaei, Gabby Quinones, Olivia Garcia and Lusineh Manasyan.
“We’ll look for a top-four finish in league,” Sallakian said. “Our group runs well together and they are very talented. They had a very good summer and we like their experience.”
Hoover’s boys’ squad took seventh in league.
It will field a group featuring seniors Omer Abdelrahim and David Diaz-Infante and juniors Julian Ruiz and Ryan Tavakoliyan.
“We’re a little low on numbers at the moment, but we do have some experience with Omer leading the way,” Sallakian said. “We’re still searching for a fifth guy who can help us close the gap.”
ST. MONICA ACADEMY
The Crusaders will again be a freelance team and will have a small contingent expected to run under coach Dennis Slavin.
St. Monica will feature seniors Mark Golbranson and Francis Mireles on the boys’ team and senior Kristina Turrichi and sophomore Caterina Marji on the girls’ squad.
“We’ll try to find some more runners to evolve the program,” St. Monica assistant Chris Plance said. “We’ll try to be competitive in our races and try to reduce our times and possibly get some personal-best marks.”
HOLY FAMILY
Holy Family competes in the Horizon League and is coached by Mark Fane. The Gaels took fourth in league last season.
Holy Family will return senior Kallista Acosta and juniors Maya Devora and Brianna Cindrich.
“They will be our core, plus we’ll have some first-time runners,” Fane said. “We will have a bit of a smaller squad compared to last year, but the goal will be to have our runners in good shape and competing hard.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
