Southern Section Cross-Country : Mascarro, Stonerock Will Meet Again in 3-A Final

Aaron Mascarro of Rosemead High School has maintained a low profile this cross-country season, but that should change Saturday when he runs against Daren Stonerock of Saugus High in the Southern Section 3-A Division final.

In all, four championship races for both boys and girls are scheduled to be run on the hilly three-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, beginning at 8 a.m.

Last year, as a sophomore, Mascarro won the 3-A final, defeating Stonerock by six seconds.

This season, while Stonerock has won a number of big invitational races and established himself as one of the state’s best runners, the undefeated Mascarro has confined his running primarily to dual meets and smaller invitationals.

Mascarro and Stonerock could have met in the Mt. San Antonio Invitational three weeks ago, but Mascarro passed up the meet to concentrate on the Mission Valley League final.

Stonerock finished in 15 minutes 4 seconds as he ran second to Eric Mastalir of Sacramento Jesuit, then ran a 15:03 last week in the section preliminaries. Those are the Southern Section’s two fastest times this season.

Mascarro, running in a separate heat last week, won easily in 15:20. Only Stonerock, among Southern Section athletes, has run faster this season.

Defending champion Saugus is almost three minutes faster than the next closest team and should have little trouble winning the team title. Arroyo appears to have an edge over La Habra, Buena Park, Torrance and Walnut in the battle for second.

Here’s a capsule look at the seven remaining finals:

BOYS’ 4-A--Simi Valley, despite a slower team time of 80:20, should prevail over Villa Park, 79:59. Mission Viejo, at 80:49, is also a threat. Five runners, led by Rich Erbes of Glendale at 15:29, were within 10 seconds of one another in last week’s preliminaries.

GIRLS’ 4-A--Defending champion Newport Harbor of Newport Beach is nearly three minutes faster than Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Palos Verdes. Buffy Rabbit of Newport Harbor had the fastest time last week, 18:04, but defending champion Melissa Sutton of Newbury Park will be tough to beat.

GIRLS’ 3-A--Defending champion Arroyo Grande has run 98:44 but should be challenged by Walnut, which has run 100:26. Senior Lisa Rizzo of Newhall Hart, 18:32, is back to defend her title but freshman Heather Scoby of Saugus, 18:20, looks to have the edge.

BOYS’ 2-A--Dave Schumacher of Long Beach St. Anthony, 15:41, may be pushed by Lompoc’s Tom Campbell, 15:59, and Ted Brown, 16:02, and Indio’s Hugo Rios, 16:07. Valencia, 83:05, and Loyola, 83:27, were close last week, but Loyola ran 82 flat three weeks ago.

GIRLS’ 2-A--Sophomore Tracey Williams of El Monte Mountain View, with a best time of 17:55, is expected to set a very fast pace. Amy Dabul of Temple City, 18:29, has a chance to upset the defending champion, but she can’t afford to let Williams build an early lead. Hesperia, 103:23, had the fastest time last week and has run 101:00. Nordhoff, 104:02, is the closest challenger.

BOYS’ 1-A--Sherman Indian, 84:57, should win its fourth straight title and fifth in the last six years. Juniors John Trafecanty of Cathedral, 15:57, and Bret Kimble of Carpinteria, 16:02, second and fourth last year, probably will battle for the individual title.

GIRLS’ 1-A--Morro Bay, 106:56, has a slight edge over Lompoc Cabrillo, 107:49, in a battle of Los Padres League teams. Carrie Barbar of Atascadero is the defending champion, but she was beaten by Evelyn Martino of Santa Maria St. Joseph in the league finals. Roberta Moronez of Azusa, 18:55, had the fastest time in the preliminaries.