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Southern Section Cross-Country Finals : Palos Verdes Tries for Sweeping Victory Today

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Times Staff Writer

The big news at Palos Verdes High School is that the boys’ cross-country team is in contention to win the Southern Section 4-A championship.

The bigger news is that the girls’ team is almost a cinch to win the 4-A title.

Should the Sea Kings pull off the double in the Southern Section cross-country finals at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut today, it really would be noteworthy. Competition begins at 8:30 a.m.

Not since Bishop High won the boys’ 1-A and the then newly formed girls’ open division in 1976 has one school swept team championships. That was the first year the Southern Section offered girls’ cross-country.

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All of this comes as a surprise to Coach Joe Kelly.

“I wasn’t aware it had been done before,” Kelly said.

Forgive Kelly if he’s not up on such cross-country trivia, but he has had his hands full with the 14 runners that make up the top-ranked boys’ and girls’ teams in the 4-A division.

It seems the top cross-country teams also are among the youngest. Of the seven boys, one is a sophomore, four are juniors and two are seniors. The girls’ team has two juniors, a freshman, three sophomores and a senior.

The boys were fourth last year. The girls are the defending 4-A champions.

“With some luck, the boys will get a title this year,” Kelly said.

The boys’ hopes rest on the fleet feet of junior David Scudamore, the Sea Kings’ No. 1 runner.

“David’s at his absolute best in tough races,” Kelly said. “He’s consistent. He doesn’t blow up. You can count on him to run close to his best. He’s not going to vary much. It’s usually to the fast side if he does.”

Scudamore won the Sea Kings’ heat at last week’s preliminaries, running 15 minutes 40 seconds over the three-mile course.

Junior Tracy Leichter is the girls’ top-runner. Though she is not likely to challenge for the individual title, Leichter will lead an impressive pack of black-shirted Sea Kings.

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The gap between Leichter and the fifth Sea King is usually 30 seconds. That’s important when the lowest team score compiled from the finishing places of the top five runners determines who wins.

At Mt. SAC, the Sea Kings won the team sweepstakes by placing five runners in the top 10. Their 93:42 team time (the combined time of the top five runners) was the fourth fastest prep time ever over the Mt. SAC course.

“(Newbury Park’s Melissa) Sutton and Brigid Freyne (of Riverside Poly) will run up front,” Kelly said. “Tracy’s not a premier runner, but she can grind out mile after mile. We’re strong enough to put seven in front of the fifth girls on other schools.”

Leichter has taken over the top spot from last year’s No. 1 runner, Traci Goodrich. Goodrich was ill early in the season, and it has taken awhile for her to regain her form.

If anyone can beat Palos Verdes, it’s Thousand Oaks. The Thousand Oaks’ boys and girls are second-rated behind the Sea Kings.

The Sea King boys defeated Thousand Oaks at the prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational in October. The girls beat Thousand Oaks, 33-112.

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Kelly said he’d rather come into the meet as the favorite, rather than the challenger.

A year ago, however, Newport Harbor came into the meet as a heavy favorite to win the girls’ title. Newport Harbor was the top-ranked team in the state, but the Sea Kings, led by Goodrich, pulled off the upset.

“We have a lot of quality runners and a lot of depth,” Kelly said. “We really feel good about the work we’ve put in, but we can’t run with our lips. We’ve got to do it with our legs.”

Prep Notes Richard Erbes of Glendale will be trying for his second straight 4-A individual title. . . .Junior Brigid Freyne of Riverside Poly was 10th a year ago in the girls’ 4-A but has improved to the point that she has a shot at beating defending champion Melissa Sutton of Newbury Park. . . .In the 2-A, Brian Dameworth of Agoura, who last week set a course record for freshmen with his 15:32, will pose a threat to defending champpion Chris Lugo of Placentia Valencia. Junior Tracey Williams of El Monte Mountain View is going for her third consecutive girls’ 2-A title. . . .The El Monte Arroyo boys ran to a 79:14 team time in their 3-A heat. Arroyo will be pressed by Hart of Newhall. . . .Also in the 3-A, Rosemead’s Aaron Mascorro and Raul Serratos of Moreno Valley figure to provide the day’s best individual race. Mascorro ran 15:10 in his heat last week, the fastest time of the day. . . .Sherman Indian of Riverside is trying for its fifth boys’ 1-A championship in seven years.

The USC athletic department will sponsor a free seminar to help high school counselors become more familiar with the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Proposition 48 guidelines today at 1 p.m. in the Heritage Hall auditorium on campus. . . . The North Coast Section, the second-largest portion of the California Interscholastic Federation, has landed short-term liability insurance after its executive board approved emergency funding and will conduct playoffs for fall sports. What will happen the rest of the year, though, is still up in the air. . . . The Palos Verdes girls’ cross-country team has five runners entered in the Kinney Western Regional championships Dec. 6 at Fresno, and none are seniors: junior Tracy Leichter, sophomores Ashley Black, Traci Goodrich and Dana Sublett and freshman Julie Crooks. The top eight finishers at the Woodward Park course, along with the best from three other regionals, advance to San Diego’s Balboa Park for the only high school national championship in the country. That will be held Dec. 13.

Football Forfeit File: Woodland Hills Taft has forfeited victories over Woodland Hills El Camino Real and Fairfax because of an ineligible player. Santa Paula lost wins over L.A. Cathedral, Santa Barbara Bishop Diego and Santa Clara, and Carpinteria likewise a victory over Calabasas. Norwalk Leffingwell Christian forfeited a win against Hesperia Christian. . . . A trust has been started to help Diamond Bar cross-country runners Eddie Silva and Brandon Dedrick raise $1,795 each to compete in a 5-K run in the People’s Republic of China. The two juniors were invited and have been going through the community for donations in hopes of leaving Dec. 26, with Hacienda Heights Los Altos Coach Dave Shirley chaperoning the group. Shirley can be reached at (818) 333-4515. . . . Prime Ticket will televise the Big Five Conference championship game with same-day coverage, Dec. 12 at 11 p.m. as part of a new agreement signed between the cable company and the Southern Section. Future coverage will include the boys’ 5-A basketball final and the 1987 girls’ 5-A volleyball final, with options on both 4-A basketball finals and the Masters track meet. As part of the agreement, Prime Ticket will pay each participating school $250 per team sport televised.

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