HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS : Alsen, Granada Hills Roll to Win in Cross-Country

Ian Alsen of Granada Hills used to doubt the sanity of his coach, Bob Augello.

“He’d tell me I could run this time and that time and I used to say to him, ‘No way, you’re crazy. There’s no way I can run that fast,’ ” Alsen said.

But Alsen became a believer Thursday after running a high school course record of 14 minutes, 23 seconds over Pierce College’s three-mile course. Behind Alsen’s effort, Granada Hills rolled to a 15-50 victory over Van Nuys. The win marked the Highlanders’ second consecutive Mid-Valley League dual-meet title.

BOYS SOCCER

Birmingham 3, Van Nuys 2--Ricardo Sanchez scored a breakaway goal with eight minutes left to propel Birmingham (2-4-1, 2-2-1) to a Mid-Valley League victory at Birmingham. Adolpho Perez scored two goals for Birmingham.

Van Nuys led, 2-1, on goals by Perfecto Lopez and Ziad Heilan.

Cleveland 2, El Camino Real 1--Todd Lunbeck scored the winning goal to propel Cleveland (5-2-1, 2-2) to a West Valley League win.

Robert Abrams scored on a penalty kick for Cleveland.

Taft 1, Canoga Park 1--Dmetry Marmershteyn scored for Taft (8-1-1, 2-1-1) in a West Valley League game.

San Fernando 3, Granada Hills 0--Led by Arturo Carranza’s two goals, San Fernando (7-2, 4-1) remained in first place in the Mid-Valley League.

Kennedy 0, Monroe 0--The scoreless tie left Monroe 4-2-2, 2-1-2 in the Mid-Valley League. Kennedy is 2-1-2 in league play.