High School Boys’ Cross-Country Preview : Transfer Could Enable Camarillo to Improve Upon Its Lofty Status

Just when it appeared that Camarillo High might slip from its perch, the Scorpions grew even stronger.

Camarillo, runner-up last season in the Southern Section 4-A Division cross-country finals, started the summer on a sour note when No. 4 runner Joel Gonzalez was ruled ineligible. Gonzalez, a senior, turned 19 before Sept. 1, making him too old to compete at the high school level.

The loss of Gonzalez, however, was soon compensated by the arrival of Derek Kite from Agoura. Kite, a senior who was Agoura’s No. 2 runner last season behind All-American Bryan Dameworth, moved into Camarillo’s attendance district in August. As a junior, Kite finished 10th (15:55) in the Southern Section 2-A Division championships.

Thus refortified, Camarillo will continue its quest for Southern Section 4-A Division and state Division I titles. The Scorpions are the two-time defending Marmonte League and Ventura County champions.

Camarillo has made steady progress toward the top of the 4-A Division, placing third in 1986 and ’87 and second last season. Camarillo was ranked No. 1 entering the Southern Section finals last season before losing the 4-A title to eventual state champion Dana Hills.

In addition, Camarillo has placed fourth in the state Division I meet each of the past two seasons and a strong four-man nucleus should enable the Scorpions to maintain their lofty status.

Seniors Abe Valdez, Shawn Goetzinger and Chad Malesich have been among the Scorpions’ top five runners since 1987 and Kite will bolster Camarillo’s depth.

“They’re as consistent as I could ask anybody to be,” Camarillo Coach Mike Smith said of his main men.

All four runners have clocked under 16 minutes on the challenging three-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College, venue of the Southern Section championships.

Goetzinger (15:26), Valdez (15:31), Kite (15:55) and Malesich (15:59) will lead Camarillo’s run for the 4-A title, a path that will pit the Scorpions against the likes of two-time defending champion Dana Hills, Antelope Valley, Canyon, Tustin and league-rival Thousand Oaks. Among the top teams in the state are San Diego Poway, which finished third last year, Concord De La Salle (fifth) and Fair Oaks Del Campo (sixth).

Dana Hills, which graduated its top three runners in Mike and Andrew Tansley and Steve Niednagel, will be led by letterman Daniel Niednagel and Joe Pena.

Though Valdez, Goetzinger and Malesich all recorded top individual performances on the Camarillo track team last spring, individual pursuits are secondary on the Scorpion cross-country team.

“Its important not to think in an individual way,” Smith said. “We’ve been thinking about the team being first.”

Juniors Josh Gerry, Shannon Brusca and Scott Stringer should round out the top seven runners for Camarillo, which won the prestigious Stanford Invitational last season but, according to Goetzinger, did not perform as well thereafter.

“We sort of slacked off after Stanford,” he said. “We all wanted to win CIF but no one would work as hard as they were supposed to.

“(Losing the Southern Section meet) was a disappointment. It sort of woke everyone up to train hard over the summer.”

Camarillo used its abrupt wake-up call at the 4-A championships as extra incentive. The Scorpions practiced together over the summer for the first time.

“Everyone on the team is in the best shape they’ve ever been in,” Goetzinger said. “Dana Hills could be a threat but I think the only thing that could stop us this year is something within the team.”

Others teams to watch:

Hart: The Indians have never claimed a Southern Section championship but have consistently been in the running the past five years. In that span, the Indians have placed fourth in 1984, ’85 and ‘87, third last season and second in ’86.

Hart has all but two runners returning from a team that won its sixth consecutive Foothill League title. The returning cast should give the Indians an edge over defending 3-A Division champion Rowland and runner-up Upland. Both schools graduated six of their top seven runners.

Hart will be led by senior Steve Lepken (15:58) and junior Billy Dixon (15:59), the only two returners who have run under 16 minutes at Mt. SAC.

No. 5 John Harrold and No. 6 Steve McCrank, both seniors, are on the mend from injuries. Harrold broke his left clavicle in a biking accident this summer and McCrank sat out most of the ’88 season because of a stress fracture in his left leg.

Canyon: Seventh in the state Division I championships last season, the Cowboys return five runners and hope to corral their third consecutive Golden League title. The Cowboys will be paced by junior Dave Hartman, seventh in the state finals last season. Hartman, however, has been plagued by an injured left knee and may not be at full strength until later in the season.

Seniors Lee Cohen and Johnny Serrano will contend for the No. 2 position and seniors Manny DeLeon and Dan Berkeland and junior Wes Hinson will vie for the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 spots.

Agoura: The Chargers will be hard pressed to replace Kite, but Quentin Bauer, a junior transfer from Westlake, is expected to run second behind senior Bryan Dameworth, the two-time defending state Division I champion.

Dameworth is seeking his first Southern Section 2-A cross-country title after placing third (‘86), fourth (‘87) and second (‘88).

Juniors Mike Cherman and Ryan Golds, the Chargers’ Nos. 4 and 7 runners last year, will compete for the Nos. 3 and 4 spots this year, and freshman Scott Borden will be the fifth man.

Agoura last won the 2-A crown in 1977, the same year Jon Stormo won the individual title for the Chargers.

Antelope Valley: The Antelopes, who have not won a Golden League title since 1986, will attempt to end Canyon’s two-year reign as league champions.

Antelope Valley, second in league dual-meet standings last season, stunned Canyon in the Golden League finals, placing five runners among the top 10 finishers.

David Cooke and junior Louie Rudziewicz will contend for the No. 1 position and juniors Jesse Jimenez and Tom Quinn will fill the Nos. 3 and 4 spots for the Antelopes, who finished fifth in the 4-A championships last season.

Thousand Oaks: The Lancers have claimed three Southern Section 4-A titles (1980, ’84 and ‘86), were runners-up twice (’79 and ‘81) and produced one individual champion (Mike Williamson, ‘88) in the past 10 years.

First-year Coach Jim Dunlap, who competed on a Thousand Oaks team that finished second in 1979, has four runners returning from a team that placed seventh in the 4-A championships.

Junior Erik Spayed, sophomore Sean Patrick and junior Greg Hurlock will vie for the No. 1 position while seniors Dave McCarter, Bill McMillen, Aaron Keller and Craig Corey contend for the Nos. 4 through 7 spots.

Tomorrow: a look at the girls

OTHERS TO WATCH * Obed Aguirre (San Fernando): 20th in last year’s state Division I championships, Aguirre has timed 4:26.35 in the 1,600 meters and 9:17.87 in the 3,200. He is the No. 2 returning runner in the City Section behind junior Martin Morales of Wilson.

* James Moore (Verdugo Hills): Eighth in the City championships in ’88 and finished 34th in the state Division I final.

* Michael Sanchez (Burbank): Top returning runner in the Foothill League, ran 15:51 at Mt. SAC as a junior and finished 13th in the 3-A final for the Bulldogs.

* Eliazar Herrera (Hoover): Paced Tornadoes in the 4-A championships last year. Finished 18th in the final at Mt. SAC in 15:55.

* Brian Gastelum (Birmingham): The defending Valley Pac-8 Conference champion was plagued by a cold at the City finals last season and placed a disappointing 64th. Gastelum, a senior, timed 4:17.29 for 1,600 as a junior.