Cross-Country Starts With Palos Verdes Girls Favored

Palos Verdes High School’s cross-country teams have enjoyed a tremendous winning tradition in the last 20 years. The success has been attributed to everything from a strong running tradition in the community to the relatively clean air on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

There have even been hushed accusations that Palos Verdes coaches recruit their athletes.

But the Sea Kings are guilty of only one thing, says ninth-year Coach Joe Kelly: “Our kids are totally committed. We run cross-country differently than some schools. We have many more kids working much harder. They’ve got a great work ethic.”

They’ve also got a great record. Since 1974, the Palos Verdes High’s boys and girls teams have combined for seven CIF-Southern Section championships, four second-place finishes and two state titles.

The boys have won 16 of the last 18 Bay League championships, and the girls have won the last nine. In recent years, the girls haven’t stopped at the league championship; they have won four consecutive Southern Section 4-A titles and back-to-back Division I state crowns.

Kelly realizes that while the past triumphs are nice, they can’t carry the team this year. Neither the boys nor the girls have run on a flat, standard-length course, so Kelly says he “has no idea where we are right now.”

Opposing coaches have a pretty good idea. They’ve ranked the Palos Verdes girls No. 1 in the 4-A Division and the boys No. 10.

Here’s a closer look at the Sea Kings and other top teams in the South Bay, beginning with the girls:

“We’ve graduated four quality seniors,” Kelly said of Palos Verdes, “but we have some good young girls coming up.” The biggest loss was Ashley Black, an all-state performer.

Sophomore Maya Muneno, a varsity letter winner in ‘88, leads a close pack of Sea King harriers. Juniors Karen Zareski and Joanna Della Gatta are “extremely committed runners,” Kelly said.

Top newcomers include sophomore Yoko Senga and freshman Tammy Wilcox. Senior Cindy Scribe adds valuable experience.

Despite their youth, the Sea Kings are prohibitive favorites in the Bay League. They’ve already won the Royal Invitational at Moorpark College. “I can’t see anybody challenging them,” Torrance Coach Jerry Holland said.

West Torrance Coaches Greg Houlgate and LuAnne Howard were pleasantly surprised by their team’s performance at the Warren Invitational last Saturday.

Freshman Angie Parks, daughter of the late West Coach Ron Parks, led the team. Julie Shepard, Kelly Chang and Kathy Cabuno also ran well and could tilt the balance of power in the Ocean League in West’s favor.

Mira Costa Coach Dave Holland, whose brother Jerry coaches at Torrance, is trying to nurture a strong cross-country tradition like Palos Verdes’. The Mustang girls were CIF champs in 1981 and ‘82, though they have slipped in recent years.

Senior Joanne Ulibarri has the potential to win the Ocean League individual championship. Holland said Ulibarri has a tendency to lose concentration but has performed well in early meets, placing fifth in the senior division at the Laguna Hills Invitational.

Mira Costa figures to battle West Torrance and Redondo for the Ocean League title.

“This Banning team could be better than the one that won the City championship in ‘78,” Coach Don Mulligan said. Mulligan did not predict an L.A. City title, but the Pacific League championship is within reach.

Luci Mendoza, the City 10th-grade champion in ‘87, leads the team with a year of varsity experience. Junior Elva Robles and senior Maura Castillo are the other top runners. Sophomore Elizabeth Aguilar is a promising newcomer.

Coach Bill Mocnik is in his 13th year of coaching cross country at Carson, but his enthusiasm has not waned. Part of the reason is senior Noelle Ragland, a track sprinter who was the Pacific League champion last year.

Junior Jellerine Venadas is another young Colt who should improve and contribute.

Torrance is in for a tough year, according to Coach Jerry Holland. Sophomore Jessica Reifer, a soccer player by trade, is the team’s top runner.

Miraleste, ranked No. 9 in the Southern Section 1-A poll, is another team to watch.

Last season was rough for the Palos Verdes boys. Not only did the girls’ team steal the national spotlight, but the Sea King boys failed to win the Bay League championship for only the second time in 18 years.

Coach Kelly and his charges are determined to knock off ’88 champs Beverly Hills and bring the Bay League championship trophy back to “The Hill.”

Leading the repossession effort are senior Sean Yoder, juniors Aaron Rogers and Joe Snider, and sophomores Dennis Yu and Goss Lindsey.

The five are currently running 28 seconds apart and helped Palos Verdes finish second at the Royal Invitational.

Israel Pose of Torrance won the junior division at the Warren Invitational, giving hope that the Tartars can challenge Palos Verdes and Beverly Hills for the Bay League title.

But Coach Jerry Holland said the other runners on the team must approach Pose, including seniors Shin Nishihara and Aaron Morris. Morris is a converted pole vaulter who has run cross-country for only two years.

First-year Coach Houlgate of West Torrance said his team is deep and should win the Ocean League championship. West is ranked No. 8 in the Southern Section 3-A poll.

Last week at the Warren Invitational, the Warriors came in fifth, losing only to Torrance among area teams.

Joe Miles came in third overall with a three-mile time of 15:28, followed on the team by Andy Kim and Kenji Sumino. Houlgate said he was pleasantly surprised by the performance of two newcomers, sophomore Geoff DeLahante and junior Bryan Morris.

Last year Tim Forney’s Bishop Montgomery Knights placed third in the tough Angelus League to make their first post-season appearance in five years.

Senior Joe McDonald, the winner in his age group at the Palos Verdes marathon last summer, will try to lead the Knights back to championship competition. Senior team captain Matt Simons is another standout, while first-time cross-country runner Erik Germain is also expected to do well. Pushing the pack will be senior Ricardo Vargas and juniors Lucian Shigg and Kevin Chalk.

Carson Coach Mocnik hopes youth will be served in the race for the City Section’s Pacific League title. Junior Steven Gonzales showed tremendous promise as a 10th-grader, winning the City sophomore championship in the mile last spring and running the 3,200 meters in 9:33.

Richard Raya is the defending Pacific League champion. He’ll team with Raul Miglietti, Bill Stout and Gonzales to form a tough Colt foursome. “The key is finding a fifth man; then we could beat (Pacific League foes) Banning, Narbonne and San Pedro,” Mocnik said.

Carson will have trouble beating Banning if Pilot Coach Mulligan can develop the City’s Bee champions into effective varsity runners. Junior Roman Rendon was the only runner to beat Carson’s Gonzales last year and should be the team’s top competitor.

Mike Bryson, Efrain Berumen and Rafael Chavez are inexperienced, but their progress will be the key to Banning’s title quest.

Mira Costa Coach Dave Holland is expecting his Mustangs to run somewhere in the middle of the Ocean League. Scott Yetter and Jeff Fauber are the top runners.