CROSS-COUNTRY ROUNDUP : Hart Again Sweeps League Finals

Hart High swept the Foothill League cross-country championships for the seventh consecutive year Thursday, winning both the boys’ and girls’ titles in the league finals at College of the Canyons.

The Hart boys, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section 3-A Division, placed all five of their scorers among the top nine to defeat San Gabriel, 31-49. Schurr finished third with 95 points.

The top three teams in each race qualified for the 3-A preliminaries, to be held Nov. 11 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

San Gabriel sophomore Angel Martinez won the individual title, needing just 16 minutes, 34 seconds to cover the three-mile course.

Junior Billy Dixon finished second in 16:54 to lead Hart. Senior Steve Lepken (17:18), junior Hector Chavez (17:24), freshman Keith Grossman (17:35) and sophomore Mike Schick (17:36) placed fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth for the Indians.

Hart placed seven runners in the top nine to score 17 points in the girls’ race, easily outdistancing runner-up Schurr (53) and third-place San Gabriel (71).

Sophomore Anjanette Dionne paced Hart, winning the individual title in 21:25. Junior Laura Hunter was given the same time but placed second for the Indians.

Senior Amy Thurston (third in 22:03), freshman Melissa Flayer (fourth, 22:16) and senior Shannon Ruge (seventh, 23:36) rounded out Hart’s scoring.