Cross-Country Prelims a Show for Berkeland

Dan Berkeland of Canyon High has been running in the shadow of teammate Dave Hartman throughout the cross-country season. So when it came time to step into the sunlight, the Southern Section preliminaries seemed as good a place as any.

Berkeland put on a sprint with 80 yards remaining in the three-mile race at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut to overtake Hoover’s Creighton Harris 10 yards from the finish and win his 4-A Division heat in a personal-best 15 minutes, 32 seconds. Harris timed 15:33 in second place.

Also left in Berkeland’s wake was Hoover senior Eliazar Herrera, who posted the fastest time (15:07) in the 4-A in the Mt. SAC Invitational last month. Herrera finished third Friday in 15:41.

“I felt really good. I felt really relaxed,” Berkeland said. “I usually blitz the first half-mile. I went out so much more conservative than I usually do. I’m getting smarter.”

Berkeland’s win, along with a fifth-place finish by Hartman (16:00), helped second-ranked Canyon (60 points) to win its heat over Santa Ana (81), defending champion Dana Hills (92) and fifth-ranked Hoover (93).

The top four teams and first four individuals in each heat qualified for the Southern Section finals, to be held Nov. 18 at Mt. SAC.

Camarillo, the top-ranked 4-A team, placed all five of its scorers among the top 10 finishers to easily win its heat with 29 points, well ahead of Palos Verdes (104), Villa Park (127) and Lakewood (136).

Abe Valdez (15:51) paced the Scorpions by finishing second.

Shawn Goetzinger (16:03), Josh Gerry (16:12), Chad Malesich (16:16) and Shannon Brusca (16:33) finished fifth, seventh, eighth and 10th for Camarillo.

Camarillo, which finished second to Dana Hills last year, is seeking its first Southern Section title.

Agoura senior Bryan Dameworth recorded the fastest time of the day, a 15:06 clocking, in leading the top-ranked Chargers (40) to a win over Yucaipa (91) in a 2-A heat.

The top-ranked Agoura girls’ team, led by junior Deena Drossin (18:46), won its heat handily.

In other races, the Hart boys’ team outdistanced West Torrance in winning its 3-A heat behind Hector Chavez’s ninth-place finish.

Camarillo, Westlake and Channel Islands placed fourth, third and first in their heats to advance to the 4-A girls’ final. Hart finished second to Alta Loma and will run in the 3-A girls’ final.