SOUTHERN SECTION CROSS-COUNTRY : Edison’s Taylor Tries to End County Drought With Victory

By the time the Southern Section cross-country championships come to a close at Mt. San Antonio College Saturday morning, 672 runners from 96 teams will have provided the answers to a season of questions. For Orange County runners, coaches and fans, the top puzzlers are:

--Will Shelley Taylor of Edison become the first county girl in eight years to win a sectional cross-country title?

--Will San Clemente overthrow Saddleback as the county’s best boys’ team?

--Will Dana Hills, the two-time defending champion, manage its traditional upset victory?

--Will any of the South Coast League powers--San Clemente, El Toro or Capistrano Valley--be able to challenge four-time defending champion Palos Verdes?

Yes, yes, no and no. At least that’s the opinion of many area coaches.

Taylor, a sophomore, has not lost a race all season, only her second year of competitive running. Her top competition should come from Westlake’s Jeannie Rothman, who ran 11 seconds faster than Taylor--they ran in separate heats--in last Friday’s preliminaries.

Tanja Brix of University, Martha Pinto of Katella and Terri Smythers of San Clemente might be able to give Taylor a race as well.

Of course, although Mt. SAC’s hilly course gives some runners nightmares, Taylor regards it as fun. If she wins Saturday, she’ll become the first county girl to win a sectional title since 1981 when Leslee White of Sonora won the 3-A and Polly Plumer of University won the 4-A.

In the boys’ 4-A race, Camarillo, last year’s runner-up and the top-ranked team through most of this season, figures to win its first cross-country title in the school’s history. Few argue with that, nor the fact that Canyon Country Canyon appears the strongest candidate for second. After that, it’s wide open, with Saddleback, San Clemente and Santa Ana being the top county teams.

In last week’s prelims, Saddleback, the county’s top-ranked team, finished second to San Clemente, though Saddleback was running without one of its best runners. “I think we still would’ve beat them,” San Clemente Coach Bill Hartman said last week. “I told the boys, just run to qualify (in the prelims). But when they found out they won, I had no control over their emotions.”

Dana Hills, the two-time defending champion, overcame great odds to win the 4-A the last two years, but a victory again this year would be no less than incredible. Just making it past the prelims last week seemed enough for Dana Hills Coach Tim Butler.

“I’m ecstatic,” Butler said last week. “If we get last (at the finals), I’ll be ecstatic.”

It’s doubtful that Butler’s runners feel the same, especially Dana Hills’ best, junior Daniel Niednagel. Niednagel figures to battle with Mike Farrell of San Clemente for the county’s top spot. In their three meetings this season, Niednagel has outrun Farrell, his friendly rival, twice.

In the race for the girls’ 4-A team title, Palos Verdes, regarded as the nation’s top girls team for the last two years, is once again the favorite, despite having only one senior. Buena is its closest challenger, with the South Coast League threesome in the hunt as well as Corona del Mar, El Modena and Tustin.

Cross-Country Notes

Woodbridge girls’ team, ranked second in the 2-A, will have to be at its best to challenge top-ranked Agoura, the defending state champion. Cathi Peck, Amy Robles and Kaci Keffer lead the Warriors. . . . Laguna Beach, fifth-ranked in the boys 2-A, finished third overall in the 2-A prelims Friday, but will need considerable improvement to outrun Agoura and Arroyo Grande. Woodbridge also will compete. . . . In the boys’ 3-A race, La Habra’s Mark Gonzales and Tim Mahon will run as individuals. Gonzales won his heat in the prelims. . . . Whittier Christian, led by Tony Bergman, finished second in the 1-A prelims, but should challenge St. Anthony Saturday. . . . In its first year of varsity competition, Santa Margarita will compete in boys’ and girls’ 1-A finals . . . Races will start at 7:30 a.m. with the boys’ 4-A followed by the boys’ 3-A (7:45), boys’ 2-A (8), boys’ 1-A (8:15), girls’ 4-A (8:30), girls’ 3-A (8:45), girls’ 2-A (9) and girls’ 1-A (9:15). . . . This is the 63rd running of the Southern Section finals. The meet also serves as the qualifying meet for the State championships Nov. 25 at Fresno’s Woodward Park. The Southern Section is allotted a total of five teams and five individuals from non-qualifying teams in each of the three state divisional races for boys and girls. Southern Section champions are automatic state qualifiers. Other slots will be filled by best team times from Saturday’s competition.