Drossin Picks Big Meet for Record Try : Cross-country: Undefeated Agoura senior puts allergies and field behind her in tying 7-year-old mark in prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational.

Agoura High’s Deena Drossin has not emphasized breaking course records her senior year.

But when she ran a fast time in a Marmonte League tri-meet at Camarillo Grove Park last week, Coach Bill Duley encouraged the Charger senior to make a run at the Mt. San Antonio College mark.

Drossin timed 17 minutes 16 seconds over the challenging three-mile Mt. SAC Invitational circuit in the team sweepstakes race and tied the course mark set by Kirsten O’Hara of Palos Verdes in 1983.

The feat was remarkable considering Drossin has been battling allergies and was not seriously contested most of the race. Veronica Barajas of Channel Islands finished a distant second in 18:02.

“When we heard Camarillo Grove Park was comparable to Mt. SAC, we talked about going for the record,” Duley said. “We’ve avoided chasing records but this is one record you should try to get.”

“Today’s record was definitely worth going for because it was Mt. SAC and a lot of teams all over the country look at this,” Drossin said.

Drossin’s victory, her seventh in as many races this season, helped Agoura to the team title, 61-91, over San Diego Mt. Carmel. Agoura, the top-ranked girls’ team in the nation, is undefeated in invitational and dual-meet races this season.

Louie Quintana of Arroyo Grande and Canyon’s Dave Hartman met for the second time this season, but the result was the same in the team sweepstakes race.

Quintana, the top returnee nationally, used a blazing start and opened a 20-meter lead over the pack after a half-mile, then finished in 14:40. Hartman placed second in 14:51, a 21-second improvement on his performance in last year’s Southern Section 4-A Division final.

Hart, the No. 2-ranked boys’ team in the Southern Section Division I poll, finished second to Madera for the second time in two weeks, 96-161, but came from behind to beat No. 1-ranked Saddleback by seven points.

Paul De La Cerda, the Indians’ fifth runner Saturday, passed nine others with 200 yards remaining to spark Hart to the upset. He finished 52nd in 16:40.

“That made the difference between us and Saddleback today,” Hart Coach Gene Blankenship said of De La Cerda.

Sophomore Keith Grossman (15:49) finished 12th to lead the Indians.

Westlake’s Jeannie Rothman surged away from Shelley Taylor of Huntington Beach Edison and Martha Pinto of Anaheim Katella with a half-mile remaining in the girls’ individual sweepstakes race to win in 17:25.

Rothman’s personal-best time ties the No. 3 mark on the all-time Mt. SAC list. Katie Dunsmuir of Palisades ran a course-record 17:25 in 1982 before O’Hara bettered the mark a year later.