COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Cross-Country Rankings Reflect Notable Lag Time

Agoura cross-country Coach Bill Duley was somewhat perplexed when the Oct. 28 issue of The Harrier magazine listed the Charger girls’ team second in the national rankings after Agoura had jumped from unranked status to No. 1 in the Oct. 14 issue.

Nothing had changed in the two-week interim. Agoura was still undefeated and its cumulative team times were faster on various courses than last year’s Agoura squad, which won the state Division I championship.

“I see no justification for dropping us to No. 2,” Duley said.

The girls’ cross-country teams from Agoura and Mountain View of Orem, Utah, are locked in a tight battle for the nation’s No. 1 ranking and the mythical national championship, which Mountain View won last year. The label of “the nation’s No. 1-ranked team” has changed hands three times in the past month as results from various invitationals crossed the desk of Marc Bloom, the editor and publisher of The Harrier.

The Oct. 28 issue, which placed Mountain View back atop the list, included results of meets run on or before Oct. 15. On Oct. 5 in Birmingham, Ala., Mountain View grabbed five of the top six places in winning the Vulcan Classic invitational with a near-perfect 16 points.

“(Mountain View) turned in a pretty devastating performance down south,” Bloom said. “That’s why we put them back at No. 1.”

However, Bloom said that forthcoming Nov. 11 issue of The Harrier--which includes meets through Oct. 27--ranks Agoura No. 1 and Mountain View No. 2 based on the Chargers’ performance in the Mt. San Antonio College invitational on Oct. 19.

While still ranked No. 1, Agoura won the team sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC by 30 points, despite running without ailing freshman star Amy Skieresz. The Mt. SAC race included four other teams ranked among the top 15.

HANDS-OFF POLICY

Buena boys’ cross-country Coach Tom King rejoiced with his team Friday after the Bulldogs became the first Channel League team to win the Ventura County championship.

He exchanged high-fives with his runners, wore an ear-to-ear smile and was as ecstatic as a 17-year-old with a new car. But ask him to hold the perpetual championship trophy, and he’ll hold his hands behind his back.

“Anyone can have it as long as I don’t get ahold of it,” King said.

King’s reluctance to handle the trophy stems from an incident in 1983, when he was an assistant at Newbury Park.

After the Panthers had won their third consecutive county title, King was driving home with the trophy in the passenger seat when he came to a sudden stop. The trophy fell to the floor and broke.

A few dents and a couple of scratches from King’s mishap still are evident on the trophy eight years later.

“It was real flimsy back then. Now it’s reinforced,” King said.

ZAPPED CHARGER

Ryan Wilson’s performances in recent cross-country meets would highlight most runners’ seasons:

-- First place (15 minutes 19 seconds) in the Kenny Staub invitational Oct. 5.

-- Third place (15:43) in the team sweepstakes race in the Mt. SAC invitational Oct. 19.

-- Third place (15:22) in the Ventura County championships Nov. 1.

But those efforts are sub-par by Wilson’s standards, and there is nothing the Agoura junior can do about it.

“I’m still sick,” Wilson said of the flu symptoms he has been fighting since before the Kenny Staub invitational. “I haven’t been able to shake it. I’m about 75% of what I was at the beginning of the season.”

In Agoura’s opening meet, the Woodbridge invitational on Sept. 14, Wilson posted the day’s fastest mark--14:45--and was named male athlete of the meet.

“I just gotta remember that I still have a month until state (finals),” he said. “That’s when it counts.”

DEEP SIX

When Birmingham quarterback Vince Lampkin wants to go deep, chances are good that wide receiver Patrick Abdelkerim will be his target downfield.

Abdelkerim has caught only six passes this year but four--receptions of 91, 71, 49 and 31 yards--have been for touchdowns.

“I get worried sometimes because they only throw me the ball once or twice a game, and I know that it’s my only chance to do something with it,” he said.

Abdelkerim, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, has amassed a team-high 248 yards in his six catches, twice as many yards as any other Brave receiver.

HEARTFELT

Injuries have depleted winless North Hollywood’s 35-player football roster to 22, but Coach James Lippitt is not digging out alibis.

“We’ve got 22 hearts out here,” Lippitt said. “A lot of teams have 50 players--50 jerseys--but they don’t have heart. I love these guys and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

BACK IN THE SADDLE

Westlake senior Tim Kirksey, a quarterback at Simi Valley last season, has been used primarily as a wide receiver and defensive back this season.

But Kirksey, who threw for 1,134 yards in eight games last season, started at quarterback Friday and was 22 of 39 for 245 yards and two touchdowns in the Warriors’ 27-21 loss to Newbury Park.

Two weeks ago, Kirksey alternated with John Snyder and was four of nine for 48 yards. Kirksey is scheduled to start against his former teammates tonight at Thousand Oaks High.

RUMBLE AND FUMBLE

Canyon Coach Harry Welch finally gave in to standout nose guard Chuck Osborne’s request to carry the ball in Friday’s 48-0 blowout of Palmdale. Late in the game, Welch sent Osborne on a dive play and the giddy Osborne responded with a 10-yard run . . . and a fumble.

Palmdale recovered and Osborne headed back to the sideline to apologize to Welch. “I promise, Coach, it will never happen again,” Osborne told Welch.

“You’re right, Chuck, it will never happen again,” Welch responded.

Welch’s words didn’t hit home until the bus ride home.

“Hey,” Osborne yelled from the back of the bus. “What do you mean it will never happen again?”

Suffice to say, Osborne might not get any carries in Friday’s important game against Saugus.

POTENT WEAPON

Sylmar racked up 456 yards in its 47-20 victory over Poly last week, and Spartan quarterback Ryan Walker can take much of the credit. Walker, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, completed six of seven passes for 215 yards and a touchdown against a defense that had been allowing an average of just 58 yards passing a game.

Walker has completed 22 of 27 passes in the past four games and has thrown only one interception this season.

UNWANTED LAYOFF

Camp Kilpatrick’s football team is enjoying a two-game win streak, but the Mustangs (4-3-1, 2-1) won’t get much of a chance to fine-tune their game in the two weeks before playoffs.

Camp Kilpatrick was scheduled to play Twin Pines on Saturday in a Freedom League game, but the Riverside County-maintained school for juvenile offenders was forced to forfeit its final four league contests because of a lack of players.

The Mustangs are scheduled to play Masada next week, but Masada is down to just 15 players and also might forfeit.

Camp Kilpatrick lost to Montclair Prep, 13-7, in last year’s Southern Section Division X championship game.

Camp Kilpatrick, Twin Pines and Masada are probationary schools for boys.

Mike Glaze, Vince Kowalick and staff writers Paige A. Leech, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.