HIGH SCHOOLS : Bird Rumor Gets the Runaround

The incredible gnatcatcher has done it again. Somehow that sneaky bird, indigenous to San Diego’s coastal sagebrush and close to becoming an endangered species, has managed to worm her way into the news again.

She must have one heck of a press agent. This time she’s wound up on the sports pages.

How? Why?

Why, a juicy rumor, how else?

It seems somebody--maybe a little bird squealed--put the word out that high school cross-country teams would no longer be able to use Escondido’s Kit Carson Park courses for their meets because gnatcatchers can’t stand cross-country runners.

No, that can’t be it. It must have been because gnatcatchers can’t stand the disturbances caused by cross-country runners. Or was it country music? Maybe Christopher Cross singing country?

Whatever, the Escondido Parks and Recreation Dept. says the rumor is unfounded.

The real story, according to Dale Mathrie, Escondido’s Park and Open Space Superintendent, is that Kit Carson Park is set to undergo a landscaping project to achieve more protected acreage of habitat for the gnatcatcher. Consequently, cross-country courses might have to be adjusted.

The project is tentatively scheduled to begin some time after Nov. 1. Thus, any meets taking place before then would be unaffected.

As for any meets after Nov. 1, Mathrie said: “Even when we finish this (landscaping) work, it will not eliminate the trails throughout the (300-acre) park, and therefore the running of cross-country meets. It may change the courses or a portion of them, but cross-country meets will continue to be run at the park.”

Next rumor: The San Pasqual Golden Eagles become the Golden Gnatcatchers?

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BIG MEET SET

In an unrelated cross-country/park item, the prestigious Mt. Carmel Invitational will be run Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

The meet features Newhall Hart, the top-ranked boys’ team in the nation, and Fallbrook’s dynamic duo of Milena Glusac and Melanie Hand.

Glusac set the course record in last year’s race (15 minutes, 53.4 seconds over 2.7 miles), and Hand finished second in the Division I junior race.

With 62 teams, its largest field ever, the Mt. Carmel Invitational is one of the top three meets in the state, according to Sundevil Coach Dennis McClanahan.

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HOME ALONE

The temporary grandstands have been lugged away. The clock (with hands) has been returned to the water polo pool. In fact, nary a clue remains that there was ever a football game played Saturday at Valhalla High.

There was, for the first time ever, but when the next one will be is anyone’s guess.

Valhalla is supposed to be getting light structures and seating for about 1,500 people from the conversion of Aztec Bowl into San Diego State’s Student Activities Center, and the Norsemen were hoping to get them in place on the Valhalla campus by the end of this season. But no one is quite sure when the SDSU project will take place.

Valhalla junior Joe Clark, for one, is eager for another home game. Asked his opinion of Saturday’s spectacle, he replied: “I think it’s gnarly.”

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MIGHTY METRO

The Metro Conference, more often than not the weakest of the four 3-A football leagues, posted a 6-1-1 record, three shutouts and enjoyed a 178-48 scoring margin in Week 1.

It could have been an even better week, but the Metro’s best team over the past five seasons, Chula Vista, tied San Marcos, 7-7.

The only setback was Hilltop’s 13-7 loss to Grossmont, the defending Grossmont 3-A League champion.

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GUACAMOLE PUNCH

The Avocado League, on the other hand, is generally regarded as the county’s strongest 2-A football league, but Avocado teams managed only a 3-4-1 mark in Week 1.

Take away newcomer Torrey Pines’ 27 points against USDHS and the seven other Avocado teams averaged only seven points per game.

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HUT, HUT, HIKE

The most apropos name in the county might be that of La Jolla quarterback Haik Kevorkian.

Haik is pronounced Hike.

No Guarantee

Here are the only schools to have won four consecutive season openers. Starting 1-0 does not ensure success.

VITAL SIGNS

School 1991 1990 1989 Grossmont 9-1-1 6-3-1 10-1-1 Helix 8-3-1 9-2 7-2-1 St. Augustine 6-4-1 6-4-1 7-5

FALSE STARTS

School 1991 1990 1989 San Dieguito 1-8-1 1-9 8-4 San Diego 6-4-1 2-8 3-7 University City 5-5 4-6 4-6