CROSS-COUNTRY ROUNDUP : Corona del Mar, Katella Win at O.C. Meet

With each passing week, you can see the confidence swelling within the ranks of the Katella boys’ cross-country team. By now, the Knights’ every move has been well-rehearsed, and so far there seems little chance of a breakdown.

The Corona del Mar girls’ team is quite the opposite. Young and inexperienced, the Sea Kings often seem to be feeling their way in the dark.

Each team stuck to its season-long method of operation and each came away with an important victory at the Orange County championships Saturday at Irvine Park in Orange.

As expected, Katella, the county’s top-ranked team, easily won the boys’ seeded race over second-ranked Newport Harbor.

Not so predictably, Corona del Mar upset No. 1-ranked Edison, stunning Sea King Coach Bill Sumner most of all.

Katella’s Mike Love, a senior, was the overall winner, running the fastest time of the day--15 minutes 4 seconds--on the relatively flat, three-mile course. Jaime Martinez, a fast-improving junior from Orange, was second in 15:06, with another junior, Mike Moreno of Katella, third in 15:22.

Kim Nelson of Canyon, one of only two seniors to finish in the top 10, won the girls’ seeded race in 17:52. Tracy Clark, a sophomore from Corona del Mar, was second in 17:55 with Elyse Homberger, a sophomore from Edison, third in 18:06.

Each race was decided in the final 800 meters.

By the mile mark, Love fought his way through the pack and ran at Martinez’s shoulder. They stayed that way until Martinez opened a small gap near the crest of the course’s final hill at the 2 1/2-mile mark. At that point, they had worked themselves into a 20-second lead over Moreno, who was third.

“I had heard Martinez has been doing really well,” Love said. “I was a little nervous, but I told myself I had to stay in contact.”

It was at the same point in last year’s race that Chris Lynch of Laguna Hills pulled away from a pack that included Love. And that fact was on Love’s mind as he and Martinez struggled up the hill.

“I wasn’t sure how much of a kick he had,” Love said.

Love decided to find out on the downhill slope, and he began his drive for the finish line. Martinez couldn’t respond, and Love pulled away for a narrow victory.

The girls’ race was decided in almost in the same spot.

Nelson, Clark and Homberger traded the lead in the final mile, but Nelson finally took control in the final 400 meters.

“I just didn’t have any more to give,” said Clark, who stayed the closest the longest.

In the end, Nelson’s experience paid off. She has run the Irvine Park course numerous times, and she said that gave her confidence.

“I kind of thought that second place would be OK,” Nelson said. “But going up that last hill, I started gaining on her (Clark), so I decided to go for it.”

When Clark finally cracked, Nelson pulled away.

“I was thinking about how much I wanted to win this,” Nelson said.

Back in the pack, Corona del Mar was putting the finishing touches on its victory.

Dresden Howell, a sophomore, was eighth in 18:27; Heather Bray, the lone Sea King senior in their top five, was 15th in 18:40; Heather Taketa, a junior, was 18th in 18:53; and Brooke Meek, a sophomore, was 19th in 18:54.

“This team is young,” Sumner said. “There’s no way they can run as smart as Edison can. (And) they know there’s still a chance they can be beaten by Edison.”

It simply wasn’t going to happen Saturday, however.

At the Brea-Olinda Invitational:

Brea-Olinda places third--Led by juniors Carl and Kelly Daucher, the Wildcats placed third in the boys’ and girls’ divisions. Carl covered the five-kilometer course at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in 17:21. Kelly led the girls’ team with a time of 21:52.

Upland won the boys’ and girls’ championships with Santiago second in the boys’ race and Long Beach Wilson second in the girls’.

Jim Cera and Christina Blackmer of Upland each set course records. Cera’s time was 16:11; Blackmer ran 19:08.