HIGH SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY : MT. SAC INVITATIONAL : Thousand Oaks Steps Up Pace to Secure Boys’ Title

The future is now for the Thousand Oaks High boys’ cross-country team, not a year from now as many, including Lancer Coach Jack Farrell, have been saying all season.

Thousand Oaks proved that Saturday at the Mt. San Antonio College invitational when the young, but talented Lancers won the team sweepstakes race with 98 points.

Madera, the 17th-ranked team in the country by The Harrier magazine, finished second with 114 points, followed by Katella (121), top-ranked Hart (133), and 23rd-ranked Jesuit of Sacramento (154).

Agoura, led by individual winner Ryan Wilson, a senior, placed eighth with 194 points, and Canyon was 11th with 250.

“I think Hart can run much better than they did today, and I’m sure they feel the same way,” Farrell said. “But we also brought our performance level up a notch today. . . . This is the best effort by a Thousand Oaks team in a long time, but without being too critical, there is room for improvement.”

Junior Brandon Del Campo led the Lancers with a fourth-place time of 15 minutes 27 seconds over the three-mile course. He was followed by sophomores Jeff Fischer (11th in 15:38) and Kevin Marsden (15th in 15:55), junior Chadd Aldrich (32nd in 16:17), and senior Ryan Nugent (36th in 16:21).

The Lancers’ team time--the cumulative total of the top five runners--of 79:38 was only 14 seconds shy of the school record for the Mt. SAC course set by the 1979 team, which Farrell calls his best.

Hart, the two-time defending state Division I champion and the mythical national champion last season, did not got untracked while suffering its first defeat since the 1990 Mt. SAC invitational.

The Indians ran conservatively for the first mile, hoping to make their collective move in the final two miles of the race, which includes three major hills.

The move never materialized, as sophomore Brett Strahan (13th in 15:52) was the only Hart runner to finish among the top 20.

Seniors Keith Grossman (22nd in 16:05), Paul De La Cerda (30th in 16:14), Jonny Eveleth (31st in 16:15), and Tommy Givens (37th in 16:22) rounded out the Indians’ scorers.

Although Wilson’s time of 15:03 was not as fast as some had expected, it was impressive considering the muddy conditions. Like Wilson, Margarito Casillas of Hoover remained undefeated, winning the individual sweepstakes race in 15:11.

Nazario Romero of San Pasqual ran shoulder to shoulder with Casillas for the first two miles, but the Tornado senior broke away shortly before the final hill.

“It was very slippery,” Casillas said. “You really had to watch yourself when you went around the corners. You couldn’t get a grip.”

Agoura, the two-time girls’ defending state Division I champion, was dealt its second loss in the last two weeks in the team sweepstakes race, finishing third with 108 points behind Peninsula (90) and Edison (102).

Sophomore Amy Skieresz and junior Kay Nekota finished second (17:57) and fifth (18:42), respectively, for the Chargers, but they lacked the depth to keep up with Peninsula and Edison.

Skieresz ran a solid race, but she was unable to seriously challenge Fallbrook senior Milena Glusac, who set a course record of 17:15.

Glusac, the defending state Division I champion, broke the record of 17:16, set by Kirsten O’Hara of Palos Verdes in 1983, and tied by Deena Drossin of Agoura in 1990.