CROSS-COUNTRY : Santa Ana to Lead Orange County Teams at Section Preliminaries

The road to the State cross-country championships begins Saturday at 7:30 a.m. with the Southern Section preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

The Santa Ana boys’ team, top-ranked in Orange County, leads the local schools in Division I competition, which encompasses the largest schools in the section (enrollment more than 1,519). Third-ranked Orange, led by senior Jaime Martinez, Dana Hills (ninth) and Mater Dei (10th) will also compete in Division I.

In the girls’ competition, second-ranked Esperanza, Dana Hills (fifth), Irvine (eighth), El Toro (ninth) and Los Alamitos (10th) are featured in Division I.

Edison, the top-ranked girls team, heads Division II competition along with Canyon (sixth) and Ocean View (seventh). Buena Park senior Carrie Garritson, the winner of the Orange County Championships this fall, is among the division’s top individual entrants.

The second-ranked Katella boys will battle Villa Park (fourth) and Huntington Beach (eighth) among others for the Division II title.

Corona del Mar and Santa Margarita will battle in Division III, much as they have all year in the Sea View League. The Eagles’ boys are ranked seventh, with the girls ranked third. The Sea Kings’ boys and girls are sixth and fourth.