SOUTHERN SECTION CROSS-COUNTRY PRELIMINARIES : Several Orange County Teams Are Eliminated

For most of Orange County’s elite cross-country teams, the section preliminaries are a formality that must be tolerated. For others, the annual event held at Mt. San Antonio College can be a fiasco.

Four of the county’s top-10 ranked boys’ teams and two of the girls’ teams could not stave off elimination Saturday, as only the top three teams in each heat advanced to the finals, which will be conducted on the same course next weekend.

In Heat I of the Division II-AA boys’ competition, fifth-ranked San Clemente, the South Coast League champion, and Huntington Beach, the Sunset League runner-up, were eliminated. The Oilers and Tritons finished fourth and fifth.

In the final race of the afternoon, Heat II of the Division I-A girls’ competition, ninth- and 10th-ranked El Toro and Los Alamitos made early exits as well. Racing some of the nation’s most highly regarded squads, the Chargers finished fourth. The Empire League runner-up Griffins were sixth.

As expected, the Santa Ana boys and Edison girls, winners of the Sunset League and Orange County Championships, eased through the day’s challenge.

The top-ranked Saints had three runners--Federico Duran, Juan Medrano and Juan Zaragoza--among the top four finishers in the Division I-AA race, en route to a score of 34 points. Santa Ana easily outdistanced second-place Bell Gardens (87 points).

The Edison girls’ team, ranked first in the latest Times poll, ran to victory with relative ease in Heat II of the Division II-AA. Junior Elyse Homberger, the two-time defending Sunset League champion, placed third to pace the Chargers.

The county individual leaders all year, Jaime Martinez of Orange and Carrie Garritson of Buena Park, had little trouble with the hilly course or their opponents, gaining easy victories.

Martinez, the county champion, cruised to the day’s second-fastest time, finishing in 15 minutes 25 seconds.

Garritson, a three-time Kinney National finalist, continued not only to win during her senior season, but she continued to do it decisively.

Garritson, the Freeway League champion, managed the afternoon’s largest margin of victory, 79 seconds, as well as the day’s fastest time (18:00).