Newport-Irvine Rotary Club Invitational Set for Saturday

More than 140 high school cross-country teams will compete Saturday in the 14th Newport-Irvine Rotary Club Invitational at Woodbridge High.

The meet is split into morning and afternoon sessions, with Division I and II races beginning at 7:45 a.m. and Division III and IV at 3 p.m. The boys’ competition will be by class level, the girls’ by varsity, junior varsity and frosh-soph teams.

The Division II girls’ race will feature El Toro, Los Alamitos and Santa Ana Valley among the county teams battling national power Agoura. Santa Ana Valley’s Eliaser Estrada and Amy Skieresz of Agoura will attempt to break the course record of 17 minutes 1 second, set by Agoura’s Deena Drossin in 1991.

The Division I girls’ race features Esperanza, Irvine and Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Aztecs are ranked No. 1 in the county’s preseason poll, and the Vaqueros are the defending State Division I champions, having defeated Peninsula by two points in the finals.

The top three boys’ teams in the county--Katella, Mater Dei and Santiago--will compete in the senior Division II race, along with San Clemente (ranked seventh) and Century, the defending Century League champion.

The Division I boys’ race features Capistrano Valley’s Adalberto Sanchez and members of the fourth-ranked Newport Harbor and sixth-ranked Santa Ana teams.

The afternoon session kicks into full swing with the girls’ Division IV race, featuring Aliso Niguel and Corona del Mar. The Division III girls’ competition is led by Canyon, Laguna Hills and Trabuco Hills.

The boys’ Division IV race begins at 5 p.m., with Corona del Mar the favorite. La Habra and Laguna Hills battle San Diego powers Mission Bay and San Diego High School immediately after in the Division III race.

In North Orange County, Sunny Hills High plays host to its first invitational Saturday at Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Fullerton. Eighteen schools will compete, including teams from Anaheim, Servite and Western.