GIRLS’ TRACK PREVIEW : Buena Might Be Best but Still Won’t Boast

After competing in the long shadow cast by Rio Mesa High for most of the past decade, Buena appears to be on the verge of establishing itself as the dominant power in the Channel League this season.

The Bulldogs edged Rio Mesa for last year’s league title to snap the Spartans’ title streak at eight, but some viewed that victory as more of an upset than a confirmation of Buena’s superiority.

There should be no question about which is the better team this year.

The Spartans are not expected to be as strong as in previous years and most of Buena’s top competitors will return from last year’s team that defeated Rio Mesa in a tri-meet.

Nonetheless, Bulldog coach Steve Blum talks cautiously about his team’s chances.

“If we stay healthy, we should be pretty tough,” he said. “But we’re not going to count our chickens yet.”

Junior hurdler Stacy Hebert and senior distance runner Amy Van Atta lead a team that has quality performers in just about every event.

Hebert placed sixth in the 300 lows in last year’s State championships and her personal best of 44.39 seconds ranks eighth on the all-time Ventura County list. She has also run 15.7 in the 100 highs.

Van Atta, fourth in the Ventura County cross-country championships in October, has bests of 2 minutes 22.33 seconds in the 800 and 5:12.45 in the 1,600.

Sophomore teammates Meaghan Dunne (2:20.74 in the 800) and Barb Almaraz (5:22.0 in the 1,600) give the Bulldogs a solid one-two punch in those events.

Buena should also have quality depth in the 400. Senior Kristy Garza ran a personal best of 60.8 to finish second in last year’s league finals and senior Gillie Barkalow timed 60.1 as a sophomore.

Dunne, Barkalow, Garza and Hebert could also form one of the region’s top 1,600 relay teams. They combined for a time of 4:05.70 last year.

In the field events, senior Beth McGill has cleared 5 feet in the high jump and junior Rene McCurtis has spanned 15-10 in the long jump and 33-8 1/2 in the triple jump.

Seniors Amanda Henry (34-2 1/2 in the shotput) and Sarah Golden (118-1 in the discus) give the Bulldogs a solid tandem in the weight events.

Despite the team’s strength, Blum will speak in glowing terms only when prodded--and he still restricts his comments to his own players.

“This could be the best team that I’ve had in my 12 years here,” he said. “It’s definitely the best team I’ve had going into a season.”

OTHER TEAMS TO WATCH

Thousand Oaks--For the first time since the girls’ program began in 1978, Art Green will not be coaching the Lancers, but Jack Farrell has inherited a team that is favored to win its second consecutive Marmonte League title and 15th in 18 years.

Kim Mortensen, who has run 2:18.9 in the 800, 5:01.27 in the 1,600 and 10:53.65 in the 3,200, leads a superb distance squad that includes Tara Marsden (2:22.91, 5:22.8 and 11:27.2) and Bridget Roy (5:19.45 in the 1,600, 11:54.75 in the 3,200).

Amber Randall has run 60.45 in the 400 and long-jumped 16-0. Michelle Stevenson has bests of 16.3 in the 100 highs and 5-4 in the high jump, and Crystal Crawford has put the shot 35-5 3/4 and thrown the discus 106-6.

Palmdale--A talented group of sophomore sprinters and a pair of high-quality field-event performers give the Falcons a great chance of snapping Quartz Hill’s Golden League title string at six.

Trinisha Holmes has run 12.34 in the 100 and leaped 16-10 in the long jump.

Monique Nolan has run 26.81 in the 200 and 57.8 in the 400 while Edneisha Curry has bests of 26.8 and 59.2 in those events.

Sarah Phelps has cleared 5-4 in the high jump and bounded 33-11 in the triple jump.

Kristi Rose has personal bests of 135-10 in the discus, 33-2 in the shotput and 5-0 in the high jump.

Quartz Hill--Sophomore Michelle Perry and freshman Danielle Day could give the Rebels the best sprint-distance duo in the region, but the team might lack the overall talent needed to win a seventh consecutive Golden League title.

Perry, fifth in the Southern Section Division I championships in the 100 and 200, has run 11.96 and 24.70 in those events, and long-jumped 17-11 as well.

Day finished fifth in the Southern Section Division I cross-country championships last fall and should be the league’s top performer in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Jackie Johnson has bests of 33-0 in the shotput and 110-0 in the discus, but some of her less-heralded teammates will have to excel for the Rebels to defeat Palmdale.

Simi Valley--Juniors Natalie Shaw, Kristin Hawking and Lisa Honaker are the leaders of a squad that appears to have the best chance of defeating Thousand Oaks for the Marmonte League title.

Shaw, the defending league champion in the high jump, has a best of 5-4 in that event and also has run 26.6 in the 200 and 58.70 in the 400.

Hawking has run 2:21.95 in the 800 and 5:25.33 in the 1,600, and Honaker has personal bests of 16.39 in the 100 highs, 48.36 in the 300 lows and 16-3 in the long jump.

GIRLS TO WATCH

Amy Skieresz (Agoura)--The Charger senior did not run track last year because her father forbade her from competing after her grades had fallen below his standards.

She won the state Division II cross-country title in November, however, and appears ready for an outstanding season.

The Arizona-bound Skieresz placed third in the 1,600 in the 1992 State championships as a freshman and ran a personal best of 4:53.97 as a sophomore before a case of mononucleosis ended her season.

Liz Giltner (Chaminade)--The Eagle sophomore placed sixth in the high jump in the 1994 State championships and is one of the region’s most-versatile performers.

She has personal bests of 5-8 in the high jump, 26.8 in the 200, 15.23 in the 100 highs, 47.7 in the 300 lows and 17-2 in the long jump.

Andrea Wasden (Rio Mesa)--She finished ninth in the 100 highs in last year’s State championships and is the defending Channel League champion in that event, the 300 lows and the 200.

With personal bests of 14.37 in the highs and 44.5 in the lows, she has the potential to be a state finalist in both events.

Elaine Canchola (Nordhoff)--The Ranger freshman was the biggest find of the 1994 cross-country season, winning the Southern Section Division III title, placing second in the State and Foot Locker West regional championships and finishing 19th in the national finals.

Although she has yet to race outdoors this year--she is expected to run the mile in the Arroyo Distance Carnival at Azusa Pacific University on Saturday night--Canchola appears capable of running between 10:45 and 10:50 in the 3,200 by season’s end.

Bridie Hatch (Nordhoff)--As a freshman, Hatch won last year’s Southern Section Division III title in the 300 lows and came within .02 seconds of finishing fifth in the Masters Meet and grabbing the section’s final qualifying spot for the State championships.

With a personal best of 44.89, she is one of three returning Ventura County hurdlers who have broken the 45-second barrier.