Gleason Runs Away With Victory at Woodbridge Meet

Mission Viejo distance runner Marc Gleason kept his unbeaten string alive and well with a convincing victory Saturday at the Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine.

Gleason, running in the Division III junior boys’ race, managed to finish in 15 minutes 12 seconds, the fastest by a county runner and good enough for a 32-second victory over Foothill’s John Kuehn.

“This year I’m just going out to work out and concentrate on running and nothing else for the 2 1/2- to 3-hour time period,” Gleason said.

Gleason, who a week earlier won his grade-level race at the Laguna Hills Invitational, also knocked 33 seconds off his time in the Woodbridge last fall.

“I was just shooting for anywhere between 15:26 and 14:58 [the day’s fastest time posted earlier in the day by Sacramento Del Campo senior Chris Farley],” Gleason said.

In the Division II girls’ race, University sophomore Allyson Marquand posted the day’s fastest overall time.

Running by herself after the first quarter-mile, Marquand ran 17:18 over the three-mile course and dominated the field by 18 seconds.

“I was hoping to get in the low 17s,” said Marquand, The Times Orange County runner of the year last fall. “That’s the fastest race I’ve ever run.”

Marquand’s effort helped lead University to the Division II girls’ varsity team title (112 points), edging Mater Dei by seven points.

In the Division I junior boys’ race, El Toro’s Danny Lee won in 15:14. Tustin’s Daniel Smith ran 15:15, taking third in the Division II senior race.

“I felt really strong,” Lee said. “I just threw in a surge right after the two-mile mark and brought it in.”

The Tustin boys posted the top team time of the afternoon, its top five runners combining for a time of 79:01. Del Campo (79:04) and Santa Ana Valley (79:29) took second and third.

“You saw what we have today,” Tiller Coach Tom Coffey said. “They had people to run with and ran smart today.”

The Tillers were led by Smith, C.J. Marciales (15:26 for third in the junior race), Leo Gordillo (15:48 for first in the sophomore race) and Tom Coffey Jr. (15:56 for 12th in the senior race).

Buena Park junior Heather Garritson (17:35) finished second to Kimi Welsh of Yucaipa (17:19) in the Division III varsity girls’ race, and Orange Lutheran senior Kristin Groncy ran 18:16 for fourth in the Division II varsity event.

Los Alamitos junior Kim Bates won the Division I varsity race in 17:59, leading the Griffins to the team title, 70-101, over Irvine.

Yucaipa, the defending state Division II champion, had the top girls’ team time at 93:08, ahead of Los Alamitos (95:30) and Canyon Country Canyon (95:36).

In the Sunny Hills Invitational:

Anaheim placed first in the boys’ division on the three-mile course at Clark Park. Louis Alvarez was the county’s top finisher, placing ninth in 16:31.

In the girls’ division, Sunny Hills finished third. Allyson Kulak placed second for the Lancers in 19:02 and Tkay Alvarez was third in 19:40.

At the Las Vegas Invitational:

The Katella and Huntington Beach boys won the small- and large-school team titles and Fountain Valley girls finished as the runners-up in the large-schools division on the 2.89-mile course.

Oiler Dan Gaston set a course record in winning with a time of 13:56, ahead of teammate Tony Trueba, who was third in 14:14.

At the Mt. Carmel Invitational in San Diego:

Michael Murray of Santa Margarita ran 15:28 to win the Division II senior race on the 2.95-mile Morley Field course.