Tiller Trio Helps Tustin Win a Third Title

Tustin added a third title to its list, winning the Southern Section boys’ cross-country title to go with those from the Orange County Championships and the Golden West League.

The Tillers, who won this meet for the first time, scored 67 points and had Leo Gordillo, Daniel Smith and C.J. Marciales all finish among the top 10 in the Division III race, which was run on a three-mile “rain course” for the first time.

Barstow finished a distant second with 120, followed by Katella (121) and Rosemead Bosco Tech (125).

“Those guys ran great. People probably think we like this course,” said Tom Coffey, who proposed a change from the hilly Mt. SAC course earlier in the year.

The course change didn’t seem to have an effect on Coffey’s athletes, as Gordillo finished fifth in 14 minutes 48 seconds, followed by Smith (eighth, 14:59) and Marciales (10th, 15:01).

The Tillers weren’t the only area squad to earn a team title. Orange Lutheran scored 83 points to win the Division V boys’ competition.

The Lancers, led by senior Matt Fischer, who was ninth in 15:20, edged Agoura Oak Park (107) and Sierra Madre Maranatha (127).

Mission Viejo junior Mark Gleason topped Orange senior Nick Russell by seven seconds to win the Division II individual boys’ title. The two finished in the same order at the county championships a month earlier.

Gleason ran the day’s second-fastest time in 14:20, edging Russell and Huntington Beach senior Dan Gaston (14:30) for the title.

Hemet narrowly defeated Santa Margarita, 123-124, for the Division II team title. Santa Ana (127) and Huntington Beach (138) earned the final qualifying berths for the state meet Saturday at Fresno’s Woodward Park.

St. Margaret’s junior Ryan Downey used a strong final 300 meters to hold off Chris Felix of Santa Maria St. Joseph by two seconds to win the Division V individual title in 14:59.

“My coaches are probably the two smartest guys I’ve ever met,” Downey said. “They had me run 300’s on the track on Thursday because they knew it would come down to that.”

Santa Ana Valley, county runner-up and Century League champion, was second in Division I, scoring 109 points.

Irvine senior Justin Nyberg advanced to the state meet with a second-place finish in 14:26, the second-fastest county time behind Gleason. Glendale Hoover senior David Lopez ran the day’s fastest time in 14:15.