Smith Plan Works Out in Long Run

Is qualifying for the national high school cross-country championships more important than winning a state Division I title?

It is if you’re Steve Smith of Chino Hills Ayala.

Smith, a senior, won the West regional title over a muddy, rain-soaked course at Woodward Park on Saturday a week after placing fourth in the Division I race of the state championships at the same venue.

Smith was one of the favorites to win the state title based on his victory in the Southern Section finals on Nov. 22, but he said he didn’t put forth an all-out effort in the state meet so he could run well in the West regional.

“It was by design,” Smith said of his performance in the state championships. “I’m not saying I would have definitely won state, but my coach and I knew that if I wanted to run well today, I couldn’t run three hard races in a row. Winning the section title was very important to me so we decided that we were going to have to hold back a little in the state meet.”

The plan paid dividends Saturday when Smith outkicked senior Dusty Herman of Ojai Nordhoff in the final 50 meters of the race to clock 15 minutes 30 seconds over the 5,000-meter course.

Herman timed 15:31 with senior Ronnie Buchanan of Santa Maria Righetti third in 15:32.

Senior Mark Gleason of Mission Viejo finished fifth in 15:36 and senior Isaiah Festa of Morro Bay was sixth in 15:37 as runners from the Southern Section took five of the eight qualifying spots for the national championships at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Dec. 13.

“I was just shooting for the top eight,” Smith said after becoming the first Ayala runner to win a West region title since the meet began in 1979. “I never thought about winning realistically. It just came down to who wanted it the most at the end.”

Junior Mariel Ettinger of La Grande (Ore.) won the girls’ race in 17:40 with junior Lauren Fleshman of Canyon Country Canyon second in 17:51 and senior Kimi Welsh of Yucaipa third in 17:59.

Senior Jennifer Burris of Ayala placed sixth in 18:03 and junior Allyson Marquand of Irvine University finished seventh in 18:06 to give Southern Section runners four of the eight qualifying spots.