Irvine Girls Again Win League Title

Irvine captured its fourth consecutive girls’ cross-country league title with a third-place finish in the Sea View League race Friday at Irvine Regional Park.

The Vaqueros, ranked second in the county, placed three runners among the top 10 and had a team score of 74 points.

“I’ve been nervous all day,” Irvine Coach Randy Rossi said of his team (4-1). “This league is so extremely talented, I knew it would be a tough race.”

Newport Harbor’s Alicia McFall finished in 17 minutes 25 seconds over the three-mile course to win the individual championship and lead the sixth-ranked Sailors (2-3) to a first-place finish in the race and a tie for second, with Corona del Mar, in the Sea View League standings.

“I’m very excited and happy [to win the individual title],” said McFall, a junior. “I wanted to start out fast because I didn’t want to get stuck at the start.” She did just that, leading from the start and finishing 13 seconds ahead of Santa Margarita’s Dani Rope (17:38).

Corona del Mar (3-2), ranked seventh, was second with 74 points.

In the boys’ race, Santa Margarita (4-1) won at least a share of the league title for the third consecutive year with a first-place finish.

The Eagles, ranked fourth in the county, edged fifth-ranked Newport Harbor (5-0), 47-50, to avenge an earlier loss to the Sailors in a league dual meet.

“We hadn’t lost a dual meet since 1994,” Santa Margarita Coach Dave Zeitler said. “Our guys responded real well to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

Said Newport Harbor Coach Bim Barry of the tie for the Sea View League title: “It’s not as good as winning it, but it’s better than getting second.”

El Toro’s Danny Lee won the individual title in 14:59, even though he struggled with a leg injury.

“The injury could lead to a stress fracture, so I just wanted to finish the race and run my best,” he said.