Birmingham Is in for the Long Run This Time

There is life without Tiffany Burgess.

The Birmingham High girls’ cross-country team proved it Wednesday by dominating its heat of the City Section cross-country preliminaries at Pierce College without defending section champion Burgess.

Birmingham, paced by the 2-3 finish of juniors Dina Melendez and Erika Dolezal, placed five runners among the top 14 to defeat runner-up Hamilton, 33-99, in the second of two heats.

Perhaps more impressive, the cumulative time of the Braves’ top five runners was nearly three minutes faster than heat one winner Taft.

The Toreadors upset Birmingham in the Northwest Valley Conference final Nov. 5 after Burgess dropped out of the race with an ankle injury that she sustained Oct. 31. The injury prevented Burgess from finishing Wednesday, but her teammates responded.

“When [Tiffany] dropped out last week, their heads went down,” Birmingham Coach Scott King said of Melendez and Co. “When she dropped out today, they took off. . . . They competed today. Last week, they gave up.”

The difference helped stamp Birmingham as the favorite to win the City title on Nov. 22, with or without Burgess.

“The girls would love to have her,” King said of Burgess. “She might be our fifth girl, but whatever she can do to [help us qualify] for the state championships would be great.”

The top five teams and any individual among the top 15 not on a qualifying team in each heat advanced to the City final at Pierce.

Jamie Newman of El Camino Real, the 1995 City champion, won heat two over the 2.85-mile course that was shortened from its usual three-mile distance because of slippery conditions caused by Monday’s rain.

Newman, a junior, timed 17:56 to post her sixth victory in seven races this season.

She was followed by Melendez in 18:14 and Dolezal in 18:28.

Sophomore Melanie Sims finished seventh in 18:51, freshman Melissa Astete placed eighth in 18:52 and junior Nuria Vanegas was 14th in 19:06 to round out Birmingham’s scoring runners.

Freshman Natalie Stein of North Hollywood had her five-race winning streak stopped by sophomore Valerie Flores of San Pedro in the first girls’ heat.

Stein tied her career best of 17:57 over Pierce’s three-mile course to win the Valley Pac-8 Conference final last week, but Flores broke away in the second mile to win in 17:02, with Stein second in 17:24.

Senior Wendy Chan of Taft finished fifth in 18:11 to pace the Toreadors to a 74-93 victory over second-place Bell.

Birmingham and Monroe finished second in their heats in the boys’ meet.

Senior Antonio Gavino of North Hollywood posted the fastest time by a runner from the area when he clocked 15:18 to place fifth in the second heat.