For the Yucaipa Girls, It Has Been Quite a Run

A runaway victory in the state Division I cross-country championships Nov. 29 gave the Yucaipa High girls’ team a share of the 1997 national title.

The Thunderbirds spent most of the season ranked second behind two-time defending champion Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) in Harrier magazine’s national poll. But a 41-92 victory over No. 14 Anaheim Esperanza in the state final helped Yucaipa share the title with the Blue Streaks.

Yucaipa was led by seniors Kimi Welsh and Vickie Whiteside, who finished third and sixth, respectively, in the state meet, and sophomore Beth Grossheim, who placed seventh.

“I just don’t see how they can’t rank us No. 1 after this,” Yucaipa Coach Jim Clendaniel said after the state meet. “We beat some quality teams by a substantial margin today and we felt we deserved to be national champions if we did that.”

Yucaipa’s co-national title follows a No. 4 ranking in 1995 and a No. 3 ranking last year, and it makes the Thunderbirds the first Californian team to win a girls’ title since Agoura in 1991.

State Division I boys’ champion Long Beach Poly, led by individual champion Chad Durham, was ranked fourth in the final poll behind Stillwater (Minn.), Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) and Lockport (Ill.)

The Jackrabbits weren’t ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation for the first two months of the season, but they moved from 21st to fourth in the final poll after edging No. 8 Grass Valley Nevada Union, 67-72, in the state meet.

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Running back Justin Fargas of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, one of the most highly recruited players in the nation, said he plans to visit Michigan on Jan. 9-11, Northwestern on Jan. 16-18 and USC on Jan. 23-25.

Fargas, who rushed for 2,816 yards and 35 touchdowns last season, has visited UCLA.

He also is the defending state champion in the 100 meters.