Katella Is Runaway Division II Winner

There has been a certain buzz about the Katella boys’ cross-country team this season. Now people will understand why.

The Knights won the Southern Section Division II title Saturday, their top five runners finishing among the first 13 on the three-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College. Katella junior Danny Mejia was first to cross the finish line, winning in 15:31.59.

“We practice like bumblebees and when we come out and race like this, we don’t want to lose contact with each other,” Mejia said. “We always want to keep each other in sight, and we did it. We run as a team and we win as a team.”

The team effort was reminiscent of Katella’s performance at the Orange County Championships last month, when the Knights placed their top five among the first 17 and surprised everybody but themselves in winning the team title by 38 points over Santa Ana, then the second-ranked team in Division I.

“It keeps getting better and better,” Mejia said. “It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next.”

After Mejia came teammates Juan Casas (15:54.74) in seventh, Guillermo Vargas (16:05.50) in 10th, Tony Lozano (16:10.38) in 12th, and Matt Levassiur in 13th (16:11.20).

The scoring ended there for the Knights, but not the depth. Ramiro Guerrero finished just behind Levassiur in 14th (16:12.81) and Albert Rosel finished ahead of 51 others in 39th (16:59.03).

“(Rosel) started running late [in the season], that’s why,” Mejia said. “If he had started with us from the beginning, he would have been up there too.”

Second-place Newport Harbor (115) had nearly three times as many points as Katella (43), and Santiago also advanced with a third-place finish (145). Villa Park junior Augie Escobar qualified individually by placing third overall (15:33.67). The top four teams in each division and the top five individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to next Saturday’s state meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Santa Ana also advanced to the state meet after placing second (89) to Long Beach Poly (72) in Division I. The Saints came into the meet ranked fourth in the division, but edged third-ranked Saugus (93) and No. 2 Chino Don Lugo (108).

Santa Ana senior Alfonso Leon placed second (15:05.87) to Ventura’s Josh Spiker (15:01.17), which marked the first time Leon has been defeated this season. Juan Salgado, who has battled a groin injury for most of the season, was eighth (15:36.94).

Estancia also qualified with a second-place finish in Division IV. The Eagles were led by Alberto Munoz, who finished second overall (15:42.88), but first in team scoring because winner Ryan Hall of Big Bear was running as an individual.

Also qualifying individually in Division IV were Costa Mesa’s Bruce Hancock (15:50.94) and Orange Lutheran’s Taylor Gavin (16:02.38). Individual qualifiers from Division III included El Modena’s Mike Allen (16:14.26) and La Habra’s Tony Cuen (16:23.89).