Orange County Championships Back on Course

The Orange County Championships return to Irvine Regional Park Saturday. Last season’s event was canceled because of a brush fire in the area that forced the park to be used as a staging area for firefighting equipment.

The meet begins at 8 a.m. with the freshman girls’ Gold Division race and runs through the boys’ junior varsity Gold Division race, which is scheduled to begin at 12:10 p.m.

The highlights of the meet will include the seeded varsity girls’ race, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Esperanza’s strong corps of runners will be vying for the team title, while University’s Allyson Marquand, Newport Harbor’s Alicia McFall and Corona del Mar’s Liz Morse will compete for individual honors.

The seeded varsity boys’ race is scheduled at 10:10 a.m. and will feature heavy favorite Santa Ana. Loara’s Jose Herrera, Santa Ana’s Alfonso Leon, Newport Harbor’s Curt Herberts, and Villa Park’s Augie Escobar should battle for the individual title.