Radnoti Engineers Lancers to New Numbers

It hasn’t taken long for Robert Radnoti to make an impact on the Thousand Oaks High cross-country program.

When the 40-year-old chemical engineer was hired to replace the highly successful Jack Farrell as the Lancers’ coach last month, one of his goals was to increase the program’s number of runners from 50-55 to 100.. Thousand Oaks’ boys’ and girls’ teams combined to win two state and seven Southern Section Division I or 4-A titles during Farrell’s 20 years at the school.

To find runners, he mailed questionnaires to incoming freshmen, asking if they were interested in running.

He also had returning runners do on-campus recruiting during freshman orientation.

As a result, there were 179 runners in the cross-country program when school began Sept. 2.

The number dropped to about 110 by Tuesday, but Radnoti is confident it’ll remain in triple figures for the rest of the season.

“At first, I was a bit overwhelmed,” said Radnoti, who coaches alone. “I felt like I had bit off a little more than I could chew. But I’m getting better at dealing with the large numbers.”

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Shortly after being hired at Thousand Oaks, Radnoti resigned from his full-time job at Exxon to focus on coaching in the afternoons after chemical engineering consulting in the mornings.

The move benefited the Thousand Oaks cross-country program in more ways than one.

Dan Barnhart, a senior from Cypress Creek High in Houston who ran 10:10 in the 3,200 as a junior, transferred to Thousand Oaks after his father was hired to replace Radnoti at Exxon.

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Eric Reynolds, the greatest high school distance runner in Ventura County history, will be the honorary starter for the senior boys’ race at the Seaside Invitational at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Friday.

Reynolds, a 1983 graduate of Camarillo High, won the 1982 national cross-country title and the 1983 state title in the 3,200 meters in track.

He ran 8:44.0 in the two-mile as a senior to move to fourth on the all-time national high school performer list.

Jeff Nelson of Burbank, who ran 8:36.3 in 1979, Craig Virgin of Lebanon (Ill.), who clocked 8:40.9 in 1973, and Steve Prefontaine of Marshfield (Ore.), who timed 8:41.5 in 1969, are the only U.S. high school runners ahead of Reynolds.

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The Saugus High boys and the Quartz Hill girls head the list of 38 schools scheduled to compete in the Seaside Invitational.

Saugus won the 1997 Southern Section Division II title and placed seventh in the state championships.

Quartz Hill placed third in the 1997 Southern Section Division I final and fourth in the state championships.

The meet starts with the girls’ freshman race at 3 p.m.

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Nordhoff and Ventura, the 1-2 finishers in the boys’ race of the Ventura County championships last year, will open the season in the Morro Bay Invitational on Saturday.

Nordhoff, the defending state Division IV champion, will be paced by junior Aidan Short and senior Mike Lemon.

Ventura will be led by junior Josh Spiker and senior Matt Swaney.

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The Top Five

Preseason rankings of regional cross-country teams

BOYS

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Rk School (League) 1. Saugus (Foothill) 2. Nordhoff (Frontier) 3. Ventura (Channel) 4. Notre Dame (Mission) 5. Thousand Oaks (Marmonte)

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GIRLS

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Rk School (League) 1. La Canada (Rio Hondo) 2. Quartz Hill (Golden) 3. Birmingham (West Valley) 4. Canyon (Foothill) 5. Thousand Oaks (Marmonte)

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