Jakosky Will Try To Fend Off Hess For Fifth Time

Juniors Laura Jakosky of Agoura High and Kelley Hess of Thousand Oaks will race for the fifth time this season in the Marmonte League cross-country finals at Agoura this afternoon.

Jakosky, the defending Southern Section Division II champion, has won seven of eight races this season and beaten Hess all four times they’ve met. But Hess has narrowed the gap between her and Jakosky in recent weeks.

Jakosky beat Hess by 28 and 48 seconds in September, but Hess cut that margin to 18 seconds in the individual sweepstakes race of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on Oct. 23 and to 14 seconds in the Ventura County championships at Lake Casitas in Ventura last Friday.

“You can never count her out,” Jakosky said of Hess. “You know she’s always going to be there.”

The Marmonte League, with four of the top 10-ranked girls’ teams in the region and two of the top-10 ranked boys’ squads, is one of 11 local leagues that will contest finals today.

The others are the Channel, Foothill, Frontier, Pacific, Pacific View, Rio Hondo and Tri-Valley leagues from the Southern Section and the Sunset Six, Valley Mission and West Valley leagues from the City Section.

Josh Spiker of Ventura, Mark Nevers of Oak Park, Ryan Burnett of La Canada, Anita Siraki of Hoover and Natalie Stein of North Hollywood are some of the top individuals competing today.

Oak Park, Canyon and Nordhoff are some of the top boys’ teams with Nordhoff, La Canada and Thousand Oaks heading the list of girls’ squads.

Spiker, a senior, is regarded as one of the top runners in the nation and set a course record of 14:53 in winning the Ventura County championships.

Nevers, a junior, placed second behind Spiker to help Oak Park to its first county title.

Burnett, a senior, won the Division III sweepstakes race in the Mt. SAC Invitational.

Siraki is favored to win the state Division I title at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 27 and fellow junior Stein is tabbed to finish second in the City final at Pierce College on Nov. 20.

Nordhoff, two-time defending state Division IV boys’ champion, is favored to win its ninth consecutive Frontier League title today and the Rangers’ defending state champion girls’ team is tabbed to win its eighth in a row.

Canyon is favored to win its first Foothill League boys’ title since moving from the Golden League in 1992 and Thousand Oaks is trying to win a share of its sixth consecutive Marmonte League girls’ title.