Notre Dame Hopes to Be in Running For Chance at State

Oak Park and Nordhoff will dominate the team battle for the Division IV boys’ title in the Southern Section cross-country finals at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on Saturday.

Bob Macias, the coach at Notre Dame, admits that.

But he figures his underdog squad can finish third or fourth to advance to the state championships for the third consecutive year.

Notre Dame, third in the section final last year, has been slowed by injuries and illnesses this season.

The Knights were a well-beaten fifth in their qualifying heat of the section preliminaries last Saturday and the cumulative time of 88:28 by their top five runners was 12th among the 13 teams advancing to the final.

But Macias points out seniors Larry Pitkin and John Smithson and two teammates ran with the flu.

In addition, sophomore Sean O’Neill wasn’t 100% after twisting his ankle in practice last week.

“I don’t think anyone really anticipates [us finishing among the top four],” Macias said. “But I know the guys on this team . . . I have talent. I’m just trying to put it all together.”

Notre Dame turned in a solid time of 82:04 to place eighth in the season-opening Seaside Park Invitational at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Sept. 10. But Pitkin, the team’s top returning runner, injured his hamstring shortly thereafter and other injuries and illnesses have prevented the Knights from being at full strength this season.

Notre Dame finished a distant 14th in the Division IV sweepstakes race of the Mt. SAC Invitational on Oct. 22, but showed marked improvement in winning the Mission League final at Griffith Park two weeks ago.

Pitkin, who missed three meets because of the hamstring injury, was Notre Dame’s No. 4 runner in the league final, but Macias is hopeful he and Smithson will challenge junior Ted Riedell for the Knights’ top spot Saturday.

That would help Notre Dame’s team chances.

“If we run in the [85-minute range], we have a shot [at finishing in the top four],” Macias said. “If we run in the mid-84s, we’ve got a real good shot.”

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A fine season came to a disappointing end for the Burroughs boys’ team in the Southern Section preliminaries.

The Indians were ranked among the top 10 Division II teams in the section most of the season, but finished a nonqualifying seventh in their heat on Saturday.

Senior Brian Anderson, Burroughs’ No. 1 or 2 runner all season, placed 44th while competing with a stomach virus and the Indians’ other runners were unable to pick up the slack.

“We’re a little disappointed,” Coach John Peebles said. “But at the same time, you have to look at last year and realize that we were no where close to this.”

Burroughs, doormat of the Foothill League for most of the decade, fielded a two-man varsity in the league final last year.

The Indians finished second to Canyon in the league standings this year and Anderson is the only senior among their top seven runners.

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Newbury Park was another notable boys’ team that was eliminated in the Division II heats of the Southern Section preliminaries.

The Panthers defeated a good Agoura squad, 26-29, in a Marmonte League meet on Oct. 7, but they hadn’t run well since.

Senior Brandon Nakagawa, Newbury Park’s No. 2 runner for most of the year, missed the race Saturday because of the flu and senior Chris Kahler dropped out with a shin injury. But Coach Mike Stewart said those weren’t the only reasons for the Panthers’ ninth-place finish.

“We just had some guys who didn’t run very well,” Stewart said. “Our first two guys ran well, but no one else did.”

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Thousand Oaks narrowly advanced to the Southern Section Division I boys’ final after finding out Friday that sophomore Mike Krestyn would miss the rest of the season with a possible fractured vertebrae in his back.

Thousand Oaks tied Ventura, 151-151, for fourth in its heat. But the Lancers were awarded the final qualifying spot because they had a higher finishing No. 6 runner.

Krestyn, third in the Marmonte League final, experienced pain throughout the season, but he and Coach Robert Radnoti figured it was muscle tightness.

A medical exam last week revealed it was more serious than that.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Top 10

Rankings of region cross-country teams

BOYS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 Canyon (Foothill) 2 2 Oak Park (Tri-Valley) 3 3 Nordhoff (Frontier) 4 4 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 5 6 Camarillo (Pacific View) 6 9 Agoura (Marmonte) 7 5 Hoover (Pacific) 8 7 Ventura (Channel) 9 8 Buena (Channel) 10 NR Monroe (Valley Mission)

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GIRLS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 Nordhoff (Frontier) 2 2 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 3 4 Canyon (Foothill) 4 3 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 5 5 Westlake (Marmonte) 6 NR Ventura (Channel) 7 6 Louisville (Mission) 8 7 Royal (Marmonte) 9 NR Quartz Hill (Golden) 10 9 Crescenta Valley (Pacific)

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