Burnett Draws Attention With Victory at Mt. SAC

Recognition doesn’t come easy for Ryan Burnett of La Canada High.

Not when you’re a member of the boys’ cross-country team at a school that is home to the two-time defending state Division III girls’ champions.

But Burnett forced people to take notice Friday, when he won the Division III sweepstakes race in the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College Invitational in Walnut.

Burnett, a senior, clocked a career-best 15:31 over the 2.95-mile course to turn back a strong field that included runner-up Jesse Hodges of West Covina South Hills, third-place Chris Eggers of Livermore Granada and fourth-place Chris Johnson of Visalia Redwood.

Those three had finished ahead of Burnett in the Stanford Invitational on Oct. 2, and Hodges had also beaten Burnett in the Division IV senior race of the Woodbridge Invitational on Sept. 18 and in the Southern Section Division III final last year.

“That was a huge win for Ryan,” La Canada co-Coach Dennis McNulty said. “I think it’s fair to say that Ryan now has a legitimate shot at the [Southern Section] title.”

Hodges, a senior, was regarded as the top returning Division III runner in the section this season after finishing second in the section final last year, but Burnett sped past him with about a quarter-mile left Friday to win by eight seconds and lower his previous best at Mt. SAC by 38 seconds.

Johnson, a junior, passed Hodges and Burnett descending the final hill, but Hodges and Burnett surged past Johnson as they turned onto a portion of the course known as the airstrip, and Burnett passed Hodges shortly thereafter.

Burnett, ninth in the section final last year, was particularly pleased with his performance because he has done “absolutely zero speed work” this season and the effort felt relatively easy.

“I felt like I was walking the first mile and we came through in 4:45,” Burnett said. “We came through two miles in 10:03 and I felt absolutely fine. When we came to the airstrip, I went by [Hodges] and I didn’t look back.

“I’m really happy with the race. This gives me confidence that I can win the [section title] and then definitely be up there chasing Eric Chaves [in the state championships].”

Chaves, a junior at Mountain View St. Francis, won the Division III title at the Stanford Invitational and placed 10th in the state final last year.

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Felton San Lorenzo Valley, the No. 1-ranked Division III girls’ team in the state, won the team sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC on Saturday. The cumulative time of its top five five runners was five minutes faster than La Canada ran in finishing third in the Division III sweepstakes race on Friday.

Yet McNulty says La Canada still has a chance to win its third consecutive state title.

He points out that a large part of San Lorenzo Valley’s time advantage came from junior Alejandra Barrientos’ sizzling first-place time of 17:13.

San Lorenzo Valley’s Nos. 2-5 runners ran 19:17, 19:21, 19:32 and 19:58, faster than every La Canada runner except for junior Nicole Bonino. But McNulty says the Spartans’ Nos. 2-5 runners could be running 19:30 or faster by the state championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 27.

“We can’t run as fast as they did [ Saturday],” McNulty said. “But if we improve a lot and they slow down a little, we could be there.”

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Oak Park and two-time defending champion Nordhoff are expected to battle for the boys’ title in the Ventura County championships at Lake Casitas in Ojai on Friday, but don’t count out Thousand Oaks.

The Lancers struggled--by their standards--for the first half of the season. But their 19-36 victory over a good Newbury Park team last week indicates they’re improving at the right time.

Senior Seth Neumuller, defending Marmonte League champion, set a course record of 15:56 over the three-mile course at Waverly Park in Thousand Oaks. But just as important was that the gap between Neumuller and Thousand Oaks’ No. 5 runner was only 56 seconds.

“I’m really pleased,” Coach Robert Radnoti said of the victory over Newbury Park. “All our guys ran how they’re capable of running.”