PREP EXTRA : OTHER SPORTS / CROSS-COUNTRY : Belmont Boys Favored in City

With six of its top seven runners back from last year’s boys’ City championship team, Belmont is once again the favorite.

Humberto Vargas and Henok Mulugeta lead the Sentinels, who finished fourth in the state meet last year.

Bell, featuring Ruben Alviderez, and Garfield are also expected to contend.

The San Pedro girls, led by defending champion Valerie Flores, have all seven of their top runners from a team that finished fourth in the City last year. Flores finished sixth at the state meet last year, the highest finish ever by a City Section girl.

In the Southern Section, 1998 Division II champion Anaheim Katella, Chino Don Lugo and two-time defending state champion Long Beach Poly are regarded as the teams to beat in Division I.

Other teams to watch include Agoura, Garden Grove Santiago and Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World in Division II; defending champion Rosemead Bosco Tech and South Hills in Division III; defending champion Ojai Nordhoff and Morro Bay in Division IV; and Lancaster Desert Christian in Division V.

Some top individuals to watch are Josh Spiker of Ventura, the defending Division I state champion; Augie Escobar of Villa Park, who won the 3,200 meters at last year’s Masters Meet; and Oswaldo Pina of Lakewood, who finished fifth in the Southern Section cross-country finals.

Hesperia Sultana, Irvine Woodbridge, Yucaipa and Anaheim Esperanza are expected to contend for the girls’ Southern Section Division I title.

Some top individuals to watch are Heidi Walker of Yucaipa and Anita Siraki of Glendale Hoover, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in last year’s state Division I race; Lori Mann of Santa Margarita, who finished second in the state in Division II; and Laura Jokosky of Agoura, the Southern Section Division II champion.