Lopez Pulls Santa Ana Valley to Top

The victory celebration was impromptu and enthusiastic. Santa Ana Valley senior Victor Lopez dangled from the shoulders of teammates, while others smiled and hugged beneath the overcast sky.

Lopez had just won the Division II senior race at the Woodbridge Invitational on Saturday, leading the Falcons to the team title on the three-mile layout that wrapped around the Woodbridge campus.

Lopez crossed the finish line in 15 minutes 29 seconds, outkicking San Clemente’s Garrett Milner (15:34), Corona’s Chris Layman (15:35) and Santiago’s Rene Rangel (15:39).

“I took the lead after the second mile,” Lopez said. “Last year I finished eighth after taking the lead in the beginning, but now I waited and waited until the last mile and then I took off.”

Lopez was joined at the finish line by teammates Erick Estrada in 10th place (15:58), Juan Carrillo in 11th (16:01), Pedro Munguia in 17th (16:15) and Brice Juarez in 19th (16:16). The Falcons also won a Division I senior team title at the Laguna Hills Invitational a week earlier.

“We’ve been waiting for this year since they were freshmen,” said Santa Ana Valley Coach Jose Sanchez.

Even though the five seniors have earned their share of success, they’ve been somewhat overshadowed by Katella’s strong corps of seniors who helped it to a Division II state title last season. Cross-town rival Santa Ana has also won its share of headlines in recent years.

“It’s a tough year because of Katella, but we’re good enough to be second and hopefully we can compete with them in the big meets,” Sanchez said. “I think we were a little bit ahead of them as freshmen and sophomores, but then they just came out of nowhere last year.”

Lopez’s last victory came as a freshman at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational, but he proved his worth last weekend, recording the fastest time among county runners (15:46) while finishing third in the Division I senior race.

“Victor has been doing really well,” said Sanchez, a 1992 graduate of Santa Ana Valley. “We’ve been holding him back, but he just feels really good and he’s really confident right now.”

The Santa Margarita girls’ team defended its Division II varsity title. Junior Lori Mann finished third in 18:04, sophomore Sommer Owens was fifth in 18:16 and sophomore Megan Mainwaring was ninth in 18:51.

Individual winners included Santa Margarita’s Steven Murray, who won the Division II junior race in 15:24, and teammate Jeff Montagna in the Division II sophomore race in 16:11.

Brandon Metcalf of Aliso Niguel won the Division III junior race in 15:45. El Toro’s Chris Wilcox had the county’s best time while finishing fourth in the Division I senior race (15:20).

Sarah Rettmann of Mission Viejo won the Division III varsity girls’ race in 18:12. Foothill won the Division III team title, led by sophomore Laura Strachan, who finished second in 18:14, and freshman Katie Strachan, third in 18:34.