Santa Ana Impresses With Some Extra Help

The Southern Section boys’ cross-country preliminaries Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College produced mixed results for Orange County teams and individuals.

The biggest winner was Santa Ana, which won a Division I heat that also included defending state champion Chino Don Lugo. The Saints placed five runners in the top 23, offsetting a 1-2 finish by Don Lugo.

Diego Rocha finished seventh for Santa Ana in 16 minutes 0.3 seconds, followed by teammate Jose Cholula in 16:00.4. But the biggest difference for the Saints was their fifth runner, Uziel Lara, who finished in 16:27.1. It was the first race of the season for Lara, who had been academically ineligible.

“He really came through for us,” said Santa Ana Coach Darel Newman.

Another strong performance was delivered by Estancia, which won its Division IV heat with five runners in the top 17. The Eagles offset a 1-2 finish by second-place Big Bear and produced the second-fastest team time in the division.

The biggest surprise among non-qualifiers was Tustin senior Alonso Smith, who finished 11th in his Division II heat. Smith was coming off a victory at the Golden West League finals two weeks ago and also finished fifth at the Orange County Championships last month.

Smith’s finish also hurt the Tillers, who missed qualifying by six points after finishing sixth in their heat.

“He just didn’t run well today,” Tustin Coach Tom Coffey said. “We had three kids not run well today and two who did.”

Newport Harbor, the state’s fourth-ranked team in Division II, nearly missed qualifying as well. The Sailors, who won the Orange County Championships last month, finished fourth in one of three heats to grab the final qualifying spot. Valencia finished second in the same heat and Orange third.

Katella and Santa Margarita, both state finalists a year ago, finished fifth in separate Division II heats, but the Eagles advanced only because they had a faster team time. Santa Margarita’s Steven Murray won his heat in 15:23.9, the fastest time among county runners.

Dana Hills sophomore Tyler Kastorff won his Division I heat in 15:35.1, helping the Dolphins finish second behind Murrieta Valley. Devin Segal, who won the South Coast League title last month, finished ninth in 15:59.5, about 35 seconds slower than his time on the same course at the Mt. SAC Invitational last month.