Steen Finds Plenty of Elbow Room to Run

It didn’t get physical this time, merely psychological.

Newport Harbor’s Amber Steen avoided another bang-bang finish at the Southern Section Division II finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College, securing the victory with a big move midway through the 2.93-mile race.

Steen won the same race last season, but took an elbow to the jaw from Agoura’s Laura Jakosky as she passed her on the short incline heading to the finish line. Steen avoided contact this time by building a big lead heading into the last mile and winning in 17 minutes 38.3 seconds, 11 seconds faster than second-place Jakosky--and 13 seconds faster than her winning time last season.

“I went out at a nice pace,” Steen said. “I wanted to kick back a little bit and when the pace felt too slow, I said, ‘We need to pick it up a little bit.’ Whether I picked it up or not, it felt like it anyway, and it’s all history from there.”

Although Newport Harbor missed out on an automatic state qualifying berth by one position, Steen’s time helped the Sailors earn at-large consideration, which they are sure to gain since theirs was the fastest time among the eight Division II teams that met at-large standards.

Hesperia Sultana won the Division II team title by 30 points over defending section and state champion Foothill. Canyon Country Canyon finished third and Woodbridge, which won section and state Division I titles last season, finished fourth to take the final automatic qualifying berth for Saturday’s state finals in Fresno.

Brea Olinda, Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Trabuco Hills were among seven teams that met at-large consideration for the state meet.

Corona del Mar defended its Division IV title with ease, scoring 54 points to defeat Sierra Madre Maranatha by 82 points. The Sea Kings had five runners in the top 25, led by Katie Quinlan in fourth.

Estancia’s Liz Huipe and Orange Lutheran’s Andrea Bocanegra advanced individually in Division IV.

Dana Hills was Orange County’s only automatic qualifier in Division I. The Dolphins had five runners in the top 51, led by sophomore Tarrah Crowly in 13th. Esperanza, Fountain Valley and University met at-large consideration, but it’s likely only Esperanza will move on.

Fountain Valley’s Julie Allen, the 1999 Times’ Orange County runner of the year, stayed on the heels of Division I winner Anita Siraki of Glendale Hoover for the first half of the race, but Murrieta Valley’s Liza Pasciuto caught her near the two-mile mark and Palos Verdes Peninsula’s Emily Vance passed her in the final straightaway.

Allen, who was third in Division I last season, finished in 17:50.9, nine seconds slower than her time last year.

St. Margaret’s senior Ligaya Lange advanced to the state meet for the second consecutive season after finishing second in Division V in 19:09.7. It was another strong effort in a remarkable career for Lange, who didn’t begin running cross-country until her sophomore year and barely broke 25 minutes in her first race. The Tartans were one of two teams in Division V to meet at-large consideration and are certain to advance to the state meet.

Rosary finished third in Division III, earning an automatic qualifying berth.