Dana Hills’ Kastorff Turns On Kick

Tyler Kastorff may have looked out of place Saturday at the state cross-country championships.

That doesn’t mean he felt out of place.

Kastorff, a Dana Hills sophomore, had the top time among county runners and defeated several of the state’s best while finishing sixth in the Division I race in 15 minutes 32 seconds.

Kastorff stayed with the lead pack during the congested first mile, then hung in about 10th place through the second mile. It was at that juncture on the 3.1-mile race through Woodward Park that he realized he could do even better.

“I came around the log [at about the 2.5-mile point] and I realized we weren’t that far from the finish line,” he said. “I had a lot of respect for the guys I was running against, but at that point I realized I could run with them too.”

Kastorff made one last push, passing two-time Southern Section Division I champion Ozzie Pina of Long Beach Poly and finishing 17 seconds ahead of Chino Don Lugo’s Erick Maldonado, who set a sophomore course record while defeating Kastorff at the section finals Nov. 18 at Mt. San Antonio College.

“I knew I could run with Maldonado because we ran together for a while last weekend,” Kastorff said. “I wanted to see if I could push on him a little bit more at the end though.”

Kastorff set the Dana Hills freshman record on the Mt. SAC course last year, but was mostly relegated to eighth or ninth on the team. Kastorff also plays club and high school soccer, but thinks he has found his niche in distance running.

“This has definitely been more rewarding,” Kastorff said. “But I’ll be back playing soccer next week.”

Kastorff’s strong performance helped the Dolphins finish ninth in the team standings. El Toro, which had three runners trip and fall 100 meters into the race, recovered and finished 11th.

The best finish among county teams belonged to Estancia, which was fifth in Division IV. Sophomore Humberto Rojas finished 12th in 15:59 to pace the Eagles. Rojas ran 37 seconds faster than last season, when he finished 33rd at the state finals.

Corona del Mar’s Travis Beardslee also knocked 37 seconds off his time from last season, finishing one spot ahead of Rojas in 15:58.

Santa Margarita senior Steven Murray placed seventh in the Division II race in 15:41. Murray, who won a Southern Section title a week earlier, was fifth at the first mile, but couldn’t match the surges of five North Coast Section runners in front of him.

“There were a lot of mind games going on out there,” said Murray, whose time was 11 seconds faster than a year ago. “That kept me from playing some mind games of my own.”

Valencia sophomore Juan Robles finished 16th in the Division II race in 15:50, which helped the Tigers place ninth in the team standings.