Big Bear’s Hall, Hoover’s Siraki Win State Titles

Neither Ryan Hall of Big Bear High nor Anita Siraki of Glendale Hoover set a course record Saturday in the state high school cross-country championships at Woodward Park, but they both showed why they are national-title contenders with runaway victories.

Hall, a senior, clocked 14 minutes 50 seconds over the 5,000-meter course to win his second consecutive Division IV title.

Siraki, a senior, ran 16:59 to win her second consecutive Division I championship.

Hall had broken a 22-year-old course record with a 14:28 clocking in the Southern Section championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on Nov. 18, but he fell short of the Woodward Park course best of 14:38 set by Marc Davis of San Diego in 1986.

“I was hoping for something under 14:40,” he said. “But I went out a little too slow in the first mile and I was way behind where I wanted to be at two miles.”

Hall clocked 4:42 for the first mile and 9:36 at two miles before finishing with a time that moved him to eighth on the all-time course performer list.

It also gave him a 38-second margin of victory over second-place Mark Nevers of Oak Park and made him the first runner since 1990 to break 15 minutes in the state meet.

Siraki, who set the girls’ course record of 16:38 at Mt. SAC last month, became the second girl to break the 17-minute barrier at Woodward Park with a controlled effort that gave her a 43-second margin of victory over freshman Liza Pasciuto of Murrieta Valley.

Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa set the course record of 16:43 in 1996 and also ran 16:45 in 1994 and 1995.

Siraki will run in the West regional at Mt. SAC next Saturday; Hall is leaning toward running in the meet after saying he wouldn’t two weeks ago.

Sara Bei of Santa Rosa Montgomery, the Long Beach Poly boys’ team and the Palos Verdes Peninsula girls’ squad were other notable winners.

Bei, a senior, ran 17:13 to win her second consecutive Division II title and lead her team to a 96-105 victory over Hesperia Sultana.

Poly, the third-ranked boys’ team in the nation by Harrier magazine, won its third Division I title in four years with a 152-153 victory over host Clovis Buchanan.

Peninsula, the No. 7-ranked team in the nation, edged Buchanan, 95-97, for the girls’ Division I title.