Allen Finally Will Match Strides With Steen, Mann

Spectators will get a rare chance to see Fountain Valley junior Julie Allen, the 1999 Times’ Orange County runner of the year, race against returning all-county seniors Amber Steen of Newport Harbor and Lori Mann of Santa Margarita at the Orange County Championships Saturday at Irvine Park.

Fountain Valley earned one of the bids into the sweepstakes race after an impressive performance at last weekend’s Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach, in which the Barons won the Division II team title.

Steen, who won a Southern Section Division II title last season and finished fifth at state, has never raced against Allen in a high school event and never will after Saturday, since they compete in different section and state divisions.

Mann, a two-time all-county selection, has raced against Allen only once, losing in a three-way meet earlier this season.

The boys’ and girls’ sweepstakes races are limited to 15 teams, whose petitions are accepted based on merit earned during the season. Although Allen is the county’s top runner, the Barons are considered a borderline top-15 team. Individual merit is not considered when selecting the sweepstakes entries.

The girls’ sweepstakes race, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., also includes defending champ Corona del Mar, Foothill, Woodbridge, Brea Olinda, Santa Margarita, Esperanza, Dana Hills, Newport Harbor, Edison, Mater Dei, Rosary, Santa Ana, Trabuco Hills and Villa Park.

Top teams not included are University, El Toro and Sunny Hills. The Trojans requested to be entered in the Division II race instead; El Toro is attending a meet in New York, and Sunny Hills, with two of the county’s top freshmen in twins Claire and Stacy Kim, chose not to enter the meet so the team can focus on next weekend’s Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.

The boys’ sweepstakes race begins at 10:45 a.m. and includes Dana Hills, Santa Ana, Edison, El Toro, Fountain Valley, Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, Newport Harbor, Valencia, Santa Ana Valley, Corona del Mar, Estancia, Foothill, Marina and Tustin.

Teams left out include Sonora, winner of the Division II race at the Central Park Invitational, and two-time defending champion Katella, which lost most of its team to graduation but ran well at the Bronco Invitational last month and upset Empire League favorite Century in a dual meet last week.

The Division II and Division III races will be held every 15 minutes between the sweepstakes races. Sixty boys’ teams and a meet-record 57 girls’ teams are entered.