Newport Harbor’s Steen Gets Her Redemption

Victories were hard to come by Saturday at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational, so redemption was the underlying theme for several Orange County runners.

Newport Harbor senior Amber Steen was irked after finishing second to Fountain Valley junior Julie Allen at last weekend’s Orange County Championships, but found some solace after posting a four-second edge over Allen, even though they ran in separate races held 20 minutes apart.

“It was the same course at practically the same time,” Steen said. “She beat me last week and I beat her this week.”

Steen finished second in the team sweepstakes race in 17 minutes 47.0 seconds, the top time among county runners.

Steen took the lead midway through the race, but couldn’t hold off Sara Bei of Santa Rosa Montgomery, who won the individual sweepstakes race the previous two years. Bei surged past Steen just past the two-mile mark and finished 27 seconds in front.

“I had the lead for about a half mile,” Steen said. “The pace going out was real slow. I didn’t want to take a really big lead early and then have five people cream me at the end.”

After the race, Steen caught her breath, grabbed her warm-ups and headed to the finish line, hoping her time would hold up against Allen, the 1999 Times’ Orange County runner of the year.

Allen ran in the individual sweepstakes race with Glendale Hoover’s Anita Siraki, the defending Division I state champion who on Saturday set a Mt. SAC course record. Allen stayed with Siraki and the lead pack through the first mile before finishing fifth in 17:51.3.

Allen’s time equaled the 15th all-time fastest on the course for a high school junior. One of those she tied was Steen.

Santa Margarita’s Steven Murray also finished second at the county championships, but was the top county performer at Mt. SAC.

Murray finished fourth in the individual sweepstakes race in 15:17.0, the top time among county runners by seven seconds. Murray held the lead along with eventual winner J.J. Baker of Clovis heading to the two-mile mark, but lost momentum in the final mile, which includes “poop-out” hill.

“I’m happy with my time,” Murray said. “A 15-second [personal record] isn’t bad.”

Devin Segal of Dana Hills rebounded from a poor showing at the county championships and finished 12th in the team sweepstakes race in 15:24.0, the second-best time among county runners. Segal was running in third about halfway through the race, but faded in the last mile.

“I performed better than expected,” said Segal, who missed the Dana Hills record on the course by two seconds. “I tried to throw in some moves at the end there.”

Segal said conditioning had a lot to do with his 12th-place finish at the county championships. Segal didn’t accompany his team on a week-long trip to Hawaii earlier this month because he couldn’t afford it. While his team was away, his training suffered.

“There were waves and no coaches and I kind of slacked off on my training,” Segal said. “I learned from my mistake.”

Segal’s effort helped the Dolphins finish eighth and edge 10th-place Newport Harbor by three points. The Sailors, who won a county title last week, were led by county champion Chris McMillen, who finished 21st in 15:44.3.

Valencia sophomore Juan Robles, fourth at the county championships, won an earlier Division II varsity race in 15:35.5. Tustin senior Alonso Smith, fifth at the county championships, also won an earlier Division II race in 15:41.5.

Brea Olinda’s Jenny Thune finished first in an earlier girls’ Division II race in 18:42.1.