Sultana Girls Conquer Mt. SAC With Ease

Hesperia Sultana performed like one of the top girls’ cross-country teams in the nation Saturday by posting a runaway victory in the team sweepstakes race of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.

Sultana, the No. 3-ranked team in Harrier magazine’s national poll, totaled 62 points with No. 12 Murrieta Valley second with 93 points.

Canyon Country Canyon was third with 145 points, followed by Santa Rosa Montgomery with 153 and defending state Division II champion Escondido San Pasqual with 156.

Sultana placed fourth in the state Division II final last year after being hampered by injuries. But the Sultans have remained healthy this season and their performances have shown it.

They dominated the Division II race of the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 28 and defeated Murrieta Valley in the Inland Empire Challenge on Oct. 12.

The cumulative time of their top five runners Saturday was 91 minutes 21 seconds, a record for the 2.91-mile course that has been in use at Mt. SAC since 1999.

Junior Kelsey Delagardelle placed third overall in 17:49 for Sultana and freshman teammate Danielle Varela was fourth in 17:52.

“We just wanted to get back out here on the course,” Coach Jon Mahr said. “We wanted to see what we could do.”

Long Beach Poly defeated Los Angeles Loyola, 113-135, for the boys’ team title. Dana Point Dana Hills was third with 152 points and defending sweepstakes and state Division I champion Canyon Country Canyon was fourth with 171.

“Our [tight] group saved us,” Poly Coach George Wright said. “Loyola had two runners ahead of our top man, but we had six runners ahead of their fourth finisher and that did it for us.”

Senior Kevin Brulois led Poly with a 13th-place time of 15:21 and junior teammate Ulices Pina was 17th in 15:25.

Senior Tim Nelson of Redding Liberty Christian and junior Rachel Bryan of Elk Grove Laguna Creek won the boys’ and girls’ races.

Nelson passed juniors Troy Swier of San Diego Mar Vista and Mohamed Trafeh of Duarte in the final 400 yards to win the boys’ individual sweepstakes in 14:33, only five seconds off the course record of 14:28 set by Ryan Hall of Big Bear in 2000.

Bryan won the girls’ individual sweepstakes in 17:08 after surging to an early lead.

--John Ortega

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A Southern Section rule set to take effect next fall that will require athletes who transfer without a change of residence to sit out a year may be modified to conform with the new “No Child Left Behind” federal law.

Section Commissioner Jim Staunton said discussions are expected to take place on possibly amending the rule so it doesn’t conflict with the new law.

One of the key features of the law offers students the opportunity to transfer from under-performing schools to better ones in the same district, based on standardized test scores.

Also, the Southern Section has reported that more than 600 athletes switched schools as of Sept. 30, far fewer than the 7,331 who filed transfer requests as of June.

Staunton said the smaller number of students who transferred may be an indication of parents’ having second thoughts over the summer.

“The only explanation I can give is there was a considerable amount of school shopping,” he said. “I believe that transferring for a kid can be very traumatic. Maybe they didn’t spot an advantage going elsewhere.”

The large number of transfer requests came after the Southern Section passed its rule requiring athletes who transfer but don’t change residences to sit out one year effective next fall.

--Eric Sondheimer