Track and Field Preview: Bell-Jeff girls looking for title repeat

Bellarmine-Jefferson's Caitlyn Couch in the 400 meter in the five-team Santa Fe League finals at Burroughs High School on Memorial Field on Wednesday, May 6, 2015.

By Jeff Tully

March 1, 2017 11:58 AM PT

The Bellarmine-Jefferson High girls’ track and field team is going to have to wait awhile to be at full strength this season.

After capturing the Santa Fe League championship last season, the Guards look to contend for another title in 2017. However, a number of the squad’s impact athletes are still competing for the school’s girls’ basketball team, which is playing in the CIF Southern Section Division V-A championship Saturday and will likely move on to state competition.

“It is definitely going to be awhile longer until we get those key players back from basketball,” Bell-Jeff Coach Jim Couch said. “But I still think we’re going to be alright. Our dual-meet season for league doesn’t start until late-March, so we have time before that for them to be back completely.

“Some of the athletes will also be doing double duty and competing in track before the basketball season ends.”

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

Also looking to defend its league championship is the Burbank boys’ team. Both Bulldogs boys’ and girls’ squads, along with the teams from Burroughs and Providence, possess their share of talent this season.

Here is a closer look at the teams.

BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON

The Guards have all the athletes who captured seven league championships on the girls’ side at last year’s league finals back.

“I think that we are going to be as strong as we were last year and we should again be contenders for the league title,” Couch said. “We had athletes who won league titles last year and none of them were seniors. So, I look for us to have another good year. We are going to be solid.”

The most decorated returner is junior Caitlyn Couch, who won a league championship and helped lead the Guards to state competition in cross-country last fall. During the 2016 track league finals, Couch won individual titles in the 800-meters, 1,600 and 3,200 and teamed up with Dalila Rincan, Valerie Zavala and Vanessa Smith to win the 4x400 relay.

Rincan, a sophomore, took first in the 400 and will again contribute in the relays, sophomore Adaleigh Ramos took first in the 300 hurdles and junior Claire Borot is the defending champion in the triple jump.

Zavala, a junior, will run distance and middle-distance events, while Smith, a senior, will compete in relays and sprints.

On the boys’ side, Bell-Jeff should be led by junior Tim Carlson, the defending league champion in the 800. He will compete in the distance and middle-distance races, along with sophomore Nick Montijo. Also looking to contribute are juniors Canaan Williams and junior Ronald Jurok in the sprints.

“We have a lot of juniors with both of our teams, so we are looking for some big things from our boys and girls this season,” Couch said. “For girls, I think our toughest competition should come from St. Bernard and probably St. Genevieve on the boys’ side. But I think we might just surprise some people and win in both boys and girls this season.”

BURBANK

Last season, the Bulldogs boys’ squad won the Pacific League title for the first time in 31 years. However, the team lost its share of talent to graduation.

“It’s tough losing the caliber of athletes that we lost,” Burbank Coach Darin Wolf said, “but that’s the nature of the business. You’re always going to be losing guys to graduation, so it’s just the next man up and the boys we have now are working hard and now know exactly what it takes to win in this league.”

Seniors Joey Miller and Ayojide Hospidales will return to lead the sprinters and will be joined by freshman-sophomore league champion Odele Hospidales. Juniors Sergio Aguilar and Nathanael Ehmann will take over the hurdling duties, while seniors Angel Flores and Elijah Parrott will lead the distance contingent.

In the field events, senior transfer Vedavit Shetty will contribute in the jumps and relays, senior Josh Cho and sophomore Zion Chaves will handle the pole vaulting duties, while seniors Chris Aslo and Alan Hovanesian will lead the throwers.

For the Burbank girls, they will have a small group this season.

“We have girls with great talent, but just not a lot of depth,” Wolf said. “We are not going to beat anybody by picking up those seconds and thirds. These girls are going to be asked to go out there every meet, max out on their events, and will need to go out and win them, which they can do.”

Seniors Haleigh Cusumano and Kira Bochard return and compete in the sprints, hurdles and jumps. Bochard is the defending Pacific League champion in the 300 hurdles.

Senior Mikaela Teixeira will contribute in the pole vault and sprints, junior Chloe Tilton will contribute in sprints and hurdles, senior Gabby Collins and junior Jamie Giammichele will lead the distance contingent and senior Clara Bishop will compete in the throws.

BURROUGHS

Like Burbank, the Indians lost their share of athletes to graduation. However, Burroughs has arguably the Pacific League’s top female distance runner back, as well as one of the best throwers on the girls’ side.

“We are excited to see what the new season has to bring and to see how the kids embrace the challenges ahead,” Burroughs Coach John Peebles said. “Also, as always, we are excited to see where the kids’ drive and determination takes them.”

On the girls’ side, returning is senior Nadime Younan, the defending league champion and school record holder in the discus. Back for her junior season is Emily Virtue, the 2016 league cross-country champion who also placed ninth in state and was the 2016 All-Area Girls’ Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

Also expected to contribute are sophomore Jada Reese in the sprints, junior Kate Jones in the 400, senior Heidi Eligio in the distance events and senior Izzy Funes in the jumps and the 400.

Burroughs High School's Emily Virtue ran a 17:09.1 and took 5th place in the Girls Division 1, CIF Southern Section Championships Cross Country Finals at Riverside City Cross Country Course in Riverside on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016.

The lone returning league champion for Burroughs on the boys’ side is junior Christian Valles, who took the pole vault title and switched from being a lefty to a righty during the offseason.

“We are a little up in numbers and we probably have 150 kids right now,” Peebles said. “In league, I don’t really know, but Arcadia should be strong, [Crescenta Valley] should be strong, Burbank should be strong. We’ll just take it as it comes. We are a little deficient in certain areas, so it all depends on where our strengths lie versus other teams’ strengths.

PROVIDENCE

The Pioneers will field a small group of around 36 athletes and have a new coach in Mohammed Haddada.

“This is a really good group and I’ve enjoyed working with them,” Haddada said. “We got started a little late because I’m a new coach and I got hired late, so we’ve basically had to start from ground zero with them.

“But other than that, it is a great group and they work hard every day. I’ve been a new coach at other schools before and it usually takes teams awhile to get adjusted to a new coach, but this group of athletes has just jumped in and run with it.”

On the girls’ side, sophomore Kristen Ayap will be looked to contribute in the sprints, relays and the 400.

“She has never run before, but she’s very athletic and she could transition into a star in this sport,” Haddada said.

For the boys, top athletes are expected to be sophomore Ryan Nery in the sprints and 4x100 relay and senior Giancarlo Deligio in the 400 and long jump.

Jeff Tully, jeff.tully@latimes.com

Twitter: @jefftsports