CdM girls’ cross-country qualifies for state meet
The road toward state qualification began nearly one year ago to the day for the Corona del Mar High girls’ cross-country team.
Melisse Djomby-Enyawe, then a sophomore, advanced as an individual, but the Sea Kings were unable to make the cut as a team. They vowed not to let it happen again.
Corona del Mar made good on its goal, earning a coveted trip to Fresno with its fourth-place finish in the Division 3 race of the CIF Southern Section finals on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.
The top seven teams from each race in the section championships advanced to the state meet, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 at Woodward Park.
Djomby-Enyawe played a starring role once again for CdM, placing second in 17 minutes, 38.8 seconds, behind only Allura Markow (17:31.4), who led the way for Division 3 champion Dana Hills.
Also factoring into the scoring five for CdM were Ellie Rosing (22nd, 19:25.2), Bea Douglass (24th, 19:29.2), Mia Ben-Zvi (65th, 20:46.5) and Alex Law (76th, 21:03.8).
“So much better,” Djomby-Enyawe said of qualifying for state as a team. “Although we don’t necessarily always stick together throughout the race, I just know that they’re in the race. We all worked hard to get where we are. … It’s a relief, and I’m really happy we made it.”
Marina’s Ella Murray put together a strong showing in placing 17th (18:44.9) in the Division 2 girls’ race. The top 20 in each race were eligible to advance to state, but a maximum of five at-large bids went to individuals who met the criteria. The last individual qualifier in the race was Portola’s Sophie Guilfoile (12th, 18:30.7). Newport Harbor’s Keaton Robar (24th, 19:09.3) also ran as an individual in the race.
From league finals on, the cross-country schedule is unforgiving with four successive elimination rounds. Newport Harbor standout Kenny Wanlass fell victim to an illness in the CIF preliminaries, and Huntington Beach ace Makenzie McRae faced that misfortune in the finals.
Huntington Beach coach Kareen Shackelford said her team had been hit hard by the flu. After leading the Oilers to the state meet last year, McRae was denied in her bid for a repeat performance.
Laguna Beach was the first team left out for state qualifying in the Division 4 girls’ race, albeit with a significant gap of 159-234 for seventh place, which was claimed by Studio City Harvard-Westlake. Yolo Javier (36th, 19:22.6) paced the Breakers.
“The team ran really well,” Laguna Beach coach Steve Lalim said. “[Our scoring five] gap was only 46 seconds. We knew it was going to be a challenge, as Division 4 is super competitive. We went after it, but just got beat by seven very good teams.”
Sage Hill placed ninth in the Division 5 girls’ race. Serena Chao (46th, 21:35.7) led a Lightning pack with just a 54-second spread.
Fountain Valley, unranked in the year-end CIF poll, finished 10th in the Division 1 boys’ race. Diego Alonso (16th, 15:25.7) and Benjamin Prado (20th, 15:30.3) both broke into the top 20, but it was Long Beach Millikan’s Jason Parra (12th, 15:15.1) who posted the time to beat for the last individual state berth. Huntington Beach’s Jacob McQuirk (22nd, 15:33.1) also competed as an individual in the heat.
“It’s definitely Reservoir [Hill],” Alonso said when asked about the most challenging part of the Mt. SAC cross-country course. “Especially the back side of Reservoir, the flat part, it’s almost deceiving, because it’s flat, but at the same time, you’re tired. You just went up two hills, so it’s hard to keep the pace going and catch people.”
Freshman Kevin Steinman (36th, 16:24.6) paced CdM in the Division 3 boys’ race.
BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
CIF Southern Section finals
At Mt. San Antonio College
3-mile course
Division 1
Team Results
1. San Clemente 73; 2. Great Oak 95; 3. Trabuco Hills 149; 4. Crescenta Valley 150; 5. Arcadia 175; 6. Loyola 195; 7. Santiago/Corona 204; 8. Millikan 228; 9. Beckman 233; 10. Fountain Valley 245
Individuals
1. Donis (Highland) 14:35.0; 2. Chantaca (San Clemente) 14:59.8; 3. Simmons (Crescenta Valley) 15:00.4; 4. Rhone (Long Beach Poly) 15:07.9; 5. Rodriguez (Great Oak) 15:08.0; 6. Castillo (Etiwanda) 15:08.1; 7. Dominguez (Santa Ana) 15:08.9; 8. Ratkovich (Loyola) 15:09.5; 9. Catsimanes (San Clemente) 15:11.5; 10. Williams (Trabuco Hills) 15:12.0; 16. Alonso (Fountain Valley) 15:25.7; 22. McQuirk (Huntington Beach) 15:33.1
Division 2
Team Results
1. Newbury Park 25; 2. Ventura 90; 3. Mira Costa 129; 4. Tesoro 150; 5. Santa Barbara 173; 6. Saugus 182; 7. Ayala 205; 8. El Toro 227; 9. Hart 233; 10. Glendora 246
Individuals
1. Lex Young (Newbury Park) 14:38.1; 2. Leo Young (Newbury Park) 14:38.2; 3. Sahlman (Newbury Park) 14:43.8; 4. Fast Horse (Ventura) 14:57.3; 5. Grossman (Ventura) 14:58.6; 6. Seymour (Newbury Park) 15:00.6; 7. Barber (Westlake) 15:05.4; 8. Kushen (Tesoro) 15:14.1; 9. Hartline (El Toro) 15:14.8; 10. DeGeorge (Ventura) 15:15.6
Division 3
Team Results
1. Dana Hills 89; 2. Moorpark 125; 3. Santa Margarita 141; 4. Thousand Oaks 142; 5. West Ranch 146; 6. West Torrance 157; 7. Dos Pueblos 169; 8. Mission Viejo 198; 9. Agoura 207; 10. Brea Olinda 246
Individuals
1. Noonan (Dana Hills) 15:03.7; 2. Vielma (Sonora) 15:13.1; 3. Issa (West Ranch) 15:13.2; 4. Wallace (Redlands East Valley) 15:14.9; 5. Gordon (Dos Pueblos) 15:33.4; 6. McDaniel (Mission Viejo) 15:39.6; 7. Galindo (Savanna) 15:43.5; 8. Yunker (Santa Margarita) 15:45.7; 9. Cohen (West Torrance) 15:47.9; 10. Smith (Moorpark) 15:49.3.
Division 4
Team Results
1. St. Francis 76; 2. Palos Verdes 93; 3. St. John Bosco 123; 4. Foothill Technology 135; 5. Cathedral 137; 6. Oaks Christian 176; 7. Burroughs/Ridgecrest 223; 8. South Pasadena 239; 9. La Canada 245; 10. JSerra 252
Individuals
1. Perez (Cathedral) 14:50.5; 2. Ortiz (Burroughs) 15:04.9; 3. Billings (Foothill Technology) 15:09.2; 4. Romero (El Segundo) 15:10.0; 5. Owen (St. Francis) 15:10.9; 6. Smith (Oaks Christian) 15:14.7; 7. Typrowicz (Palos Verdes) 15:19.2; 8. Jex (Big Bear) 15:24.3; 9. Hernandez (Cathedral) 15:25.9; 10. Metcalf (St. Francis) 15:32.9
Division 5
Team Results
1. Viewpoint 123; 2. St. Margaret’s 135; 3. Windward 157; 4. Woodcrest Christian 175; 5. Providence/Burbank 176; 6. Hawthorne MSA 179; 7. Valley Christian/Cerritos 201; 8. Thacher 208; 9. Crossroads 210; 10. Cate 247
Individuals
1. Turk (Woodcrest Christian) 15:14.6; 2. Capelle (St. Margaret’s) 15:36.3; 3. Kubler (Valley Christian) 15:37.7; 4. Thomas (Chadwick) 15:42.1; 5. Guckert (Crossroads) 15:56.7; 6. Winheim (Desert Christian) 15:58.5; 7. Sutch (Cate) 16:07.6; 8. Virtue (Providence) 16:08.9; 9. Lovett (Academy for Academic Excellence) 16:11.3; 10. Udelson-Nee (Wildwood) 16:12.8; 36. Steinman (Corona del Mar) 16:24.6
GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
CIF Southern Section finals
At Mt. San Antonio College
3-mile course
Division 1
Team Results
1. Great Oak 76; 2. Santiago/Corona 81; 3. Rancho Cucamonga 88; 4. Trabuco Hills 167; 5. Long Beach Poly 202; 6. Santa Monica 211; 7. Quartz Hill 219; 8. Vista Murrieta 227; 9. Los Alamitos 236; 10. Redondo Union 242
Individuals
1. Gaffney (Great Oak) 17:29.1; 2. Benun (Santa Monica) 17:34.6; 3. Blade (Santiago) 17:45.6; 4. Lopez (Santa Ana) 17:48.3; 5. Fedio (Redondo Union) 17:51.3; 6. Smith (Quartz Hill) 17:55.5; 7. Weber (Beckman) 17:59.4; 8. Hsieh (Arcadia) 18:00.5; 9. Kirk (Vista Murrieta) 18:12.4; 10. Brinkman (Trabuco Hills) 18:14.1; 23. McRae (Huntington Beach) 18:46.5
Division 2
Team Results
1. Newbury Park 70; 2. Ventura 125; 3. Mira Costa 130; 4. Canyon 148; 5. Claremont 149; 6. Citrus Valley 178; 7. El Toro 187; 8. Peninsula 210; 9. Westlake 223; 10. Murrieta Valley 237
Individuals
1. Engelhardt (Ventura) 17:12.8; 2. Chittenden (Mira Costa) 17:25.3; 3. Curtis (Ventura) 17:40.4; 4. Zdanavage (Portola) 17:44.9; 5. Sax (Newbury Park) 17:55.4; 6. Hawkins (Newbury Park) 17:55.5; 7. Chen (Claremont) 17:55.9; 8. Browne (J.W. North) 18:01.7; 9. Kordic (Peninsula) 18:04.8; 10. Callanan (Peninsula) 18:19.2; 17. Murray (Marina) 18:44.9; 24. Robar (Newport Harbor) 19:09.3
Division 3
Team Results
1. Dana Hills 52; 2. South Torrance 110; 3. Moorpark 154; 4. Corona del Mar 163; 5. Yorba Linda 183; 6. Shadow Hills 191; 7. West Torrance 202; 8. San Marcos 215; 9. Dos Pueblos 224; 10. Santa Margarita 242
Individuals
1. Markow (Dana Hills) 17:31.4; 2. Djomby-Enyawe (Corona del Mar) 17:38.8; 3. Lopez (Shadow Hills) 17:57.4; 4. Rome (Yorba Linda) 18:03.2; 5. Ivarsson (Dana Hills) 18:17.1; 6. Osorio (West Covina) 18:25.0; 7. Polay (Santa Margarita) 18:28.3; 8. Villareal (Citrus Hill) 18:29.9; 9. Thomas (Santa Margarita) 18:31.5; 10. Esponda (South Torrance) 18:37.4
Division 4
Team Results
1. JSerra 56; 2. Oaks Christian 101; 3. La Canada 104; 4. Palos Verdes 109; 5. South Pasadena 120; 6. Bishop Amat 150; 7. Harvard-Westlake 159; 8. Laguna Beach 234; 9. Laguna Hills 264; 10. Esperanza 287
Individuals
1. Godsey (Oaks Christian) 16:54.2; 2. DeBrouwer (La Canada) 17:09.8; 3. Barker (Laguna Hills) 17:20.4; 4. Wilson (JSerra) 17:47.0; 5. Arredondo (Bishop Amat) 17:48.8; 6. Ebiner (Bishop Amat) 17:50.9; 7. Garcia (JSerra) 17:53.0; 8. Hollander (Beverly Hills) 18:01.6; 9. Colebrooke (Oaks Christian) 18:05.3; 10. Errington (South Pasadena) 18:08.7; 36. Javier (Laguna Beach) 19:22.6
Division 5
Team Results
1. Viewpoint 63; 2. Xavier College Prep 79; 3. Cate 93; 4. St. Margaret’s 98; 5. St. Lucy’s 137; 6. Providence/Burbank 158; 7. Linfield Christian 201; 8. Chadwick 226; 9. Sage Hill 232; 10. Aquinas 281
Individuals
1. Elbaz (Xavier College Prep) 17:57.4; 2. Mackey (Viewpoint) 18:12.3; 3. Barrett (Buckley) 18:26.0; 4. Eaton (Providence) 18:27.3; 5. Li (St. Margaret’s) 18:28.2; 6. Gutman (Viewpoint) 18:44.9; 7. Saas (Xavier College Prep) 18:51.7; 8. Corvese (St. Lucy’s) 19:01.0; 9. Samson (Webb) 19:06.0; 10. Zambrano (St. Paul) 19:29.7; 46. Chao (Sage Hill) 21:35.7
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