What’s next? Fresno

The goal all season long for the Laguna Beach High boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams has been to get to Fresno.

That’s exactly where both teams will be Saturday.

Both Laguna teams earned a ticket to compete at the CIF State Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park each by running to a top-five finish at the CIF Southern Section Cross-Country Championships finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

The Laguna boys’ team finished in second place in the Division 4 competition, and the Laguna girls’ team took fourth in Division 4.

The boys’ team, which is returning to Fresno for the first time in two years, turned in a team time of 1 hour, 21 minutes, 29 seconds, which Coach Scott Wittkop said was the second-fastest team time in school history.

“This was a team performance and I could not be happier for their success, and we look forward to competing at the State finals,” Wittkop said.

Cameron Zuziak achieved All-CIF status with a run of 15:42 which landed the junior in ninth place. Wittkop said Zuziak’s time was the second-fastest all-time time for a Laguna runner on the Mt. SAC course. Other finishes for the Breakers were: senior Casey Koprowski, 16:04, 16th place; sophomore Mason Pitz, 16:29, 37th; senior Veda Rebollar, 16:30, 38th; junior Grant Barton, 16:44, 50th; senior Ian Ring, 17:15, 79th, and sophomore Drake Butler, 17:24, 87th.

The Breakers will run at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. The Division 4 State finals field also includes Southern Section champion Xavier Prep, Harvard-Westlake, JSerra, Salesian, Morro Bay and Santa Ynez.

The Laguna girls’ took fourth among 16 teams Saturday at the CIF Southern Section finals and in the process, set the all-time top team time (1:38:06) in school history at Mt. SAC, Coach Steve Lalim said.

The Breakers last qualified for the State meet in 2011 and finished in sixth place.

“I am so excited for the girls,” Lalim said. “Our goal this season was to qualify for the State meet, and we met that goal. We’ve put ourselves in a position compete for a state title. Anything is possible at the State meet.”

Freshman Kirsten Landseidel led the Breakers at CIF Southern Section finals with a time of 19:05 and a 15th-place finish. Other Laguna times included: junior Brenna Merchant, 19:28, 26th, sophomore Pearl Shoemaker, 19:36, 32nd; junior Natalie Kimball, 19:51, 40th; senior Eliza Romero, 20:06, 47th; junior Janie Crawford, 20:12, 52nd, and freshman Greer Jacobs, 20:16, 53rd.

Vying with the Breakers for the Division 4 girls’ State crown are defending champion JSerra, Harvard/Westlake, Big Bear, La Reina, Nipomo, and Oaks Christian.

The Division 4 girls’ race starts at 12:50 p.m.

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CIF Girls’ Tennis

Five members of the girls’ tennis team competed Monday at the CIF Individual Qualifying Sectionals at Corona del Mar High.

In doubles play, Orange Coast League team champion Sarah Nederlander and Madeline Loomis received a first-round bye and then defeated Connie Yu/Brianna Rayhoun of Sage Hill, 6-4, 6-2. Nederlander and Loomis were eliminated from title contention after the pair was defeated in the third-round by Amanda Zuideman/Helena Bui of Anaheim Canyon, 6-2, 6-0.

The Laguna team of Bailey Jaeger and Natasha Keces, finalists in Orange Coast League double tournament, also received a first-round bye. Jaeger and Keces fell in the second round to Lauren Candia/Justine Phillips of Canyon.

In the singles tournament, Ashley Shelton, runner-up to the OCL title, played a strong first match against Katie Chang of Santa Margarita but fell to the Trinity League champion.

Laguna’s Kira Hamilton, the OCL singles champion, also qualified for the CIF sectional but didn’t compete at the tournament due to injuries.

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Girls’ Basketball

The Breakers opened their 2013-14 season Tuesday (Nov. 26) at Newport Harbor, and dropped a 40-31 nonleague game to the Sailors.

Laguna led by five (20-15) at halftime but was outscored by 10 points in the third quarter.

Sophomore forward Jackie Cenan led the Breakers in scoring with 16 points. Senior center Jane Wallin and sophomore guard Alex Lewis both scored six points.

“We were short two players so our bench wasn’t as deep,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said. “I think fatigue set in for us at the end of the game.

“We made some turnovers and didn’t keep them off the boards. They were opportunistic at the end, and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

Laguna starts play Tuesday at the Oxford Patriot Tournament in Cypress. The Breakers take on Westminster La Quinta at 6 p.m.

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CIF Preseason Rankings

Girls’ Water Polo: Laguna Beach (No. 1, Division 1)