Burnett qualifies for NAIA nationals

Erik Boal

Editor’s note: In an effort to keep track of local high school

athletes who now compete in college, the News-Press will devote

space twice a week, usually Mondays and Thursdays, to an update.

GLENDALE -- Ryan Burnett (La Canada, 2000) junior distance

runner, Point Loma Nazarene University men’s cross-country -- Burnett

extended his string of being the Crusaders’ top finisher to eight

straight races, but Saturday’s performance was extra special for the

former five-time Rio Hondo League champion (cross-country and

track).

With his sixth-place finish at the National Assn. of

Intercollegiate Athletics Region II Championship at Woodward Park in

Fresno, Burnett became the first Point Loma runner since 1998 to

qualify for the NAIA National Championship, scheduled for Nov. 23 in

Kenosha, Wisc.

Burnett clocked 25 minutes 46 seconds on the 8,000-meter course,

improving on his previous-best time -- set Oct. 26 at the Golden

State Athletic Conference Championship -- by nine seconds to secure

the final automatic berth (all members of the Region II team champion

and the top five finishers not on the championship squad advance).

The Crusaders -- ranked No. 22 in the NAIA national top 25 --

took third with 86 points behind No. 19 Cal State San Marcos, which

won the meet with 47 points.

Burnett’s time at the regional meet was 56 seconds faster than

last year, when he took 21st.

Amy Foss (La Canada, 1999) senior distance runner,

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College women’s cross-country -- Foss became a

four-time All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

honoree with her 13th-place finish out of 88 runners at the Nov. 2

conference championship, clocking 24 minutes 23.99 seconds on the

6,000-meter course at Prado Park in Chino to earn second-team

accolades and help the Athenas to a second-place finish with 40

points.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior Angela Jacquez won the race in

22:45.67 and Occidental won the event with 30 points.

A three-time all-conference first-team performer, Foss -- who took

17th in a 5,000-meter race in 19:23 on Oct. 19 -- finished fourth as

a junior, sixth as a sophomore and seventh as a freshman.

In addition, Foss is a three-time West Region qualifier --

finishing a personal-best seventh as a freshman -- and a two-time

national qualifier, taking 149th last season and 67th in 1999.

Jenny Rowland (Flintridge Prep, 2001) sophomore forward, Air

Force Academy women’s soccer -- The 2001 News-Press All-Area Player

of the Year tallied a goal in a 3-0 Mountain West Conference win

Nov. 3 against Wyoming, lifting the Falcons (7-12, 2-4 in conference)

to their second straight win following a tough start, which included

a pair of 1-0 overtime losses to Nevada-Las Vegas and San Diego

State.

The goal was Rowland’s fourth of the season and her team-leading

second in conference play, but it wasn’t enough for her to secure a

spot for the second straight year on the all-conference team as just

two Air Force players were recognized.

After tallying 54 goals her final two seasons at Flintridge Prep,

Rowland recorded seven goals and four assists in 20 matches to earn

conference Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference honors

in 2001.

In 39 career matches, Rowland has 11 goals, four assists and 26

points for the Falcons, who lost to New Mexico, 1-0, in the first

round of the conference tournament Wednesday in Provo, Utah.

Sean O’Connor (St. Francis, 2002) freshman goalkeeper, Belmont

Abbey College (N.C.) men’s soccer -- The two-time News-Press All-Area

first-team selection continues to be a catalyst for the Division II

Crusaders (12-7-2), who secured the No. 2 seed in the

Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference tournament after posting a

9-1-1 conference record during the regular season.

Unfortunately for O’Connor, even some of his best efforts weren’t

enough to propel Belmont Abbey into the tournament’s championship

match, as it fell to No. 3-seed Lees-McRae College (N.C.), 1-0, in

Saturday’s semifinal.

O’Connor -- who tallied 19 shutouts during his final two seasons

at St. Francis -- has allowed 25 goals in 19 matches (1.32 goals-against average) and tallied five shutouts, ranking him third

in the conference.

He also boasts a 11-6-2 record, which is the second-most wins of

any goalkeeper in the conference, in addition to ranking in the top

10 with 79 saves.

Emily Clark (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2002) freshman

defender, Catholic University (D.C.) women’s soccer -- The Cardinals

(12-5) ended one of the most successful seasons in school history

with a 2-1 loss to York College (Penn.) in the first round of the

Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 3.

Clark, who recorded one of her team’s eight shots on goal in the

loss, played in 12 matches -- starting the final five -- contributing

to a defense that allowed 22 goals in 17 matches and posted four

shutouts.

Catholic enjoyed a seven-match winning streak during the regular

season.