The deed is done: Ocean View boys’ cross-country advances to first state meet

Reporting from Riverside —  There were 10 team titles and 10 individual crowns awarded in Saturday’s CIF Southern Section finals at the Riverside City Cross-Country Course.

None of them will be coming home with the Ocean View High Seahawks, but that will not prevent them from feeling like champions.

For the first time in the history of the program, the Ocean View boys’ cross-country team has advanced to the state championship meet.

The starting seven of Edwin Montes (13^th, 15 minutes, 32.5 seconds), David Brito (21^st, 15:44.3), Miguel Flores (53^rd, 16:14.7), Humberto Molina (84^th, 16:35.2), Jason St. Pierre (86^th, 16:35.8), Parker Walpole, and Alex Hernandez will forever hold that distinction.

St. Pierre provided insight into a team discussion that took place before the Seahawks headed out to their date with destiny.

“We all gathered, and we were basically talking about how a moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory,” the junior said.

Ocean View had been to three consecutive CIF sectional finals, the first three for the Seahawks’ boys’ program. The team had felt well-positioned to make the cut for state the year prior, but it ultimately finished in ninth place.

The top seven teams in each race qualified for state. In addition, the top five individuals from non-qualifying teams who finished in the top 20 of their divisional race advanced. The CIF State championship meet will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday, Nov. 25.

As the Division 3 race got underway on Saturday, the Seahawks did not get off to a great start. The midway race splits had Ocean View running in ninth, and those who could not run the race were filled with anxiety.

“I can’t lie,” Seahawks coach Daniel Hurtado said. “I had flashbacks to last season. We were in ninth place.”

The coaching staff and a group of alumni which included Ryan St. Pierre (Biola) and Hector Arteaga (Concordia) shouted out to current Seahawks that they were in ninth at the halfway point.

Hearing those words struck fear into the hearts of those running the race for Ocean View, a great motivator to make a big second-half push.

As a team, Ocean View picked up 62 points on the course after the one-and-a-half-mile mark. It was enough to send the Seahawks over South Pasadena 242-278 for the seventh and final state berth in Division 3.

Flores and Jason St. Pierre made the biggest rallies, chasing down 43 and 24 competitors, respectively to improve their team’s standing.

Brito, one of two returning starters from last year’s team, said that avoiding the disappointment of the previous year was a driving force for him in the latter part of the race.

“In my head, I was like, ‘I don’t want a repetition of last year. I don’t want a repetition of last year,’” the senior said. “That’s all that was going on from the last mile, all the way to the finish.

“In the kick, as I was finishing, I was like, ‘No, I can’t let these guys pass me. I don’t want that ninth or eighth spot. I want to make it.’”

Having witnessed the second-half race surge, Hurtado saw his team pop up in the sixth position when his team’s fifth runner crossed the finish line. In short order, Ocean View was bumped to seventh as more fifth runners completed their teams’ scores.

“I started talking to my phone, ‘Please don’t change, please don’t change,’ because it was the last spot,” said Hurtado, explaining the nervous moments waiting for the results to become official.

Laguna Beach, which swept the Orange Coast League titles, saw both of its teams move on to state.

The Breakers’ girls are going back to the state meet for the first time since 2014 after earning the coveted seventh spot in their Division 4 race. They did so behind top-25 finishes from Evie Cant (13^th, 18:20.2) and Jessie Rose (25^th, 18:52.2).

Laguna Beach’s boys also advanced past the section finals for the first time since 2013. The Breakers finished second to Los Angeles Cathedral, 63-137.

Junior Ryan Smithers led the charge, taking sixth in 15:41.5.

“It’s amazing, especially for me because my twin sister [Grace] is on the team,” senior Luc La Montage said of both Breakers teams advancing. “We get to do it together. We’ve been here since freshman year working together.

“It makes it feel like it’s our whole school. It gives us school spirit. It’s not sides of the team, boys versus girls. We’re like one big team now.”

Then there was old reliable, as another Corona del Mar girls’ team coached by Bill Sumner qualified for the state meet. The Sea Kings took fifth in Division 3. Annabelle Boudreau (19:09.5), Gigi Lee (19:34.7), Julia Tung (19:39.9), and Emma Montgomery (19:43.4) all finished in the top 50.

Sage Hill’s girls also advanced, buoyed by a sixth-place showing from Brooklyn Button (18:12.9). The Lightning are headed to their third consecutive state meet and seventh in program history.

Two local individuals also earned themselves a road trip to Fresno. Newport Harbor’s Alexis Garcia is going for the second straight year after placing third with a time of 14:57.2 in Division 2.

Costa Mesa’s Diane Molina (5^th, 18:01) was the second. The sophomore looked hobbled after she finished the race, and she was completely unaware that she had posted a top-five placing to earn her first state appearance.

The Mustangs’ ace walked at a limp, grabbing her right hamstring, an injury she said she sustained at the beginning of the race when she stepped in a hole near the starting line.

Once she was told that she had qualified for the state meet, the pain eased up and a grimace turned to a smile.

“Did I? I didn’t even see,” Molina said in a state of surprise upon hearing the news. “Oh, OK. I’m great!

“Oh, that made me so happy. I was just [bothered] because the girl in the white was really aggressive. She made me mad, so that was just my goal to pass her.

“Once I passed her, I went. I was pretty much hurt, but I was determined to beat her. I felt her right next to me at the finish, and Coach [Steve Moreno] was screaming at me, so I just went for it.”

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BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

CIF Southern Section finals

At Riverside City Cross-Country Course

3-mile course

Top seven teams in each race advance to state

Q – denotes state individual qualifier

Division 1

Team Results

1. Great Oak 86; 2. Roosevelt 145; 3. Dana Hills 150; 4. Loyola 175; 5. El Toro 221; 6. Long Beach Poly 235; 7. Crescenta Valley 244; 8. Newbury Park 265; 9. California 312; 10. Arcadia 321

Individuals

1. Bissell (Loyola) 14:39.4; 2. Fitzgerald (Crescenta Valley) 14:39.9; 3. Spencer (Roosevelt) 14:41.6; 4. Carvajal (Great Oak) 14:43.4; 5. Chahal (Burbank Burroughs) 14:46.8Q; 6. Riley (Rancho Cucamonga) 14:47.5Q; 7. Woodward (Corona Centennial) 14:50.6Q; 8. Court (Mira Costa) 14:50.8Q; 9. Villa (Vista Murrieta) 14:51.7Q; 10. Arias (Ayala) 14:52.0

Division 2

Team Results

1. Claremont 108; 2. Saugus 141; 3. West Ranch 157; 4. Sunny Hills 187; 5. Paso Robles 194; 6. Canyon Country Canyon 216; 7. Canyon 220; 8. Redlands East Valley 228; 9. Arroyo Grande 258; 10. Thousand Oaks 259; 17. Newport Harbor 411

Individuals

1. Danforth (Canyon Country Canyon) 14:50.2; 2. Opsahl (Redlands East Valley) 14:53.2; 3. Garcia (Newport Harbor) 14:57.2; 4. Pope (West Ranch) 15:02.8; 5. Seidman (West Ranch) 15:03.2; 6. Chavez (Mission Viejo) 15:09.8; 7. Teasdale (Simi Valley) 15:11.4; 8. Jazo (Arroyo Grande) 15:12.2; 9. Torres (Channel Islands) 15:13.4; 10. Acedo (Kaiser) 15:15.0

Division 3

Team Results

1. West Torrance 77; 2. Palos Verdes 118; 3. Whittier 176; 4. St. John Bosco 180; 5. Brea Olinda 193; 6. Moorpark 207; 7. Ocean View 242; 8. South Pasadena 278; 9. Cathedral City 291; 10. Indio 296; 11. Corona del Mar 312

Individuals

1. Ramos (Rubidoux) 14:55.8Q; 2. Beattie (Buena) 15:07.3Q; 3. Mijarez (Whittier) 15:19.2; 4. Howard (Santa Margarita) 15:19.4Q; 5. Cervantes (Nogales) 15:19.5Q; 6. Lantz (Palos Verdes) 15:20.3; 7. De La Torre (St. John Bosco) 15:21.7; 8. Pereira (Moorpark) 15:23.1; 9. Bautista (Whittier) 15:23.5; 10. Hazzard (West Torrance) 15:29.8; 12. Nunez (Baldwin Park) 15:32.0Q; 13. Montes (Ocean View) 15:32.5; 21. Brito (Ocean View) 15:44.3; 44. Turner (Corona del Mar) 16:03.7; 49. Taylor (Corona del Mar) 16:11.4; 53. Flores (Ocean View) 16:14.7; 84. Molina (Ocean View) 16:35.2; 86. J. St. Pierre (Ocean View) 16:35.8

Division 4

Team Results

1. Cathedral 63; 2. Laguna Beach 137; 3. Foothill Technology 148; 4. El Segundo 173; 5. Bishop Amat 199; 6. San Luis Obispo 216; 7. JSerra 231; 8. Harvard-Westlake 238; 9. Crean Lutheran 244; 10. Covina 266; 15. Costa Mesa 337

Individuals

1. Grover (JSerra) 15:22.9; 2. Herold (JSerra) 15:29.7; 3. Granillo (Cathedral) 15:35.6; 4. Cantu (Cathedral) 15:38.7; 5. Miller (Crean Lutheran) 15:39.8Q; 6. Smithers (Laguna Beach) 15:41.5; 7. Kuchta (Foothill Technology) 15:44.1; 8. Weiss (Crean Lutheran) 15:50.4Q; 9. Diaz (Yucca Valley) 15:51.5Q; 10. Speirs (San Luis Obispo) 15:53.8; 11. Newman (Oaks Christian) 15:54.7Q; 12. Erbes (Oaks Christian) 15:58.1Q; 16. L. La Montagne (Laguna Beach) 16:05.9; 19. Falkowski (Laguna Beach) 16:08.6; 21. Cortez (Costa Mesa) 16:11.9; 39. Nielson (Laguna Beach) 16:34.2; 41. Aguilar (Costa Mesa) 16:35.8; 57. Bianchi (Laguna Beach) 16:47.5

Division 5

Team Results

1. Thacher 82; 2. Valley Christian 117; 3. Flintridge Prep 122; 4. St. Margaret’s 139; 5. Campbell Hall 189; 6. Xavier Prep 218; 7. Woodcrest Christian; 8. Chadwick 264; 9. Ontario Christian 304; 10. St. Pius X-St. Matthias 318; 17. Sage Hill 402

Individuals

1. Pattinelli (Flintridge Prep) 14:51.9; 2. Shively (Pasadena Poly) 14:56.2Q; 3. Moreland (Campbell Hall) 15:28.3; 4. Vreeke (Valley Christian) 15:30.6; 5. Shaper (Thacher) 15:31.0; 6. Kirkpatrick (Thacher) 15:31.1; 7. Domingues (St. Joseph/SM) 15:31.3Q; 8. Rupprecht (Valley Christian) 15:33.6; 9. Laubach (Desert Christian) 15:40.5Q; 10. Gonzales (Desert Christian) 15:40.7Q; Daily (Brentwood) 15:49.2Q; 22. Nataupsky (Sage Hill) 16:19.2; 27. Patel (Sage Hill) 16:28.6

GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

CIF Southern Section finals

At Riverside City Cross-Country Course

3-mile course

Top seven teams in each race advance to state

Q – denotes state individual qualifier

Division 1

Team Results

1. Great Oak 56; 2. Vista Murrieta 138; 3. Arcadia 164; 4. El Toro 207; 5. M.L. King 230; 6. Mira Costa 235; 7. Dana Hills 245; 8. Walnut 259; 9. Redondo Union 286; 10. Fountain Valley 333

Individuals

1. Cortes (Great Oak) 16:27.1; 2. C. Arriaga (Walnut) 16:43.8Q; 3. Peurifoy (M.L. King) 16:51.7; 4. Gaitan (Great Oak) 16:56.8; 5. Virtue (Burbank Burroughs) 16:58.5Q; 6. Messineo (El Toro) 17:10.5; 7. Duarte (Chino Hills) 17:10.6Q; 8. Ramirez (Ayala) 17:13.8Q; 9. E. Arriaga (Walnut) 17:16.4Q; 10. Plughoft (Great Oak) 17:18.9; 34. Faller (Fountain Valley) 18:06.2; 45. Feitz (Fountain Valley) 18:18.3

Division 2

Team Results

1. Claremont 77; 2. Saugus 104; 3. Capistrano Valley 110; 4. Serrano 133; 5. Canyon 173; 6. Mission Viejo 192; 7. Ventura 242; 8. Simi Valley 261; 9. West Ranch 308; 10. Murrieta Valley 341; 21. Marina 514

Individuals

1. Herberg (Capistrano Valley) 16:20.9; 2. Castillo (Saugus) 16:28.4; 3. Leonard (Canyon) 16:59.0; 4. Hines (Mission Viejo) 17:10.8; 5. Hwang (Claremont) 17:18.2; 6. Bautista (Capistrano Valley) 17:20.5; 7. Diaz (Norwalk) 17:24.6Q; 8. Rios (Colony) 17:29.Q; 9. Ramos (Ventura) 17:29.9; 10. Walker (Simi Valley) 17:31.1Q; 18. Asfaw (Thousand Oaks) 17:57.2Q; 47. Ellis (Marina) 18:57.3

Division 3

Team Results

1. Laguna Hills 102; 2. Palos Verdes 130; 3. Oak Park 149; 4. Esperanza 188; 5. Corona del Mar 198; 6. South Torrance 201; 7. West Torrance 202; 8. Moorpark 207; 9. Torrance 219; 10. Granite Hills 255; 18. Ocean View 481

Individuals

1. Cruz-Albrecht (Oak Park) 17:33.8; 2. Shulze (Oak Park) 17:39.7; 3. Vincent (El Dorado) 17:58.4Q; 4. Catena (Palos Verdes) 18:10.0; 5. Steman (Palos Verdes) 18:11.4; 6. Valenti (Brea Olinda) 18:26.6Q; 7. Lopez (Century) 18:31.8Q; 8. Kanuho (Bolsa Grande) 18:36.6Q; 9. Lopes (West Torrance) 18:38.3; 10. Walla (Moorpark) 18:40.4Q; 25. Boudreau (Corona del Mar) 19:09.5; 34. Lee (Corona del Mar) 19:34.7; 37. Tung (Corona del Mar) 19:39.9; 45. Montgomery (Corona del Mar) 19:43.4; 50. Gil (Ocean View) 19:49.2; 73. Sharp (Corona del Mar) 20:15.4

Division 4

Team Results

1. Foothill Technology 70; 2. Mayfield 100; 3. El Segundo 133; 4. Bishop Amat 134; 5. La Canada 159; 6. JSerra 174; 7. Laguna Beach 208; 8. San Luis Obispo 233; 9. St. Lucy’s 317; 10. Harvard-Westlake 322

Individuals

1. Lane (Malibu) 16:32.5; 2. Suarez (Mayfield) 17:34.5; 3. Bond (La Canada) 17:56.2; 4. Smith (Mayfield) 17:57.0; 5. Molina (Costa Mesa) 18:01.0; 6. Blakeman (Foothill Technology) 18:05.4; 7. Tabrizi (JSerra) 18:08.0; 8. McClish (Morro Bay) 18:10.3; 9. Moro (Notre Dame/SO) 18:14.4; 10. Paez (Bishop Amat) 18:15.0; 13. Cant (Laguna Beach) 18:20.2; 25. Rose (Laguna Beach) 18:52.2; 61. Dyrnaes (Laguna Beach) 19:52.1; 65. Read (Laguna Beach) 19:56.5; 70. Ryan (Laguna Beach) 19:59.9

Division 5

Team Results

1. Flintridge Prep 55; 2. St. Margaret’s 101; 3. Sage Hill 162; 4. Thacher 174; 5. Pomona Catholic; 6. Viewpoint 224; 7. Xavier Prep 244; 8. Pasadena Poly 246; 9. Mammoth 285; 10. Academy of Academic Excellence 330

Individuals

1. Barnett (Village Christian) 17:43.1Q; 2. Gitlin (Flintridge Prep) 17:59.0; 3. Carnell (St. Margaret’s) 18:00.7; 4. Codiga (Flintridge Prep) 18:06.5; 5. Miller (Webb) 18:10.1Q; 6. Button (Sage Hill) 18:12.9; 7. Ledesma (Valley Christian) 18:15.5Q; 8. Allen (Flintridge Prep) 18:19.7; 9. May (Xavier Prep) 18:21.8; 10. Harper (Mammoth) 18:38.0Q; 11. Phinney (Pasadena Poly) 18:43.8Q; 33. Carroll (Sage Hill) 19:50.6; 35. Jaffe (Sage Hill) 19:51.3; 40. Warden (Sage Hill) 19:54.8; 68. Miller (Sage Hill) 20:43.4

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