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Teams run for glory - cross country report

Published by
Scott Joerger   Sep 27th 2012, 2:26pm
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Teams run for glory

cross country report
By Gilberto Manzano
 
  
The Simi Valley High girls’ cross country team is favored to defend its Marmonte League championship. The Pioneers are also gunning for a state title.
 
Westlake, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks are grappling for second place.
 

The field is wide open on the boys’ circuit.

Simi Valley, Moorpark and Royal are giving defending league champ Westlake a fight.

Agoura and Calabasas continue to improve.

All eight schools square off at league finals Thurs., Nov. 1 on the Chargers’ home course.

The Ventura County championships are Fri., Oct. 26 at Lake Casitas in Ojai.

Here’s a closer look at the Marmonte squads:

WESTLAKE WARRIORS

Senior Rocky Peterson said the Westlake boys’ team has the most talent in school history.

The Warriors, who reached the CIF finals in 2011, will try to back up Peterson’s bold words with their first trip to the state meet.

“I’m going to try to do everything I can to get us there,” Peterson said. “I know the whole team wants it bad. If we live up to our potential, we’ll win league and make it to state.”

Peterson is one of many standouts for the defending Marmonte champion Warriors.

Junior Mikey Giguere leads the pack with a consistent time in the low 15-minute range.

Peterson and sophomore Graham Rigby alternate at the No. 2 slot.

Juniors Chris Costa, Sean O’Bryan and senior Michael Lacey reinforce the Warriors’ depth.

Senior Michael Hammer and sophomore Ryan Finch battle for the seventh spot.

The Westlake girls are coming off a fourth-place finish at league finals last fall.

Sophomore Jenny Giguere— Mikey Giguere’s sister—propels the girls’ squad.

Jenny Giguere finished fifth during league finals in 2011.

Sophomore Clarice Douille and senior Andi Lorch bolster the top-three spots.

Junior Kelly Colwell and senior Alicia Williamson round out the starting five.

Thousand Oaks Lancers

The Lancers don’t rebuild. They reload.

Thousand Oaks lost its top four runners from last season’s state meet squad, but the Lancers aren’t missing a step.

Second-year head coach Keena Carstensen said the Lancers can finish second in the Marmonte League.

“We put all our eggs in one basket with last year’s team,” said Carstensen, who’s been on the coaching staff for 15 seasons.

“This team is also talented. They’re all competitors. Their strength is speed.”

Senior Genevieve Johnson catapulted from the middle of the pack to the No. 1 position.

Johnson has a killer kick, according to her coach.

Senior Parker Navarro holds the No. 2 position.

Parker missed the 2011 cross country season due to injury, but she came back strong in the spring for track. She advanced to CIF preliminaries in the 800-meter race.

Kori Groenveld is locked in as the No. 3 runner.

First-year varsity runner Melissa Russett, a senior, has improved. Juniors Alyson Whitworth, Graciela Godinez and Yvette Trejo still fight for starting jobs.

Senior Jake Ledbetter leads the Lancer boys.

Junior Chris Garvin can also keep up with Ledbetter.

Sophomore Brian Joerger is another long-distance runner to watch. Joerger is the younger brother of Melanie Joerger, the Lancer girls’ top runner in 2011.

Junior Ben Thomas and seniors Bryce Maki, Michael Guerrero and Matt Wells also start.

NEWBURY PARK PANTHERS

The Newbury Park girls run like a pack of wolves—they work as a team.

The Panthers’ top seven runners consistently finish races within one minute of each other.

NPHS has three No. 1-caliber athletes: junior Rachel Dean, freshman Swathi Samuel and senior Taylor Burns.

“Taylor Burns is under-theradar, and you’ll always see her in the middle of the pack,” girls’ head coach Jenny Kenyon said. “Rachel Dean likes to settle in the back and has a good kick.

“Swathi doesn’t know what she’s capable of. She’s going to be big for us in the future.”

Five Panther girls earned top-10 finishes in a tri-meet with Moorpark and Royal last week.

Seniors Rachel Runucci, Hannah Hurley, Keara Tuso and sophomore Natalie Cox complete the starting pack.

Junior Jonathan Byrne leads the charge for the Panther boys.

“The Marmonte has some of the best teams in Southern California,” said boys’ head coach Martin Maciel. “We’re inexperienced and we’re not where we should be. Later on in the year, they’ll start surprising some people.”

Juniors Frederick Pond and Chris Hamilton also run well.

Freshman Logan Beteta, senior Jeffery Newmark and junior Adam Wright complement Newbury Park’s lineup.

CALABASAS COYOTES

Clayton Graham set multiple records as a Coyote. He’s back to lead the program from the sidelines.

A 2008 CHS graduate, Graham returned as an assistant coach last year. He was named the boys’ head coach in the offseason.

“I never saw myself as a head coach,” Graham said. “It’s a different experience, but I came back to help Calabasas any way I can.”

Graham holds the school record for the 3-mile home course. He also holds Coyote track records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter races.

The Coyotes are making positive strides with Graham.

Colin Nierenberg is the lone senior in the top-seven for the Coyote boys.

Sophomore Ben Vertelney and freshman Leighton Mair bolster the lineup.

Juniors Billy Tipp, Lucas Hester, Brendan Lau, Patrick Guardian and Ross Edwards contribute for Calabasas.

Donna Watts is in her eighth season guiding the CHS girls. Her daughter, Cheyenne Watts, a senior, anchors the experienced Coyotes.

Senior Sydney Cassel is positioned in the No. 2 spot. Sophomore Abagil Ralph has improved from last season.

Seniors Rebecca Wilder and Allegra Leedom are top runners. Sophomores Jordan Krekorian and Darby Tarlow also aid Calabasas.

AGOURA CHARGERS

The Charger girls placed near the top of the pack at the Bell-Jeff Invitational at Griffith Park last week.

That’s not the best part for head coach Cathy Prater.

Agoura nearly toppled league rival Moorpark, which medaled at the meet.

“(Moorpark) got the message that we can run with them,” Prater said. “Our girls’ team is returning with a new attitude.”

Senior Rachel Deluca secured first place during Agoura’s league meet against Calabasas last week.

Deluca doesn’t overanalyze conditions during races, and she hounds the top runners, Prater said.

Deluca competed for the track team her freshman and sophomore years, but this is her first cross country season.

Sophomore Taylor Garrison battles Deluca for the top spot.

Seniors Jordi Baraad and Carly Simon hold the No. 3 and No. 4 slots, respectively.

Juniors Rebecca Baldree, Kelsie Garrison and senior Bailey Higa aid the squad.

SIMI VALLEY PIONEERS

Here’s a scary thought: Sarah Baxter continues to get faster and stronger.

A junior superstar with two state championships, Baxter has set two course records this season.

Baxter shattered her own record at the Fastback Shootout, a 1.9-mile race, clocking in at 11 minutes flat.

Baxter, the defending Nike Cross National champion, set a course record at the Woodbridge Classic with a solid time of 16:12.

“She’s as healthy as she’s ever been,” said girls’ head coach Roger Evans of Baxter. “She’s stopped growing, but she continues to get stronger.”

When Baxter arrived at SVHS, she wasn’t even 5 feet tall. At 5-foot-6, Baxter still breezes past all foes.

The Pioneers entered the season No. 1 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1. Great Oak is the current top squad, followed by the Pioneers at No. 2.

Standouts Rachel Vinas, a senior, and sophomore Olivia Rosellini have been sidelined with injuries.

Simi Valley is the clear-cut favorite to win the Marmonte title again, but the Pioneers need to be healthy to repeat as CIF section champs.

Sophomore Sarah Riggs occupies the No. 3 spot for Simi Valley.

Junior Charlotte Utash, sophomore Desirae Jones, senior Courtney Korven and sophomore Samantha Tetef add depth to this talented lineup.

The Simi Valley boys don’t generate splashy headlines, but they’re making noise in the Marmonte.

The defending champ Westlake Warriors squeaked by the Pioneers for a two-point victory during a league meet at Corriganville Park last week.

Simi Valley seniors Jonathan Feeler, Niko Utash and Jackson Chirigotis lead a solid pack.

Juniors Cole Anderson, Garrett LePine, Kyle Miller and senior Eric Delgado also contribute for the Pioneers.

ROYAL HIGHLANDERS

The Highlander boys’ won nine Marmonte championships in the 2000s. This decade, Royal doesn’t have any titles.

Head coach Ryan Luce, now in his 13th season guiding Royal, is itching to revive the glory days.

“We’ve been out of the spotlight for the last couple years,” Luce said. “I wouldn’t mind getting first place again. It never gets old.”

Adding senior Zach Dion to the lineup is a coup.

Dion last suited up for Westlake in 2010.

According to Luce, Dion stopped racing to focus on schoolwork.

Dion ran a remarkable time of 14:41 at the Seaside Invitational earlier this month.

Dion and junior Ryan Klachko alternate at the No. 1 spot.

Klachko placed first in the trimeet against Newbury Park and Moorpark last week.

Seniors Vince Astuvi, Anthony Steinwender, Tommy Foudy, Luis Chavez and junior David Poach round out Royal’s starting core.

Sophomore Brianne Holland leads the Highlander girls.

Holland excels at attacking hills. She finished third in the Marmonte finals last season.

Junior Emely Amaya, the No. 2 runner, suffered an ankle injury earlier this month, but she’s close to regaining her form.

Senior Caroline Foudy and freshman Sarah Lowe are the No. 3 and No. 4 runners, respectively.

Sophomore Ashley Koning and seniors Ashni Nadgauda and Katie Lovell are varsity newcomers.

MOORPARK MUSKETEERS

The Musketeers are off to a fast start.

The Moorpark boys’ and girls’ teams both enjoyed solid races at the Bell-Jeff Invitational at Griffith Park last weekend.

Michael Picchini and Monika Gyalay placed sixth and third in their respective races.

Picchini, a junior, will be a contender for a Marmonte crown.

Senior captains Teerth Patel and Michael Keller are the No. 3 and No. 2 runners, respectively.

Sophomore Garet Kaul, junior Colin Silver, sophomore Luis Jaras and senior Frank Kline aid the Musketeer boys’ squad.

Gyalay leads the girls’ squad.

A sophomore, Gyalay took first in the league tri-meet at Peppertree Park against Newbury Park and Royal last week.

“Monika has improved tremendously from her freshman year,” said MHS girls’ head coach Scott Mangers.

“Having her gives us a chance to make the state meet.”



Read the full article at: www.toacorn.com

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