STATE PREP CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS : Edison Won’t Be Alone at Front of Pack

FRESNO —  The Edison girls’ cross-country team can win its second consecutive Division II championship at the CIF State meet Saturday at Woodward Park.

The Chargers have been the State’s top-ranked team all season, but Sunset League rival Ocean View has been slowly catching up in recent weeks. If Edison should falter, Ocean View figures to win its first State title.

Edison and Ocean View are just two of 11 Orange County teams that will compete Saturday. There also are seven county individuals who advanced from last week’s Southern Section championships at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Corona del Mar girls’ team is favored to win the Division III championship and the boys’ teams from Katella and Newport Harbor--in Division II and Division III, respectively--also are title hopefuls.

Here’s a closer look at the meet by divisions that involve county schools.

BOYS’ DIVISION I

Start: 12:45 p.m.

1991 Champion: Newhall Hart.

Favorite: Thousand Oaks.

Dark horses: Hart, Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula, Madera, Concord De La Salle.

County team: Santa Ana.

County individual: Jaime Martinez (Orange).

Noteworthy: Orange County bombed out in this division last season, but Santa Ana and Martinez ran better than expected at last week’s section finals to qualify. However, the county doesn’t figure to be a factor in the State’s strongest division. The team race shapes up as a battle among Hart, Madera of the Central Section, and Thousand Oaks. Thousand Oaks ended Hart’s three-year reign as section champions last week at Mt. SAC. Margarito Casillas of Glendale Hoover figures to be the individual front-runner. Martinez could be a factor.

BOYS’ DIVISION II

Start: 11:30 a.m.

1991 Champion: Concord De La Salle.

Favorite: San Diego Mission Bay.

Dark horses: Agoura, Katella, Sacramento Jesuit, Canyon Country Canyon.

County team: Katella.

Noteworthy: Forget the rest, Katella and Mission Bay are the top teams in this division and have been all season. The Knights, led by a two-three finish by Mike Love and Mike Moreno, routed all comers in winning the Southern Section title last week. Mission Bay’s top runner, Devin Elizondo, finished second in last Saturday’s San Diego Section final. They will all be chasing Agoura’s Ryan Wilson, who ran the fastest time of the day (14 minutes 54 seconds) at Mt. SAC.

BOYS’ DIVISION III

Start: 10:15 a.m.

1991 Champion: Laguna Hills.

Favorite: Newport Harbor.

Dark horses: Livermore, San Diego St. Augustine, San Marino.

County team: Newport Harbor.

County individual: Brendon Mahon (La Habra).

Noteworthy: Newport Harbor has held the State’s top spot all season, and it looks as if it will hold it one more week. The Sailors squeaked past San Marino at the section final and appear to have the upper hand on teams from outside their section, too. Seniors Jared Overton and Sky Peterka finished fifth and seventh, respectively, last week. Mahon qualified as an individual by finishing eighth.

GIRLS’ DIVISION I

Start: 1:20 p.m.

1991 Champion: Agoura.

Favorite: Peninsula.

Dark horses: Agoura, Irvine, San Diego Mt. Carmel, Long Beach Wilson.

County team: Irvine.

County individual: Carrie Caulkins (Esperanza).

Noteworthy: Agoura is the two-time defending State champion and figures to get a push from Peninsula, but no one else. The most intriguing matchup features Amy Skieresz, a sophomore from Agoura, and Milena Glusac, a senior from Fallbrook who is the defending individual champion. Skieresz, who won the Southern Section individual title, set a course record for sophomore girls with her time of 17:24. Glusac won her fourth consecutive San Diego Section title, covering a 2.45-mile course at Morley Field in 14:19. Irvine, led by Kelly Roda, was fourth last season, but could move up Saturday.

GIRLS’ DIVISION II

Start: 12:05 p.m.

1991 Champion: Edison.

Favorites: Edison, Ocean View.

Dark horses: Corona, Escondido San Pasqual, Los Gatos.

County teams: Edison, Ocean View.

County individuals: Lizza Alexander (Tustin), Kim Nelson (Canyon).

Noteworthy: This looms as a rematch of last week’s confusing section final. Edison won the sub-division over Ocean View by a point, but Ocean View defeated Edison by a point in the overall division scoring. The less said about that the better, however. Look for the Chargers and Seahawks to wage another stirring battle Saturday. Elyse Homberger, an Edison sophomore, will contend for the individual title with Michele Cox of Escondido, Melissa Keim of San Pasqual and Nelson. Homberger defeated Nelson, and Cox upset Keim at their respective section finals Saturday.

GIRLS’ DIVISION III

Start: 10:50 a.m.

1991 Champion: Newport Harbor.

Favorite: Corona del Mar.

Dark horses: Aptos, El Modena, Laguna Hills, Oakland Bishop O’Dowd.

County teams: Corona del Mar, El Modena, Laguna Hills, Newport Harbor.

County individual: Sara Valdez (El Dorado).

Noteworthy: Without question this the county’s strongest division from top to bottom. Four teams, led by State meet favorite Corona del Mar, advanced from the section final. The Sea Kings, led by sophomores Tracy Clark and Dresden Howell, should be pressed by Laguna Hills, followed closely by Newport Harbor and El Modena. Laguna Hills’ top runner is Mayra Medina, who had the fastest time (18:16) by a county girl last week.

GIRLS’ DIVISION IV

Start: 9:35 a.m.

1991 Champion: Ojai Nordhoff.

Favorite: Nordhoff.

Dark horses: Laguna Beach, Santa Rosa Ursuline, Susanville Lassen.

County team: Laguna Beach.

County individual: Amber Parkinson (Orange Lutheran).

Noteworthy: This race figures to

be a runaway for Nordhoff with Laguna Beach coming closest of any challenger. It should be another rout for Maribella Aparicio of Fillmore. Parkinson, The Times Orange County’s girls’ track athlete of the year in 1991, showed signs of a comeback after missing the ’92 track season with an assortment of leg injuries. Parkinson won the Division IV-A race in 19:43.