Boys cross country: McMillen wins

Steve Virgen

IRVINE - Before the Orange Country Championships, few recognized

Chris McMillen’s cross country talent. The media and just about every

coach had their favorites and McMillen was probably not on the list.

But, on Saturday morning at Irvine Park, the Newport Harbor High

senior added to his growing reputation with a first-place time of 15:02,

leading the Sailors to the boys team title in the Division I sweepstakes

race, which included 15 schools and 101 runners.

Earlier this year he ran a 16:17 at Huntington Beach Central Park as

Harbor finished second in Division I circles. And he was sixth at

Stanford with a 16:28 over the 3.1-mile course on the Cardinal campus as

Newport claimed Division II honors.

“It did not surprise me that (McMillen) won,” said Harbor Coach Bim

Barry. “I knew he was ready to run today. He’s been training really

hard.”

Some of that training, however, has been done without his teammates,

who also do not see McMillen on campus.

McMillen attends classes at Orange Coast Middle College High School,

an alternative school to help academic underachievers.

The arrangement forces McMillen to miss two practices a week, so he

spends extra time training with former Harbor and UC Santa Barbara

standout Trent Bryson.

Harbor’s championship included Jesus Santana (11th in 15:35), who

Barry said is getting better every week.

Also, John Peschelt (27th in 15:59) Ivan Romero (30th in 16:01) helped

Harbor earn the right to call itself one of the top programs in the

county.

“It certainly wasn’t a fluke,” Barry said of Harbor’s first-place

finish. “If we did (make a statement), we certainly have to go out and

prove it again.”

Harbor’s Alec Urtusuastegui (16:15) finished 39th and teammate Joel

Furman (16:21) was 47th. Chris Negrete posted a strong time of 16:48 over

the three-mile course.

“It’s pretty bizarre to have Chris get (first place),” said Peschelt.

“We were all pretty quiet about it. We had an idea he would do this.”

Though the Sailors benefited from their depth, McMillen’s first-place

run, a personal best, was also just as crucial to the team triumph.

Harbor finished 10 points ahead of second-place Santa Ana.

“It was what my coach expected out of me,” McMillen, the Sea View

League champion at 1,600 meters last spring, said. “I just believed I

could do it.”

McMillen, 23rd at CIF Southern Section finals last fall, said training

with Bryson, the CIF Division III-A individual champion in 1993, has

helped his rise to the top. McMillen said Bryson has given him valuable

advice on all aspects of racing.

Corona del Mar and Estancia finished 14th and Estancia 15th,

respectively in the sweepstakes race, but the Eagles suffered an even

greater loss.

Sophomore standout Humberto Rojas, Estancia’s top runner, didn’t

finish the course because of a strained right hip, sustained in a fall

after he tripped over another runner.

Estancia Coach Charlie Appell said he has never experienced a season

with so many injuries, especially with the girls team. Rojas’ injury just

made things worse.

“(Rojas’ injury is) why we did so poorly,” Appell said. “That’s the

first time ever he didn’t finish a race.”

Despite the injuries, Appell said the Eagles are “still hanging

tough,” but will need to return to health to realize their potential.

Estancia was led by Mike Casillas, who finished 35th in 16:07. Gerardo

Orozco came was 47th in 16:22.

Josh Yelsey (15:42) led Corona del Mar with his 15th-place finish.

Travis Beardslee was 37th place in 16:10.

ORANGE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Boys Division I sweepstakes

Team - 1. Newport Harbor, 108; 2. Santa Ana, 118; 3. Dana Hills, 126;

4. Edison, 138; 5. Mission Viejo, 151. Others: 14. Corona del Mar, 301;

15. Estancia, 306.

Individual - 1. McMillen (NH), 15:02; 2. Murray (Santa Margarita),

15:08; 3. Rodriguez (Marina), 15:15; 4. Robles (Valencia), 15:20; 5.

Smith (Tustin), 15:22; 6. Brandos (Edison), 15:24; 7. Rehanek (El Toro),

15:27; 8. Guzman (SA), 15:30; 9. Fogal (MV), 15:33; 10. Rocha (SA),

15:35. Others: 11. Santana (NH), 15:35; 15. Yelsey (CdM), 15:42; 27.

Peschelt (NH), 15:59; 30. Romero (NH), 16:01; 35. Casillas (E), 16:07;

37. Beardslee (CdM), 16:10; 40. Urtusuastegui (NH), 16:15; 46. Furman

(NH), 16:21; 47. Orozco (E), 16:22; 65. Van Geem (E), 16:41; 70. Negrete

(NH), 16:48; 73. Dillion (CdM), 16:50; 81. Flores (E), 16:58; 83. Lopez (E), 17:07; 86. Hodges (CdM), 17:19; 94. Pomerantz (CdM), 17:48; 98.

Inouye (CdM), 18:17.

Boys Division III

Others: 44. Williams (CM), 17:57.