Sea Kings qualify for state meet

RIVERSIDE – When giving advice, speak from experience.

Corona del Mar cross country coach Bill Sumner is highly qualified to speak on the matter of the CIF postseason meets.

Too right he was when he called the CIF Southern Section Finals an interesting ordeal because teams have to show up in a specific place at a specific time and run their best race of the year.

Midway through Saturday’s Division 3 final at the Riverside City Cross Country Course, it appeared that CdM’s girls’ team may not be able to deliver.

The Sea Kings were running in seventh, with just a 13-point lead for the final state-qualifying bid.

Whatever panic there was proved to be an overreaction.

Corona del Mar surged in the second half of the race, picking up 88 scoring positions to place fourth in the CIF-SS Finals.

The Sea Kings will be going to the state championship meet for the 27th time in 29 years. The festivities will take place at Woodward Park in Fresno next Saturday.

Teams that placed in the top seven of their race advanced, as did the top five individuals in the top 20 overall whose teams did not move on.

Sumner indicated that his team was at a crossroads early on in the year. They were not matching up well with the field in September, and the question was asked – “What can we do about it?”

“We were on life support,” Sumner said. “We weren’t even getting ranked. We went to Orange County (Championships), and we had to beg to get in. Now, fourth in Southern California.”

Corona del Mar’s rally late in the race was widespread. Bella Gerken caught 36 runners, Emma St. Geme improved by 22 spots, and Julia Tung picked off 20 more runners.

Additionally, Gigi Lee and Lauren Griffen each earned back 11 spots, and Maya Buchwald improved by nine positions. Put all together, that made for a 108-position difference for CdM.

Raquel Powers was the only Sea Kings runner that didn’t show significant improvement, not that she had much room to do so. A perennial frontrunner, the senior took fourth in 17:37.

Protecting the legacy of Corona del Mar’s regular state championship appearances has always been important to Powers, especially because her sisters have been integral parts of that run.

She has her eyes on her own marks to hit now that she is advancing to state for the final time.

“Oh, definitely,” Powers said when asked if she was looking for more than a state berth. “I have to reach higher. There’s more than just going to state.”

“On Runner Space, it ranks me 10th out of Division 3 girls in California. I hope to improve. Top three at state is my goal.”

Corona del Mar was not the only team that followed the “down-but-not-out” playbook on Saturday. Sage Hill was short-handed when it toed the starting line for Division 5.

The Lightning ran without No. 5 runner Olivia Lowe (sprained ankle), opting to go with six athletes in the race. Teams are allowed seven runners, with a team’s score being determined by where its top five runners finish.

Sage Hill placed fourth with 199 points behind the work of Ashton Carroll’s standout performance. She finished the race 15th in 18:57.

Sage Hill High School’s Alice Warden ran in the Girls Division 5, CIF Southern Section Championships Cross Country Finals at Riverside City Cross Country Course in Riverside on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016.

(Raul Roa / Daily Pilot)

Maya Jaffe, Julia Lowe, Alice Warden, and Hannah Ren came in within 43 seconds of each other for the rest of the Sage Hill pack.

“I’m super happy with our girls,” Lightning coach Nate Miller said. “I feel like they put it all on the line today, and it was probably our best meet of the year.”

Those who did not advance included Orange Coast League representatives Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa in Division 4.

Laguna Beach was projected to get in, but the stage of the CIF-SS Finals provides no second chances.

“I think we knew we were capable (of qualifying),” Breakers coach Steve Lalim said. “There’s a lot of good teams. The depth is solid. We had a good day, but it wasn’t our best day. At finals, you have to be at your best.”

Fountain Valley’s girls placed 17th in Division 1, while Newport Harbor’s Mia Matsunami finished 43rd in 18:16 running as an individual in Division 2.

Ocean View’s girls placed 17th in Division 3.

Ocean View, Newport Harbor fall short

It’s not over until the fat lady sings.

She was singing a somber tune for the local boys’ cross country teams competing in the CIF Southern Section Finals on Saturday.

Ocean View and Newport Harbor arrived at the Riverside City Cross Country Course as bubble teams hopeful of securing a state meet berth.

In the end, it was not to be, as each would finish ninth in their respective title races.

Teams moving on to the state meet had to finish in the top seven.

The Seahawks were the feel-good story of the season, winning the school’s first league title since 1983. After finishing first in their heat at the CIF-SS Preliminaries last weekend, Ocean View felt as though it was on the cusp of its first appearance in the state meet in the program’s history.

As they crossed the finish line in their Division 3 race, the Seahawks gathered around each other, all evidently petrified as they awaited the verdict. The result came back unfavorable, and fear turned to anguish for the Seahawks.

Ocean View High School’s Edwin Montes, #1371, ran 15:22.0 in the Boys Division 3, CIF Southern Section Championships Cross Country Finals at Riverside City Cross Country Course in Riverside on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Daily Pilot)

“We’re bummed about it,” senior captain Ryan St. Pierre said. “We were nervous at the starting line. We were scared when we finished.”

“As one of my coaches says, ‘If you’re not nervous about it, then you don’t care.’”

Although they could not complete the ultimate goal of going to state, Seahawks coach Daniel Hurtado did not want his team to despair after what the team collectively was calling a “dream season.”

“We can’t be disappointed right now,” Hurtado said. “Of course, that was the goal all season long to be able to go to Fresno next week. To be mad, to be upset, that would be ungrateful for the season that we’ve had.”

The feeling was mutual for Newport Harbor, which gathered around a phone to check the live results updates. The first thing that the Sailors learned was that they had been six points off the qualifying pace at the halfway mark.

They began to question each other to see if they had picked up positions or fell off as the race progressed.

The tension rose. With one quick update, the bubble burst, and another wave of disappointment was quick to strike the Sailors.

Newport Harbor High’s Alexis Garcia runs in the Boys Division 2, CIF Southern Section Championships Cross Country Finals at Riverside City Cross Country Course in Riverside on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Daily Pilot)

Despite being tripped up near the one-mile mark, sophomore Alexis Garcia will represent Newport Harbor at the state meet. He finished the Division 2 race 10th in 15:06 to advance as an individual.

“I was feeling really good, but after I tripped, for a moment, I started to drop off,” Garcia said. “Then I thought about my team and I did my best.”

“I feel proud of myself. I also feel bad because we didn’t make it as a team.”

Garcia’s sentiments were echoed by Costa Mesa’s Elliot Hachac, who qualified for state after placing fifth (15:23) in the Division 4 race.

The common thread was tempered celebration by the advancing athlete after learning that their team had not made the cut. Hachac, himself, had just missed making it individually last year.

“I was like, ‘I can’t miss it by one place again like last year,’” he said. “‘I’ve got to give it everything I can, get that top 10, and go to state.’”

“I’m so happy to be going as an individual, but it would have been a lot better if my team was there.”

Both Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach missed advancing out of Division 4.

Brethren Christian senior Gabriel Reiser did not qualify for state, but he extended his season farther than perhaps even he expected.

His parents were already in New York for a Thanksgiving family gathering, and Reiser was going to be rushed to the airport when his race was over.

Asked if he would have bet on himself at the beginning of the year, Reiser said, “I always like to say I would have, but it definitely wasn’t a set thing that I was going to make CIF.”

“It was something that I had to work for. Having that as my goal was really cool.”

Reiser set a personal best of 16:05, taking 27th in the Division 5 race. He was the first Warrior to qualify for CIF since 1996.

Corona del Mar did not advance out of Division 3. Sea Kings ace Leif Hellgren met the top 20 standard, but he was the seventh eligible individual to cross the finish line. Only five make it to state.