SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Metro runners to go on parade at finals

By Phillip Brents
Posted Nov. 11, 2003

His cape duly unfurled and poised ready to leap a tall building with a single bound ...

Well, Mar Vista High senior Troy may not be able to stop a speeding bullet but he'll likely once again put on his best imitation of Superman at Friday's Metro Conference cross country championships. Not only will he'll be out to win his fourth consecutive South Bay League individual title but, in the process, potentially lead Mar Vista back into the hunt for a league championship banner.

Should Swier win, the league title would be the latest in a sterling collection of awards that includes first-place finishes this season in the Wolf Pack Invitational, Mustang-Baron Invitational and Dana Hills Invitational to go with a second-place prime-time performance at Woodbridge Invitational. He set course records at the first two events.

Most recently, the Mariner road warrior finished third in the individual sweepstakes race at the prestigious Mt. San Antonio Invitational -- an event that drew more than 5,000 runners from throughout the state. Finishing ahead of him were Loyola junior Mark Matusak and Duarte senior Mohamed Trafeh. But any future high-level encounters will be saved for an upcoming race.

In the meantime, Swier will be out to finish ahead of a pack that includes some very talented runners in the conference this season.

Runners in both the Mesa League and South Bay League will compete in one race, with results sorted by league.

The boys varsity race starts at 2 p.m. at Rohr Park. The girls varsity race follows at 2:30 p.m. The boys junior varsity field will race at 3 p.m., followed by the girls JV field at 3:30 p.m.

The top 10 finishers in each division earn all-league honors; the top 15 finishers receive medals.

Sweetwater senior Edgar Llanez returns as the defending Mesa League Runner of the Year but he’ll be pushed by a strong field. Vying for all-league honors are Bonita Vista senior Ryan Becijos, Sweetwater senior Javier Diaz, Montgomery senior Hector Mardueno, Chula Vista junior Ivan Villareal, Bonita Vista senior Julian Zamora, Bonita Vista junior Abraham Alvarez and Eastlake senior John Stubbs. Also in the mix for medals are Bonita Vista juniors Michael Valdez and Michael Morales, Sweetwater’s Azael Gomez, Roberto Isais and Francisco Villasana, Bonita Vista seniors Ryan Groth and Jared Purkey, Chula Vista senior Daniel Medrano and Eastlake senior Kyle Maynes, among others.

Becjios, whose credentials this season include second-place finishes at the El Capitan Vaquero Stampede and Mustang-Baron Invitational, was favored to earn Mesa League Runner of the Year honors last year but SuHi’s Llanez instead rose to the occasion. Joining Llanez (first) and Becijos (second) as returning all-league runners are Alvarez (fifth), Zamora (sixth), Michael Valdez (seventh), Villareal (ninth) and Medrano (10th).

Bonita Vista wrapped up the dual meet portion of its league schedule with a 19-44 victory against Chula Vista on Nov. 4, with the Barons placing six of the top seven runners and seven of the top 10. Becijos nosed out Villareal by seven seconds on the 3.1-mile course; Becijos and Alvarez both finished ahead of Diaz in Bonita Vista’s 26-30 dual win against Sweetwater Oct. 10 on the same course. Villareal beat both Diaz and Llanez in the Spartans' head-to-head encounter against the Red Devils. Mardueno could be the wild card after topping Becijos by 22 seconds in the teams’ Oct. 3 encounter at Discovery Park but more than a month has since transpired.

The Barons are coming off a 10th place team finish at Mt. SAC. Becijos was 29th in the field of 183 runners.

First-year Otay Ranch will test the depth beyond its top three front-runners in an effort to hold off expected stiff challenges by both Hilltop and Mar Vista. The Mustangs out-pointed Hilltop, 25-31, in the teams’ highly anticipated dual encounter Nov. 5, with Otay Ranch placing five of the top eight finishers. The Mustangs’ celebrated threesome includes sophomores Ernesto Valdez, Matt Danielson and Ryan Matias. Valdez and Danielson engineered top five finishes in their divisional race at Mt. SAC.

Valdez finished six seconds ahead of Hilltop’s Johnny Pina to earn medalist honors in the teams’ dual matchup, with Danielson finishing five seconds behind Pina and 16 seconds ahead of the Lancers’ No. 2 man Marcos Gonzalez. Hilltop’s Ryan Smail was two seconds arrears of teammate Gonzalez in fifth place and three seconds ahead of Matias.

Valdez placed second at last year's Metro JV finals while Danielson engineered a top 20 finish.

How tight could it get on Friday? Hilltop edged Mar Vista, 27-28, in their early season dual.

Otay Ranch, which appears to have a legitimate shot at qualifying for the upcoming state finals among Division IV schools, does not appear to have peaked yet.

“We’re still going to get better but Hilltop and Mar Vista are both good teams and ran very well against us. From what I have seen this season, Hilltop might have run one of its better races against us and we ran our best race of the season against them. It took our best effort to beat them. We respect Hilltop and Mar Vista very much,” Mustang coach Ian Cumming said.

Castle Park’s Jorge Diaz, Mar Vista's Rene Garcia and Marian Catholic’s Jorge Garibaldi should all contend for all-league honors.

Hilltop’s Gonzalez finished eighth on last year’s South Bay League leaderboard.

In the girls race., both Bonita Vista and Hilltop will be out to preserve their perfect dual meet marks with first-place finishes in the conference meet. Sweetwater and Chula Vista will be looking to surprise in the Mesa League field while Otay Ranch and Castle Park hope to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into Hilltop's plan for a championship celebration. The Lancers topped the Mustangs, 20-39, on Nov. 4, and it will take both Otay Ranch and Castle Park to post higher finishes at Friday's conference finals to forge a co-championship.

The Trojans hurt the Mustangs' championship hopes with a surprising 27-29 win Oct. 16 at Discovery Park. However, Otay Ranch was missing standout Natalie Dygert in that race and a full complement of runners could make the order of team finish interesting, at least, in the final South Bay League standings.

Mesa League runners to watch include Bonita Vista's Tiffany Caddell, who has withstood all challenges this season against the local pool of competition. She rates to be chased for Mesa League Runner of the Year honors by Montgomery’s returning all-league duo of Chelsea Nicklen and Priscilla Flores, Sweetwater’s Karina Rios, Savannah Size and Brenda Diaz, Chula Vista’s Irene Bueno, Virginia Madero and Brittnay Chatman and Eastlake’s Melanie Desalvo and Sara McKinney.

The Barons’ depth chart also features potential medalists in senior Kristin Ross and juniors Jessi Tinsley and Katie Leahy, among others

Size finished seventh in last year’s Mesa League field.

Hilltop’s Selina Munoz will be out to defend her standing as the South Bay League’s reigning Runner of the Year. She’ll be pushed by Castle Park sophomore Veronica Gonzales, Otay Ranch’s Jasmine Leija, Marian Catholic’s Shanice Howard and Hilltop’s Jameela Alyneyadi (second at last year’s league finals).

The Lancers’ depth chart also includes potential all-league runners Lisa Lane, Rosie Rodriguez and Vivian Aguilar.

For Otay Ranch, Dygert and Jasmine Schoonmaker both scored impressive top 20 finishes at Mt. SAC while Marian Catholic’s Marianna Cruz placed 10th in last year’s league finals.

The boys JV race could find as many as five Barons striding all-league finishes, according to BV coach Hector Hernandez. His top seven for Friday’s JV finals include the team’s latest freshman sensation, Austin Jett, juniors Bersain Gutierrez and Patrick Raue, senior Chris Wymer, freshmen Christopher Close and Mathew Seat and senior James Borik. Should Eric Avila, the Barons' initial freshman sensation, recover from a foot injury, he could add a wildcard impact in the race.

Chula Vista counters with a young and talented team that includes sophomore Gilbert Rivas and freshman Jovanny Yorba.

Mesa League Boys Rankings

(Based on best reported times/latest matchup)
1. Ryan Becijos (Bonita Vista, 12) - 16:36 @ Rohr Park - 17:41 @ Discovery Park (15:46 Mustang-Baron Invite)

2. Ivan Villareal (Chula Vista, 11) - 16:43 @ Rohr Park

3. Abraham Alvarez (Bonita Vista, 11) - 16:55 @ Rohr Park (15:59 Mustang-Baron Invite/16:58 South Bay Invite)

4. Javier Diaz (Sweetwater, 12) - 16:54 @ Rohr Park (16:08 Mustang-Baron Invite/17:05 South Bay Invite)

5. Julian Zamora (Bonita Vista, 12) - 16:51 @ Rohr Park - 17:41 @ Discovery Park (16:15 Mustang-Baron Invite)

6. Edgar Llanez (Sweetwater, 12) - 17:01 @ Rohr Park (16:33 Mustang-Baron Invite/17:06 South Bay Invite)

7. Michael Valdez (Bonita Vista, 11) - 17:03 @ Rohr Park (16:42 Mustang-Baron Invite)

8. Michael Morales (Bonita Vista, 11) - 17:08 @ Rohr Park (16:36 Mustang-Baron Invite)

9. Hector Mardueno (Montgomery, 12) - 17:46 @ Discovery Park (17:00 Mustang-Baron Invite)
10. Azael Gomez (Sweetwater, 10) - 17:08 @ Rohr Park (17:01 Mustang-Baron Invite)

11. Roberto Isais (Sweetwater, 12) - 17:11 @ Rohr Park (17:09 Mustang-Baron Invite)

12. John Stubbs (Eastlake, 12) - 18:04 @ Rohr Park - 17:50 @ Discovery Park (17:01 Mustang-Baron Invite)

13. Ryan Groth (Bonita Vista, 12) - 17:23 @ Rohr Park (17:05 Mustang-Baron Invite)
14. Daniel Medrano (Chula Vista, 12) - 17:23 @ Rohr Park

15. Francisco Villasana (Sweetwater, 11) - 17:27 @ Rohr Park

16. Roberto Hernandez (Chula Vista) - 17:36 @ Rohr Park

17. Jared Purkey (Bonita Vista, 12) - 17:36 @ Rohr Park - 18:31 @ Discovery Park (17:19 Mustang-Baron Invite)

18. Austin Jett (Bonita Vista, 9) - 17:39 @ Rohr Park - 18:34 @ Discovery Park
19. Kyle Maynes (Eastlake, 12) - 18:34 @ Discovery Park - 18:37 @ Rohr Park

20. Rogelio Gonzalez (Sweetwater, 12) - 18:38 @ Rohr Park

Runners to watch:

Salavador Suarez (Sweetwater) - 18:50 @ Luckie Waller Park

G. Hodgson (Montgomery) - 19:22 @ Luckie Waller Park

Jose Flores (Sweetwater) - 19:29 @ Luckie Waller Park

J. Alcala (Montgomery) - 19:39 @ Luckie Waller Park

E. Delgado (Montgomery) - 19:10 @ Discovery Park (17:07 Mustang-Baron Invite)

Andy Sist (Eastlake) - 17:17 Mustang-Baron Invite (injured at midseason)

South Bay League Boys Rankings

(Based on best reported times)
1. Troy Swier (Mar Vista, 12) - 17:03 @ Rohr Park - 16:44 @ IB Pier (course record)

2. Ernesto Valdez (Otay Ranch, 10) - 17:57 @ Discovery Park (17:03 Mustang-Baron Invite)

3. Matt Danielson (Otay Ranch, 10) - 17:50 @ Discovery Park (17:07 Mustang-Baron Invite)

4. Jorge Diaz (Castle Park) - 18:16 @ Discovery Park; 17:47 @ Rohr Park; 19:10 @ IB Pier (17:17 Mustang-Baron Invite)

5. Johnny Pina (Hilltop) - 18:58 @ Rohr Park - 18:03 @ Discovery Park (18:16 Mustang-Baron Invite)

6. Jorge Garibaldi (Marian Catholic) - 19:38 @ IB Pier

7. Ryan Smail (Hilltop) - 18:27 @ Rohr Park - 18:26 @ Discovery Park (17:40 Mustang-Baron Invite)

8. Rene Garcia (Mar Vista) - 18:40 @ Rohr Park - 19:04 @ IB Pier

9. Marcos Gonzalez (Hilltop) - 18:43 @ Rohr Park - 18:24 @ Discovery Park (17:55 Mustang-Baron Invite)

10. Eli Garcia (Castle Park) - 18:05 Mustang-Baron Invite

11. Ryan Matias (Otay Ranch, 10) - 18:29 @ Discovery Park - 19:04 @ IB Pier (18:15 Mustang-Baron Invite)

12. Ricky Pimental (Otay Ranch) - 18:56 @ Discovery Park - 19:04 @ IB Pier

13. Jorge Altimirano (Mar Vista) - 19:08 @ Rohr Park - 19:13 @ IB Pier

14. Andre Negron (Otay Ranch) - 19:02 @ Discovery Park; 19:51 @ IB Pier

15. Paige Ledesma (Castle Park) - 19:18 @ Rohr Park

16. Musui Endo (Hilltop) - 19:15 @ Discovery Park; 19:23 @ Rohr Park

Runners to watch:

Oscar Estrada (Mar Vista) - 19:39 @ Rohr Park

Sergio Santillan (Hilltop) - 19:37@ Rohr Park

Alan Palmatier (Mar Vista) - 19:47 @ IB Pier

John Real (Hilltop) - N/A @ Rohr Park

Zack Feishtianger (Mar Vista) - 19:47 @ Rohr Park