SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

Grossmont Conference boys team update:

West Hills, El Capitan step off for North League title

By Phillip Brents

Posted Nov. 7, 2004

Talent may be everything in some sports but in cross country, it often comes down to whoever is ready to go on race day. In this sport that depends as much on stamina as it does speed, both the physical and mental aspects of competing are equally important.

The San Diego Section cross country championships proved that last year as underdog Grossmont North League champion West Hills High out-pointed Grossmont South League champion Monte Vista to win the Division II team championship title.

The Wolf Pack will be looking over its collective shoulder at El Capitan at this year’s league finals and at the ensuing divisional meet.

Teams will step off Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8:30 a.m. at Harry Griffin Park for the Grossmont Conference championships. The following week, Saturday, Nov. 20, runners will line up at Balboa Park’s Morley Field for a chance at qualifying for the state championship meet in Fresno. The Division II boys race kicks off this year’s section championships at 8:30 a.m.

El Capitan will attempt to duplicate its dual meet tie-breaker win earlier this season against West Hills. The two Grossmont North League powers tied 28-28, with El Capitan pulling off the tie-breaker win on the higher finish of its sixth runner.

“It’s going to be very close on the boys side. It will be pretty much like the dual meet as I don’t see the other teams really breaking up either team. On the girls side between the two teams, it will come down to who has a better day,” El Capitan coach Anthony Garcia said.

West Hills placed five of the top six runners and six of the top nine at last year’s Grossmont North League finals to finish with a meet low score of 18 points. Billy Scott navigated the course in 16:58 as the North League’s top finisher, followed closely by teammate Robert Hernandez (second) and fellow Wolf Pack runners Matt Noble (fourth), Jeremy Root (fifth) and Brian Dunne (sixth). Mike Focht was ninth.

Scott (fifth) and Hernandez (seventh) both turned in All-CIF top 10 finishes the ensuing week at the Division II finals at Morley Field. Rounding out the team’s top five scorers on that fateful day were Noble (11th), Root (15th) and Dunne (22nd). West Hills finished 19th among 23 teams in its division at the state finals. Noble (65th) and Root (76th) both managed top 100 finishes.

Most of the names are different this season for the Wolf Pack. Junior Dan Gonia has been the leader for most of this season. He took second place at the season opening West Hills Invitational. Root was sixth in the same junior race. Both have been consistent standout finishers this season for the Wolf Pack.

Gonia led West Hills with an 18th place finish in the boys varsity Division I field at the Bronco Roundup, followed by Jeremy Root (31st). Gonia and Root were the Wolf Pack’s top finishers at the Mt. Carmel Invitational, placing 29th and 32nd, respectively, in the junior boys race. Gonia was 100th overall while Root was 147th overall in the combined boys field, inclusive of all divisions.

The Wolf Pack looks to be well stocked for the future after five West Hills runners — Ian Merrin (first), Mike Kennedy (fourth), Octavio Davila (sixth), Brad Simonds (seventh) and Blake Caricato (10th) — finished among the top 10 individual placers in the boys Division I freshman-sophomore race at the Sept. 11 Bronco Roundup.

El Capitan, which finished second at last year’s Grossmont North League finals and followed that with a ninth-place finish at the CIF championships, stepped off this season by hosting the Vaquero Stampede Sept. 4 at Lindo Lakes. Top individual finishers in the Division II boys junior/senior race included Hunter McAnally (second), Rhett Stous (third), Kevin Watters (fifth) and Craig Speicher (eighth).

Mike Poffenbarger (second) led the El Capitan parade across the finish line in the boys freshman/sophomore race, followed by teammates Chris Ertz (eighth), Kyle Phipps (ninth), Miles Segni (10th) and Johnny Kremensky (11th).

Victor (seventh), Alan Rostamijam (eighth) and Stous (10th) all posted top 10 league finishes a year ago and the Vaqueros’ ability to pack makes them particularly dangerous. McAnally, Rostamijam, Victor and Stous displayed the ability to pack with a 21-spread between them at the Bronco Roundup in mid-September, with all four Vaqueros coming in ahead of West Hills’ third runner.

A month later, that spread read 25 seconds at the Southern California Invitational as El Capitan managed a 14th-place finish out of 26 teams. Stous was 56th among 370 individuals while Victor (61st), Rostamijam (70th), Watters (78th) and Poffenbarger (83rd) followed with finishes among the top 25 percent of the field.

West Hills and El Capitan offered an early season preview at the 31st South Bay Invitational. The Wolf Pack finished seventh in the boys varsity team standings, followed by the Vaqueros in 10th place. West Hills’ Gonia (11th) led El Capitan’s Stous (29th) by 48 seconds across the finish line.

However, the Vaqueros blew away the competition at the same event in the boys freshman field as Poffenbarger took top individual honors. Poffenbarger had finished fourth in the Division I JV field at the Bronco Roundup two weeks earlier. John Kremensky and Chris Ertz both earned top 10 finishes between the two events.

Grossmont finished with a 2-2 record in league dual meets. The Foothillers defeated Santana 18-49 while El Cajon Valley defeated Santana 22-39 to record its lone league dual meet victory during regular season competition.

Notepad
Monte Vista’s boys team could be peaking at just the right time after taking a second-place finish at the Oct. 22 Kit Carson Invitational. Michael Ramirez was 15th overall in the field of 599 finishers, followed by teammates Michael Wallace (18th), David Frehafer (30th), Rob McGrorty (31st) and Patrick Palmiter (32nd). Twenty-three seconds separated the five runners.

Valhalla edged Steele Canyon on the sixth man tiebreaker rule as the two teams tied 28-28 in their final Grossmont South League dual. Valhalla finished 4-1in dual meets behind Monte Vista (5-0) and ahead of Steele Canyon (3-2), Granite Hills (2-3), Helix (1-4) and Mt. Miguel (0-5).