SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Cross Country

2004 Grossmont Conference Mid-season Report

West Hills, El Capitan are Grossmont North League front-runners

By Phillip Brents

Posted Oct. 31, 2004

It was a banner season — literally — last season for the West Hills High School boys and girls cross country teams. The Wolf Pack ran to the low meet score at the 2003 Grossmont North League championships. The following week, the West Hills boys team did the unthinkable by winning the San Diego Section Division II team championship. Both the boys and girls teams qualified for the elite state championship meet.

A year later, most teams are still left chasing the Wolf Pack, though El Capitan appears it is ready to deliver a challenge for supremacy at the upcoming league finals — and beyond.

West Hills’ girls team finished 14th out of 23 teams as last year’s state Division II field in Fresno. The Wolf Pack had qualified for the state championships by finishing in third place at the San Diego Section CIF finals.

Elaine Gillespie led West Hills in Fresno with a 35th place individual finish, followed by teammates Kristen Peters (73rd), Johanna Fisherova (81st), Lynnette Simonds (93rd), Janae Dale (154th), Melissa Peabody (173rd) and Samantha Espinolda (175th).

Peters, Fisherova, Peabody and Espinolda form the core of this year’s team. Peters finished 13th at last year’s CIF finals while Fisherova placed 23rd among 135 finishers. Peters was fourth at last year’s league finals while Fisherova was seventh. Both Peters and Fisherova are only juniors this season.

Peters, who finished 11th among sophomores at last year’s state meet, started the 2004 season off on the right foot by winning the girls junior race at the season opening West Hills Wolf Pack Invitational on Sept. 3 by timing 9:23 for 1.6 miles. Fisherova was second in 9:28 while Peabody was sixth in 10:10 to give the Wolf Pack three runners among the top six finishers. Espinolda finished 13^th in the sophomore race.

Success has continued, if not multiplied, as the season has progressed. Peters (sixth) and Fisherova (eighth) scored impressive top 10 finishes in the girls varsity Division I field at the Bronco Roundup Invitational Sept. 11 at Kit Carson Park in Escondido.

That set up the following week’s showcase performance at the Mt. Carmel Movin’ Shoes Invitational at Balboa Park’s Morley Field — an event that drew more than 2,000 runners in both the boys and girls field. Peters scored the top finish among Grossmont Conference runners, inclusive of all divisions, finishing with the 12th best time (16:32) for 2.7 miles. Fisherova was 41st in the overall girls field in 17:07.

Peters (third) and Fisherova (seventh) both ran to top 10 individual finishes at the single varsity division South Bay Invitational on Sept. 24. Espinolda was 13th in that race.

El Capitan, which finished sixth as a team at last year’s CIF Division II meet, served notice to West Hills at the 31st South Bay Invitational on Sept. 24 that the league title could be up for grabs this season by out-pointing the Wolf Pack, 96 to 101, to win the varsity girls team title.

Stephanie Cook, Mallory Bawkey, Christy James, Jamie Ferguson and Amanda Vuletich combined for a superb 17-second spread among its five scorers to engineer the team win against West Hills (1:59 pack time).

El Capitan’s girls team kick-started the season in style by hosting the Sept. 11 Vaquero Stampede at Lindo Lakes. In the Division II freshman-sophomore race, Cook took first place with a 10:11 time for 1.65 miles, while James finished third, Ferguson fourth, Amanda Holley fifth, Kelsee Ramsey 12th and Jessie Sluder 13th.

El Capitan had four finishers in the top half of the girls junior-senior race: Bawkey (fifth), Ashley Tillery (10th), Jenna Tennesen (13th) and Daniell Hines (14th).

Cook (27th) and Bawkey (34th) both finished in the top half of the girls varsity Division I race at the Bronco Roundup while Ferguson (fourth) and James (fifth) both earned elite finishes in the girls junior varsity freshman-sophomore race.

At the Oct. 16 Southern California Invitational at Guajome Park, El Capitan put on a stunning display of speed by landing five runners among the top 21 percent times posted in the field of 308 girls. James had the 17th fastest time of 15:27 for 2.46 miles, followed by Ferguson (30th, 15:45), Bawkey (38th, 15:56), Vuletich (46th, 16:07) and Tillery (66th, 16:34). The Lakeside school finished sixth among 25 teams.

The Vaqueros entered the final week in October just failing to crack the top 10 section rankings behind 10th-ranked West Hills. Both teams, however, were ranked among the top six teams among Division II schools, with the possibility that one or both on a very good day could challenge for state qualifying berths.

An example, the Wolf Pack had entered last year’s CIF finals ranked fifth among girls teams only to surprise the field.

While not possessing enough team depth to challenge either of the Grossmont North League’s top front-runners in West Hills and El Capitan, Grossmont, Santana and El Cajon Valley still possess top talent that can compete on an individual basis.

Grossmont’s Randee Meek placed ninth at last year’s Division II San Diego Section finals while Santana’s Afton Siebern was ninth in the Division III field to also earn All-CIF honors. Meek finished second at the league finals the preceding week while Siebern was sixth and Grossmont’s Carly Minor finished eighth.

Meek opened the 2004 season with a 10th-place finish among senior girls at the West Hills Wolf Pack Invitational while teammate Minor 10th in the sophomore race.

Meek finished seventh in the girls varsity Division II field at the Bronco Roundup, followed by Siebern (11th).

Grossmont opened Grossmont North League dual meet competition with losses to both El Capitan (19-40) and West Hills (17-43) but enters this week with back-to-back victories against Santana (24-31) and El Cajon Valley (18-41).

Santana defeated El Cajon Valley by a 20-39 score on Oct. 8 as Siebern captured top finishing honors with a time of 16:49 on the 2.5-mile course.

Also returning from Santana’s eighth-place team at last year’s CIF finals are Melissa Hosford and Kelly McGrath and Hannah Lisowsky.