By Phillip Brents
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 20 -- Senior Alicia Nugent and sophomore Anthony Bareno earned
top honors for the Valhalla cross country team at this year’s San Diego Section
Division III championships Nov. 20 at Morley Field in Balboa Park. Nugent won
the girls individual title while Bareno finished third in the boys race.Nugent, who finished fifth at last year’s CIF finals, took the top time this year by finishing the 2.7-mile course in 16 minutes, 51 seconds. She finished seven seconds ahead of Clairemont junior Bridie McCarey.
Nugent earned a return trip to the state meet Nov. 27 in Fresno where she will be looking to improve on her 69th finish at last year’s state finals. The CIF championship came on the heels of a first-place performance at this year’s Grossmont South League finals Nov. 13 at Harry Griffen Park when she clocked the second-fastest time on the day of 14:26 behind Grossmont North League winner Kristen Peters of West Hills (14:12).
Peters finished second in this year’s Division II CIF girls field, timing 16:30.
Bareno, who ranked among the top 10 freshman boys at last year’s state finals, went out early with the top runners at this year’s CIF San Diego Section finals and maintained his position while challenging for the top finish against La Jolla senior Murat Kayali and St. Augustine junior Marco Anzures. Kayali won the race in 16:08, followed by Anzures (16:10) and Bareno (16:11) in an exceptionally tight finish.
Bareno finished 26 seconds ahead of the race’s fourth-place finisher, Brawley senior J.J. Santana.
The Norseman sophomore sensation geared up for this year’s CIF finals by placing second to fellow state meet qualifier Josh Sandoval of Granite Hills. Sandoval, who finished fourth in the Division I CIF boys race, won the Grossmont South League individual title in 16:20 while Bareno crossed in 16:29. (West Hills junior Dan Gonia also qualified for this year’s state finals with a fourth-place individual finish in the boys Division II race).
As a team, Valhalla finished seventh in the Division III boys team standings and eighth in the girls Division III team standings
The Norsemen boys team placed its top five scorers among the top half of the field of 103 finishers. Following Bareno’s lead were freshman Brett Johnson (20th, 17:30), sophomore Anthony Strunz (39th, 18:05), junior Matt Kielbasa (43rd, 18:10) and junior Ryan Harrod (47th, 18:18). With five underclassmen scorers, this team could be one to watch out for in the future.
Junior Michelle Dalton, who placed 10th at the league finals, followed Nugent’s first-place finish with a 25th-place finish in 19:13, followed by teammates Alissa Bordeaux (65th, 21:46), Roxanne Sebeny (69th, 22:25) and Katie Malinak (72nd, 22:43).
Santana tied Valhalla with 211 points in the girls divisional race but placed ninth in the team standings based on the higher finish of the teams’ sixth runner. Junior Afton Siebern, a state qualifier a year ago, finished 18th among individuals at this year’s CIF finals with a time of 18:45.
Steele Canyon, which placed second at this year’s Grossmont South League girls team finals, finished 11th at the the ensuing CIF Division II championships.
Three Cougars runners finished among the top eight individuals at league finals: junior Ali Mendoza (fifth, 15:37), freshman Bethany Rangel (seventh, 15:51) and senior Kelsey Richardson (eighth, 15:54). Mendoza (49th, 18:58), Richardson (54th, 19:05), senior Kendahl Morabe (66th, 19:41), senior Amy Antoine (74th, 20:01) and senior Tiffany Caddell (77th, 20:10) were the team’s top five finishers at the Division II finals.
Steele Canyon’s boys team, which finished with a 3-2 dual meet record this season (matching the girls team), placed 15th at the Division II finals. The Cougars were led on the course by sophomore Kyle Fox (40th, 17:34), senior Ricardo Bernal (63rd, 17:55), senior Coel Schumacher (70th, 18:01), sophomore Anup Patel (91st, 18:32), senior Nick Buckmaster (108th, 19:08), freshman Tim Buckmaster (119th, 19:42) and sophomore Matthew Rocha (125th, 20:01). The race featured 158 finishers.
