Bonita Vista High’s boys and girls cross country teams may not have put their best collective foot forward at the season-opening Mustang Invitational but the Barons appear not to be wasting any time in making up lost ground. That was apparent by the results of this year’s Mt. Carmel Sundevil Invitational Sept. 17 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

Austin Jett finished second among individuals in the Division I boys junior race with a 15:56 time for 2.95 miles, trailing only Torrey Pines’ Zack Patil (15:42) in the race. Overall, Jett posted the eighth-best time on the day among the four Division I boys races (races were split into two enrollment divisions and further subdivided by grade level).

Jett was followed by two teammates who managed impressive top 20 finishes in the Division I junior boys race: Mathew Seat (16th, 16:28) and Chris Close (18th, 16:28).

It should be noted that defending Metro Conference individual champion Eric Avila, another talented junior, did not compete in the event while recovering from a foot injury. Avila finished first in last year’s sophomore race.

With so much underclassman talent on parade, the Bonita Vista boys team appears, at least, to be "loaded for bear," as the saying goes, for the next couple years. In fact, new coaches Julie and Jeff Phair expect the Barons to challenge to retain their Mesa League championship title.

Avila was a top-10 finisher at last year’s San Diego Section Division I championships, placing sixth to earn a trip to the ultra-chic state finals where he finished 19th as the second-fastest sophomore cross country runner in California.

Jeff Phair, who serves as the Barons boys coach, said Avila may not be fully recovered to race until midseason. However, Phair said he expects Avila to be ready by the time league finals and the CIF championships step off in November.

In Avila’s absence, the aforementioned trio of equally fleet-footed juniors will be leading the team, along with senior Daniel Garcia (who finished 32nd at the Mustang Invitational). Jett finished third at last year’s Mesa League championship meet and recorded a 12th-place finish at the Division I section finals to narrowly miss earning a trip to the state championships. In the spring, Jett captured the Mesa League title in the half-mile run. One of the tallest runners in the conference, he literally stands head and shoulders over many local harriers.

"Austin had a great track season and is more than capable of carrying our boys team on his shoulders until Eric returns," Phair said.

Close finished as last year’s Mesa League junior varsity runner-up. Also expected to earn important points for the team this season is Derek Groom, who finished 30th in the Division I boys sophomore race (17:36) at last weekend’s Sundevil Invitational.

Phair listed a pair of newcomers who expect to push the team’s established varsity runners. They include junior Daniel Orellana and senior Erik Brunswick. Two other young runners, Eric Osuna and David Garcia, had a chance to impress with a seventh- and 14th-place finishes in the Division I boys freshman race at the Mt. Carmel Invitational.

While the Barons return only one senior with any varsity experience, a bevy of talent-laden underclassmen more than makes up for that. Because of that, Phair remains optimistic about the team’s chances to repeat as league champions.

"We have a very young team and were bit by the injury bug over the summer, but I have a great deal of faith in the young men on our team. I fully expect us to compete well at Mesa League finals and at CIF," Phair said.

Julie Phair, a Hilltop High graduate and avid running enthusiast like her husband, has a bit more work to do with the Bonita Vista girls team. The Barons have only two seniors on the entire varsity and JV teams and only three girls with any varsity cross country experience from last season: Brittni King, Rachel Butler and Topacio Palomino.

King (a junior) and Butler (a senior) were both Mesa League medalists last season: King placed 11th while Butler was 13th.

Palomino and Caitlin Purkey, both juniors, were included among the team’s top runners last season and expect to battle both King and Butler for all-league honors this season. Other promising athletes this season include juniors Melissa Lopez and Blatchley Harkenrider, sophomore Megan Wymer and freshmen Angelic Palomino, Cassandra Jackson and Julia Aguilar. For good measure, Cynthia Alvare managed a top 30 finish (28th in 18:46 for 2.7 miles) in the Division I girls freshman race at last weekend’s Sundevil Invitational.

The team’s primary goal is to improve on its third-place finish in last year’s Mesa League standings behind Chula Vista and Eastlake. The youth currently being served on the BV team, however, does bode well for coming seasons in making the Barons a force to be reckoned with.

Sundevil Invitational

Castle Park moves up to the Division I enrollment level this season (as the last school in the division) and the corresponding chances of qualifying runners for this year’s state meet thus became just a bit harder. But that hasn’t stopped several Trojan runners in their quest to do just that.

Julia Hernandez ran to a 10th-place finish in the girls sophomore race by timing 16:53. She finished fourth among section runners. By comparison, she ran 17:30 in last year’s freshman race. Torrey Pines’ Anna Prim captured this year’s sophomore race in 16:11.

On the boys side, Castle Park’s top performances came from Edgar Medina 17:30 and Antonio Estrada 17:50. Both failed to make the top 30 time cut.

Top 30 placers for Montgomery in the Division I field included Chelsea Nicklen (18th in the girls senior race, 17:38), Christian Kaeg (19th in the boys freshman race, 18:03) and Eric Delgado (27th in the boys senior race, 16:39).

Top 30 placers for Sweetwater in the Division I field included Alan Gudino (eighth in the boys sophomore race, 16:15), Raul Isais (17th in the boys sophomore race, 16:50) and Karina Rios (26th in the girls senior race, 18:15).

Top 30 placers for Mar Vista in the Division II field included Edgar Lopez (fifth in the boys sophomore race, 16:34), Adriana Moore (13th in the girls freshman race, 18:06), Nathania Penrod (22nd in the girls freshman race, 19:09), Levi Blain (28th in the boys senior race, 17:29), Rene Garcia (29th in the boys senior race, 17:30).

Top 30 placer for Hilltop in the Division II field included Lisa Lane (eighth in the girls junior race, 17:34), Tanya Valenzuela (ninth in the girls freshman race, 17:40), Marga Crain (25th in the girls junior race, 18:33) and Mike Magee was 12th in the Division II boys sophomore race, 17:12).

For Otay Ranch, Michael Denman (16:51) was 14th in the Division II boys junior race.