Though the
respective front runners have been identified, there are no absolutes heading
into Saturday’s Grossmont Conference cross country championship meet at Harry
Griffen Park — especially with the final outcome on hanging league championship
banners heavily dependent on performance at Saturday’s finals.Team titles are decided on a points basis with teams receiving one third of their total points by place-finish in dual competition and two-thirds of their total points in the conference finals.
West Hills team took significant steps toward sweeping this year’s Grossmont North League boys and girls varsity titles after finishing 4-0 in dual competition. Ditto for the Helix girls team in South League competition after the Highlanders produced a perfect 5-0 dual record.
Duplicating that success will earn each of those squads a league title.
The West Hills boys team , keyed by Ross Halleland, will be out to cement its seventh consecutive league title. The Wolf Pack girls team — led by a trio of returning all-league runners in juniors Lynette Simonds, Elaine Gillespie and Janae Dale along with varsity returner Traci Wetzel, a senior — is seeking to win its sixth consecutive league title.
After finishing second at last year’s San Diego Section Division II championships and seventh at the ensuing state championship meet, Helix is seeking to once again place its stamp among the top 10 girls teams in the state.
The Grossmont South League boys title appears up for grabs after all six teams finished with at least one loss in head-to-head dual meets, though Valhalla could have a slight edge despite being upset by Granite Hills. Helix has also come on strong this season and Monte Vista’s upset bid cannot be discounted.
Runners will compete in one conference race to maximize competition, though scoring will be broken down by leagues.
The day starts out at 8:30 a.m. with the girls junior varsity race, followed at 9 a.m. by the boys JV race, at 9:30 a.m. by the girls varsity race and at 10 a.m. by the boys varsity race. Awards will be presented at 10:45 a.m.
Harry Griffen Park is located behind Grossmont High School.
Individuals to watch among North League girls runners include West Hills’ Gillespie, Santana’s Erin Price, El Capitan’s Cassie Atkinson and Grossmont’s Randee Meek. West Hills’ Ross Halleland, followed by a host of teammates, keys North League boys individuals along with El Capitan’s Benny Gandolfo, a two-time returning state meet qualifier after finishing sixth at last year’s Division II CIF finals.
Gillespie, who
turned in the fourth best girls varsity time at this year’s South Bay
Invitational to lead West Hills to a second-place team finish, had the top times
in victories against Grossmont, Santana and El Cajon Valley. Halleland paced the
Wolf Pack to dual wins against El Capitan, Santana and El Cajon valley while
Matt Noble had the top time in the win against Grossmont.Price won the Division 2 girls varsity race at the Bronco Invitational earlier this season. She also finished first in her division at the Vaquero Invitational.
The Helix girls team, with "everyone healthy and running well," according to coach Ray Mounts, has a number of front-runners to watch out for among South League entrants, including Jamie Marliere, Olga Gorobets, Evon Willingham, April Montgomery, Amy Johnson-Westlie and Leah Brucker. Granite Hills, which finished 4-1in league duals, counters with Cindy Walker and Alicia Moore. Valhalla runners looking to earn all-league status include Alicia Nugent and Dora Sanders.
While Babey Wagnew of Helix (second at last year’s Division II CIF finals) has established himself as the top South League runner, there is no shortage of talent here with Valhalla’s Kip Madden and Vernon Harris, Monte Vista’s Dan Driscoll and Zach Norcross and Granite Hills’ Eladio Carrillo (eighth at last year’s Division I finals) all challenging along with Helix’s Garrick Frew for top finishing honors.
Gorobets (17:34), Brucker (18:01) and Montgomery (18:31) swept the top three place-finishes against Mt. Miguel. Marliere’s top time of 12:07 on the rainy 2.1-mile Santee Lakes course in the victory against Steele Canyon sets up Saturday’s league finals as a potentially fast race.
With a ninth-place overall finish (seventh among Division I and Division II runners) in the boys sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Wagnew helped the Highlanders post a seventh-place team finish among Division I and Division II teams. Madden’s top finishes this season include sixth among senior boys at the Mt. Carmel Invitational. Carrillo is a returning state qualifier.
Harris, a junior, has also had a decorated season after finishing ninth at the prestigious Mt. Carmel Invitational while winning the Division 2 varsity race at the Bronco Invitational and finishing second among Division 2 senior-junior runners at the Vaquero Invitational.