Eastern: Chandler, Phipps take titles San Diego boys pack it up; Pointer, Mira Mesa girls go to tie-breaker

 Serra's Marcus Chandler faced tough opposition in the Eastern Championship meet on November 11, in the person of fast-improving Mohamed Aden of Kearny. The pair pushed the pace from the gun, and ran together for the first half of the race. Chandler, currently ranked at the top of the state in Division II, finally began to establish a working margin in the final stages of the race, and won in a course record 15:08 for the three mile distance. Aden finished in a PR of 15:26. Point Loma's Tom Antl was also under 16-minutes, with a 15:57. The city leagues had to establish a new course this season, and coaches across the board regard the new version as slower than the previous route, so the times were impressive. There wasn't much drama in the boys team race. A well-packed San Diego team, led by senior Alex Cocina's fourth, won easily. The Cavers backed up Cocina with a sixth (Christian Dominguez) and a pack at 12-13-14-16 (Juan Carlos Perez, Jason McKlevy, Eric Biddlecome and Mustafa Sheikh). Morse's Amonica Phipps took over the lead after 800 meters in what was expected to be a hotly contested girls race. She went on to an unchallenged win, and finished the year unbeaten in the league. San Diego soph Roxanne Romo moved up throughout the race and easily took second. The real story of the girls race was the effort of the Mira Mesa girls, who tied Point Loma, 41-41, with the race going down to the sixth runner. At that spot, Pointer Robyn McKeen just edged Marauder Mary Rose. The Pointers were led by Belinda Olvera (fourth), Natalie Parks (sixth), and Sandra Wetterer (eighth). Mira Mesa was paced by Dori McGuire (third) and Kelli Jodoin (ninth).

 The Results: At Morley Field, Wednesday morning, November 11. Conditions: cool temperatures; course softened by recent rains. Runners ran on dual-meet course.