10/2/99 - Stanford Invite Prep Story
Doug Speck

1999 Stanford Invitational - High School portion 

    One of the great highlights of the Fall Cross-Country season 
is the first Saturday in October when the Stanford Invitational 
takes place on the nice golf course at the University.  The 
scenery and weather are always beautiful, the course is 
interesting enough, and the combination of the University and 
High School section races on the same day is truly something 
special.  If you wonder what happened to those prep stars of the 
last few years that you followed, chances are they will show up 
on some collegiate team in this competition!  The races at the 
prep level are run by State Division sizes, unless a group 
decides to move up for more competition, with this the first real 
chance to sort out the pre-season and first State Rankings, which 
came out early this week.  There were some very intersting 
results, with a real upsetting of the old apple cart along the way.

The races are run from small schools on up, so let's get 
started!!!      The Girls Division V contest started the day off. 
The  indivdiual part of the contest was over early, with tall,
lithe  Clara Horiwitz of Head-Royce (Oakland) racing away from
the field  early, with the ""Stanford summer track and field
camper,"" purring  to an over two minute victory over Alana
Levinson's 21:34 for  Casilleja (Palo Alto).  Lick-Wilmeriding
took the team contest  with 39 points over Head Royce's 50. 
     The Boys Div V race featured a good match-up between the 
state's #2 (University, San Francisco) and #3 (Flintridge Prep, 
La Canada), with FP the defending State Champ.  Individually some 
good folks were here, with super soph Sean Drake (Uni) 4:25.86 in 
the 1600 last year as a frosh, and frosh Tim Nelson (Liberty, 
Redding) winning by nearly two minutes in ""by-grade"" meets in 
times under 16:00.  Oregonian Trevor Coolidge (St. Mary's, 
Medford) joined the above duo through the first mile at 5:06. 
During the back loop of the course it was reported that Mr. 
Nelson had taken a pretty good spill, and obviously given up the 

lead.  The ""fighting frosh,"" however, does not give up easy, and 
he gradually worked his way up and past Coolidge to take the win 
16:14-21, with Drake back at 16:58 for third.  Flintridge came 
out charging in the team contest, with four in the top fifteen 
through the mile, with Uni two (Drake and Ben Good) in that 
group.  The defending State Champ FP group gapped at right at a 
minute behind leader Imran Ahmad's 17:11 for fourth, with an 
impressive 24 point total to Uni's 62, with St. Joseph/Notre Dame 
(Alameda) also showing well with 66 in third. 
     The Girls Division IV contest would be another great ""team 
display"" with one group scoring 27 in a field of 31 teams!! 
University of San Francisco, the perennial State Div V Champs, 
moved up here for competition, with Liza Cohen from that group 

the early leader through a 5:45 mile, that had Liz Morse (Corona 
del Mar, Newport Beach), Jenna Timinsky (San Dieguito Academy, 
Encinitas), and 4:51.97 1600 star Angela Sanchez (Capuchino, San 
Bruno) close behind.  Corona del Mar (Newport Beach), ranked #1 
statewide early on, and appearing to be in another dogfight with 
Nordhoff (Ojai) for the team championship race this year, came 
out charging, with three in the top seven through the mile, with 
Katie Quinlan and Jenny Cummins leading the blue-clad CdM charge. 
 Uni's Cohen continued to lead the individual race through the
two  mile mark at 12:30, with CdM still dominating the team
contest.   Cohen was still the leader as the field turned round
the last  golf green and started the run down the homestretch. 
2:10 half  miler Liz Morse of Corona del Mar has run 56 in the
open 400, so  she can crank it up when she has to, which she
timed perfectly  here, gathering over the final 100 meters to
burst by just before  the finish line to win 18:58-59 over Cohen. 
CdM held true as a  team, with Season Meservey (8th) and Diana
Hossfield (11th)  joining Quinlan (5th) and Cummins (6th) to
total a shocking 27  points!  University proved itself more than
up to the challenge  against the rest of the huge field, scoring
145 for second, with  Louisville (Woodland Hills) next at 151. 
     Five of the State's top ten ranked Boys Teams would battle 
at the Division IV level.  Oak Park (most improved Boys' squad in 
California since last year at #2), Central Valley (#5), Fillmore 
(#6), Corona del Mar (Newport Beach #8), and Taft (Central 
Section #9) made for a good group!  Mark Nevers (Oak Park) had 
improved mightily as an individual since last year, winning big-
time over a super group at the Ojai West Rotary meet a couple of 
weeks previous!  Central Valley's Steve Springhorn led a pack of 
a dozen within five meters through the mile at 4:55 here, with 
Nevers, Travis Beardslee (Corona del Mar), and Billy Nelson 
(Taft), among others, in tow.  Oak Park, who runs in white tops 
with a brown stripe and the school name emblazoned, with dark 
brown shorts, and Central Valley, with Red Tops and Blue Shorts, 

were prominent in the team struggle early on.  Up front, Nevers 
had taken the lead at two miles, crossed in 10:23.  Vic Moreno 
(Escalon) moved into second, with Jeff Arnold (St. Francis, La 
Canada) third during the final mile.  Nevers was the winner in a 
fine 15:50 by nearly 100 meters, with 9:19 3200 star Moreno next 
at 16:04, with Arnold finishing at 16:12.  The team contest was 
interesting, with Oak Park appearing to score quite well, with 
its first four closing in 1st-9th-16th and 17th place.  Central 
Valley was 6-12-20-24 with the first four OP finishers all ahead 
of the Northern Section powers.  But ah, they score through five, 
with CV finishing in 31st for #5 and Oak Park 54 to make the 93-
97 final scoring difference.  There will be some interesting 
racing down the line, with McFarland, Nordhoff, and other 
Division IV powers involved! 
     The Division III Girls Contest simply had nine of the 
State's top ten ranked teams!  La Canada had seemed to prove 
superiority over this group in recent years, with Foothill 
(Redding) looking super early this season.  Granada (Livermore 
#3), South Hills (West Covina #4), and the other five ranked 
teams would make this a very interesting race.  So much for 
rankings, as a team that has not ventured out much, but was felt 
to have some good potential, was the team winner.  But more of 
that story later.  Individually, there was obviously a fine group 
along also, with Aljenadra Barrientos (San Lorenzo Valley, 
Felton) who showed some good potential in the Fall before 
exploding to a 4:45.02 1600 in winning State in track, Jenny 
Aldridge (Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa) fourth last year at this 
level at state, and Nicole Bonino (La Canada) fifth last Fall Div 
III in California.  Through the first mile Barrientos, who had 
ripped her early times from last year in local affairs, Aldridge, 
and Lauren Gustafson, a 4:58 1600 runner from Mills in Millbare, 
led at 5:29.  La Canada looked good as a team at the mile, with 
Foothill (Redding) having a couple in the top dozen.  But it was 
the red and yellow clad San Lorenzo Valley group of Coach Rob 
Collins and leader Alejandra Barrientos who were really making a 
dent, with all of their scorers inside the top thirty.  Through 
the two mile and shortly after there were a number of lead 
changes involving Alejandra B and Aldridge, with Barrientos later 
reporting that, ""Yeah, we changed the lead about ten different 
times in the race.""  Neither athlete is short on speed, with 
Aldridge one of the nation's top frosh 800 stars last Spring with 
a 2:13 best, pushing the 1600 champ right to the end, with 
Barrientos winning 17:51-52, excellent times that left the field 
nearly a minute behind.  Super South Hills frosh stars, Rocio 
Ferree and Kristi Gamboa, younger sisters of their team's stars 
in recent years, finished fourth and sixth, with Kelly Ortlief 
and Missy Lendl 7-8 for Foothill.  Nicole Bonino had led the La 
Canada charge at fifth.  Granada (Livermoe) was 10-11-12, so the 
team picture was a big muddied.  Hillary Schwartzbach was #2 for 

San Lorenzo Valley (9th), with Raquel Barrientos (ninth grade 
sister of Alejandra) 14th, Jenny Lewis (16th), and Shiloh Whiting 
(26th) slamming the door on the scoring contest, as Coach Rob 
Collins' crew shocked the ranked squads, scoring 65, with Granada 
next at 113, Foothill (R) 122, South Hills (123), and #1 ranked 
La Canada 128.  Wow!  Coach Collins had intimated that he had 
some good ones coming up from the middle school and all, and 
others developing, but their race here was the most shocking team 
performance in recent state history.  The Coach at Sandy, Oregon 
for a number of years, Collins has quite impressed during a 
recent period in California, with the development of Alejandra 
Barrientos from a 2:30 half miler to a 4:45 1600m star last year, 
with this Cross-Country group all underclass!!!  This is another 
that will be a very interesting division as the season goes 
along, with the last not heard from La Canada and some other very 
good teams. 
     The Boys' Division III contest featured a flock of great 
teams!  The State's top ten teams were all here!!!  Wow, this is 
what it is all about--let the teams settle it on the course.  Los 
Gatos and St. Francis out of the CCS were #1 and #2 ranked 
statewide, with Redwood (Larkspur) strong from the NCS.  Don 
Bosco Tech and South Hills were very solid from down South, so it 
would be quite entertaining!  Traditional power Jesuit (Portland) 
Oregon, was along for the fun!  Early on it appeared that the 
southern teams, South Hills, and Don Bosco, which swept the JV 
division this day 1-5, were out quickest as a group through the 
mile.  St. Francis's Eric Chaves was the leader of a pack through 
the mile at 4:40, with the CCS junior star pulling away from 
there on.  After a 10;23 two mile time, Chaves had stretched his 
lead to nearly 100 meters at the finish, closing in 15:47 to the 
15:59 of Jesse Hodges of South Hills.  With top five scorers 
stretching back into at least the 30's for the leading teams, it 
was challenging to sort the team contest out from standing at the 
finish line.  There were a number of teams with 3-4 inside the 
top twenty-five, with South Hills ending up backing up Hodges' 
second place with 12-20-25 and 30th placings to nip Bosco which 
had 9-11-21-22 and 37 89-100.  Redwood was next at 116 with 
Jesuit (Or) fourth at 129.  Again, the last tough competition 
sorting out this division is far from over. 
     The Girls Division II contest had six of the State's top ten 
teams, with Santa Margarita (Rancho SM #1), Foothill (Santa Ana 
#3), Antioch (#4), Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo #7), Clayton 
Valley (#8), and University City (San Diego #10) here on the 
course.  Last year's winner here and at state at this level, 
Jamie Witt (Folsom), who had a serious injury that cost her track 
season, Lori Mann (Santa Margarita), Robyn Stevens (Vacaville), 
10:51 3200m soph Janie Nolan (Antioch), and 10:53 star Amber 
Steen (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) were the individual 
favorites coming in.  Foothill (Santa Ana) had emerged as the 
state's most improved girls squad at any level, following a good 
summer of preparation with a mid 93's team time performance at 
the Woodbridge Invite which earned them a top-fifteen national 
ranking.  Robyn Stevens blasted out here, leading through the 
mile at under 5:40, with the pack a bit back.  Foothill was very, 
very strong as a team early on, with Lori Mann leading Santa 
Margarita, clad in blue, back a bit.  Could Stevens and Foothill 
hold on?  The answer was yes in both cases, with Stevens, a 
national level walk star also, emerging a ten second winner over 
Nolan, with Carson of Carson City, Nevada frosh Shanna Sparks 
next at 18:39.  Lori Mann led the Santa Margarita charge in 
fifth, with Laura Strachan the Foothill train in seventh. 
Foothill held true, with Katie Strachan (12th), Missy Ellsworth, 
Brittany Swanek, and Jessica Chavez having the best #4 and #5 
finishers to back up their 12th place average for the first three 
to win over Santa Margarita 92-119.  Antioch was next at 144. 
Foothill had to gain a great deal of confidence from their race 
here. 
     The Boys' Division II race had Eureka, the State's #2 ranked 
squad and Scripps Ranch (San Diego #4), leading.  Matt McInvale 
(Ramona), who had been tearing up the courses in San Diego,
looked like the leader individually, with Daniel Avila (Reedley) 
strong in the Central Section.  The blue-clad McInvale took the 
race out at 4:45, with Avila looking strong beside him.  Eureka 
looked surprisingly strong, running without star Lerin Morey, 
17th in State last year.  The North Coast Section power scored 4-
7-10-12 and 35th without Morey, totalling 68, with Scripps Ranch 

next at 162 and Mission Viejo close at 169.  3-4-5 here for 
Eureka were ninth and tenth graders!  McInvale eventually pulled 
away in the individual run to win at 15:33, with Santa Clara's 
Girmay Guangul placing second at 15:48 and Daniel Avila next at 
15:54, some 130 meters ahead of fourth place. 
     The Girls Division I contest had a very talented visitor in 
Jesuit HS of Portland, Oregon, the nation's #6 ranked team, with 
the school a super tradition lately on both the Boys and Girls 
side.  Soph Kim Williams, the daughter of former Lompoc HS Star 
Terry Williams, who raced 4:45.6 for 1500 meters last year as a 
soph for Jesuit, did not show to run with the team here, but they 
still were super!  Laura Harmon, who ran 4:34.80 for 1500 meters last year, leads Jesuit.  She battled up front during the race
 

with Julie Komosinski (Torrey Pines, Encinitas) after a first 
mile in the low 5:30's.  Komosinski looked very strong in winning 
individually at 18:32, with Harmon next at 18:53, and Liz 
Lindgren of Klamath, Oregon next at 19:04.  Jenna Keith 
(Centennial, Bakersfield), probably the state's most improved 
athlete since last year in our sport, was next at 19:10, with 
Jenny Sears (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 19:13 in fifth. 
     Jesuit totalled 68 points, with Torrey Pines next at 123 and 
Clovis 177 in third. 
     The Boys Division I race would feature a couple of great 
match-ups.  The individual end of the contest had an amazing 
group!  Josh Spiker (Ventura) and Ian Dobson (Klamath, Ore) were 
Foot Locker National Finalists in this sport last year, with 
Fernando Cabada (Buchanan, Clovis) 8:59 in track for 3200 meters. 
 J.J. Duke (Clovis) had been tearing things up in early statewide  travels this Fall, with Ben Morales (San Benito, Hollister)
 

strong in Central Coast Section action.  Teamwise, the nation's 
#8 team (Don Lugo, Chino) would battle the #10 ranked squad 
(Bend, Ore), with Bend having an interesting local tie-in, with 
Coach Bob Latham at Palos Verdes HS for a good while before 
heading north to Oregon a bit over a decade ago.  It would be a 
cooker!!!
     The trio of Ian Dobson, Josh Spiker, and Fernando Cabada 
rolled along through a 4:38 first mile, with Bend not messing 
around, having three among the top eight through this very quick 
first segment.  The Bend team looked very sharp, with Coach 
Latham flitting around the course, looking quite fit enough to 
score for the team or at least insure that workout efforts were 
solid out in the trenches with the troops!  Through two miles it 
was the same trio out in front at 9:54, with Don Lugo five inside 
the top twenty at that point, and Bend four at that point. 
Klamath, Red clad with white letters looked very strong also. 

During the last mile it was the Oregon crew that moved, with 
Dobson later commenting, ""Coming down a small hill at about the 
two mile mark I noticed they were falling back.  I did not really 
make or plan any move there, but started to edge away.""  Dobson 
was very impressive, powering all the way through the tape to a 
15:05 win over Spiker's 15:22, with Cabada next at 15:30, Morales 
at 15:34, and Duke at 15:37.  Bend sailed in at 7-8-12-15 and 24 
in the talented field to total 66, with Klamath 1-13-17-19-and 36 
for 86, with Lugo 10-11-18-27-and 77 for 143 in third.  Dobson 
and Bend were quite impressive this day!  The day's closing prep 
contest had been a great cap on a super day of running! 

     This is a great meet and trip for prep athletes throughout 
the state.  The Collegiate races that followed the prep section 
in the late afternoon were dynamite!  The best ever gathering of 
teams in California at the female collegiate level had Stanford, 
led by Julia Stamps, with Lauren Fleshman, Katie Hotchkiss and 
local stars others prominent, nip Arkansas, with former Yucaipa 
star, Kimi Welsh the #5 Arkansas scorer for the #2 ranked 
Razorbacks!  The Men's Collegiate Championship race had Stanford 
edging Arizona, with Mike Stember, Micheil Jones, and a number of 
other former California preps prominent on those teams and in the 
race!  The setting, meet management, course, and competition are 
tops!  Another great Stanford weekend was had by all----!