NOTE: Times listed in preview are from the 1995 CIF Championship Meet unless designated otherwise.

Home courses: All Harbor League teams will use Morley Field as a home course (boys about 3.0, girls 2.5).

Christian
Division: Five.
Coach: Chuck McIntire, replacing Liz O'Brien. McIntire has coached cross country at Madison, and has assisted in track at Mira Mesa.

BOYS: 9 runners.

Returning: Joseph Graves (12); Cameron Thompson (11). McIntire thinks Graves is his number two man at this early stage.

New: Mike Morgan (12), Josh Chesnut (9), David Crescitelli (11), Noam Katz (11), Doug Hicks (11). Morgan is the team's early leader. He's a tall, rangy runner, who is also a club soccer player. "We need to keep him healthy," McIntire said. Frosh Chesnut, McIntire said, "looks like a runner. He's a real bright spot." The coach said he is probably the team's third man now. Crescitelli is another player with soccer credentials, and he's moved into the fourth slot.

The outlook: It's mostly a new bunch that McIntire is molding, although the composition is mostly seniors and juniors. "We need to bring younger kids into the program," McIntire said. "But, we're going to be respectable." It wasn't that many years back that Christian had a number of great runners, such as David Soto and Josh Cox. McIntire hopes to turn this program around.

GIRLS: 9 or 10 runners.

Best runner: Beth Bowler (11), 18:01. Bowler has made All-CIF in her first two years in the sport, taking 8th as a frosh, and finishing 10th last year. She's off to a good start this year, with three wins in duals with Madison, Clairemont and Calvin Christian.

Returning: Laura Graves (10) 19:07; Nicole Tallman (12) 19:59; Britt Nelson (10) 22:08. From two years ago, Kim Buegge (12), who ran the CIF course in 18:40 as a soph. She's a softball player who runs for conditioning, and "just toughs it out," McIntire said. He ranks her as the team's number two runner at present, with Graves as the number three.

New: Erin Whitmore (9), Wendy Volz (11). Frosh Whitmore is a strong number four runner in early meets, pusing the front-runners.

The outlook: Most Harbor League teams are much like Christian, struggling to keep sufficient numbers, and happy to build a team around a handful of good runners. McIntire hopes to begin upgrading the cross country programs at this school.

Clairemont
Division: Four.
Coach: Sean Stevenson.
BOYS: 9 runners.

Returning: Nate Roberts (12) 18:03; Jose Padilla (11) 18:10; Jose Jimenez (11) 18:10; Michael LoForti (11) 19:51. These runners ran three-four-five-six on last year's Division IV section champs. Roberts is recovering from a stress fracture; LoForti (who had a "good summer") might be the most improved. This team has the makings of a classic "pack" group as the talent seems relatively evenly distributed among a number of runners.

New: Nelson Rivas (10), Juan Torres (11), Tim Nguyen (10), Sippy Khoumalasay (10). Rivas ran the 3200 in 10:50 in track, and is a strong soph runner. Torres is a wrestler who trained well over the summer. Nguyen and Khoumalasy are tracksters. Stevenson is hoping to find a solid runner or two from this group. Depth will be a concern all year, but that's pretty much the norm for the smaller schools.

The outlook: "I feel pretty good about our chances," Stevenson said. "We have a good core top five, as long as we stay healthy. The team has a real good work ethic." Stevenson is right. Clairemont has a legit shot at the league crown in the Harbor League, and should also be a factor in the CIF in Division IV. This program was down a few years back, but Stevenson has turned things around. "I'm really looking forward to the season," he said.

GIRLS: 1 runner.

The team: Charito Cruz (10) 23:33. Team misses Heidi Cavender (11), who was a talented runner for them last year before moving to Ukiah.

Coronado
Division: Four.
Coach: Mel Bechtel. Assisted by George Green.
BOYS: 10 runners.

Best runner: Cheyne Jones (12) 17:08. Jones has really come on in the last year. He was third in the CIF Division IV race last fall, and then ran in the 1:59s in track. He, "is looking awesome," according to assistant coach Green. "I think he will be up there locally in the top ten in any division. He's in super shape, better than I've ever seen him."

Returning: Drew Koorey (11) 18:55. The Islanders graduated five of their top seven from a team that was second in CIF Division IV (one point behind Clairemont).

New: Paul Whitford (9), Jesse Adam (10), Josh Richards, Luke Morton (12), Matt Borunda (12). This group will be counted on to replace the five grads. Richards is already the team's number two. Behind him, a pack has formed with Adam and Koorey, who were both sprinters on the track team, and strong frosh runner Whitford. Borunda, who came over from St. Augustine, was a good runner for the Saints two years ago as a soph, but had back problems last year. If he can get healthy, he'll make a difference.

The outlook: "Compared to last year, I think we're about the same, and potentially might be a better team," Green said. "It's such a young team, it's hard to judge." The Islanders are always a factor, both in the league and at CIF. With the turnover of personnel, however, it's definitely a wait-and-see type of year. As with all teams at this level, depth is a major factor. "We're awfully thin," Green said.

GIRLS: 15 runners.

Best runner: Barbra Chakos (10) 17:14. Chakos was one of the best small-school frosh runners last year. She was sixth in the CIF meet, and ran 5:25 and 12:07 for 1600/3200 in track. She's risen to the role of team leader and is training and running well in early season.

Returning: Christine Hansen (10) 18:16; Brigid Ryan (12) 20:11; Jasmine Watts (12). The Islanders came up with a school-record 4x400 meter relay team last year that featured three frosh: Hansen was one of those team members.

New: Samantha Piper (10), Jennifer Robbins (10), Kelly Charboneau (10), Sara Morton (9), Kiley Dunlap (9). Piper and Robbins are the other two returnees from that relay crew. Dunlap is a talented frosh runner with great potential, while Charboneau is a much-improved veteran from last year. Morton has only been with the team for a few weeks, but already has shown some talent. Right now, Dunlap and Hansen are close together as the two-three runners, with Piper not far behind. The critical fifth spot is up for grabs among a number of candidates, one of whom will probably step forward over the course of the season.

The outlook: You can always count on Coronado to contend in the Harbor and at CIF. With the new divisional format, the Islanders are placed in Division IV with University. Those two schools should be ahead of any rivals at the county level. The Islanders will have to be running a tight pack by that time, however, to counter Uni's great front-line talent. Main league rival is Crawford.

Crawford
Division: Three.
Coach: Jim Bloom.

BOYS: 10 runners.

Best runner: Titus Chawech (12) 17:01. He's returning to running after battling an infection that kept him out of track during the spring. "He looks good," Bloom said. Chawech has been a solid cross country runner the last two years.

Returning: Abdul Hussein (12); Man Chau (11) 24:26; Jim Miller (12).

New: Minhsoo Smith (9). "He looks promising," Bloom said. "It might take a year or two, but he could be very good."

The outlook: The numbers and quality both seem a little thin, but few teams in this league are overloaded with talent. Chawech is one of the league's best, but the pack will have to develop some solid runners.

GIRLS: 12 runners.

Best runner: Maria Moreno (12) 17:26, one of the team's best for the past two years. "She puts her heart into it," Bloom said. "She puts everything into her effort."

Returning: Angie Theriault (12) 19:03; Kendra Shaw (12) 19:28; Istarlin Sheik Mohamed (11) 20:28. Theriault and Shaw are cut of the same cloth as Moreno, according to Bloom. "They work hard," he said.

New: Julian Quan (12), Allison Kukel (10). Kukel is a transfer from University.

The outlook: In the Harbor, the girls title has boiled down to Crawford and Coronado the past few seasons. The two teams also seem the best this year, and the Colts have at least some of the elements in place to help them mount a challenge. Much will depend on the development in the middle of the pack.

Gompers
Division: Four.
Coach: Mary Beving-Morning.

BOYS: 5 runners.

New: All five athletes are new to cross country. Gompers' magnet status, with students coming from all over the city, does not lend itself to offseason training programs, so Beving-Morning had to wait until the start of classes to begin assembling her team. Among the prospects: freshman Gabari Brown, younger brother of Ajani Brown.

The outlook: A young, all-new group means that the team is just starting basic training. "We don't want to do too much too soon," Beving-Morning said. "We want to ease into it."

GIRLS: 5 runners.

Best runner: Toby Barmyer (10) 19:03. She was seventh in the Harbor League Finals as a frosh last year.

New: The other four runners on the team are all new to the sport.

The outlook: "Toby is excited that she's got a full team behind her," said Beving-Morning. "She just ran by herself last year." The newcomers will be brought along slowly by the coach.

Lincoln Academy
Division: Four.
Coach: Vic Player.

BOYS: 5 runners.

Returning: Sean McDowell (11).

New: John Allen (11), Mohammed Warsame (11). The other two spots on the team are manned by track athletes who are using the sport to keep fit.

The outlook: Lincoln won't be able to compete with teams like Clairemont, Coronado or Crawford. But in the Harbor League, a number of schools are struggling to keep their numbers up.

GIRLS: 9 runners.

Best runner: Theresa Brondstetter (11), who ran 17:59 in the CIF meet as a frosh in 1994. She is an all-around athlete, but didn't run cross country last year. In training, she runs her workouts with the better boy runners. "In hill work, she runs the same amount of inclines as the guys," Player said.

New: Most of the rest of the team is filled out by off-season track athletes using the sport as a conditioning base, which is very similar to the approach that the Morse High coaches use. Player cited two athletes that he thinks will be competitive when it comes to racing: Patrice Thompson (10), and Bethany McDowell (10).

The outlook: It will be interesting to see how Brondstetter competes after a year away from the sport. If she picks up where she left off, she's one of the best in the league. The numbers are there, too. If one or more of the rest of the team gets serious, this could be a decent team in the league.

Madison
Division: Four.
Coach: Bob Bishop. Assisted by Darwin Saylor.

Home course: Morley, of course, for league meets, but the team uses La Jolla Shores for a good number of non-league duals (they have six meets there this year). "We like to keep off Morley Field," Bishop said. "Teams like to run against us because they like to run at La Jolla. We're the beach runners."

BOYS: 10 runners.

Best runner: Nick Hamlin (12) 17:07. Hamlin was a terror the first half of last season, but was weakened by illness late (he was still 6th in CIF Division III). In track, he seemed fully recovered as he recorded times of 4:31 and 9:31, and he just missed qualifying for state in the 3200, taking fourth place. "He has a good attitude," Bishop said. "He's running as well as he's ever run." Hamlin is also an all-around talent, with top grades in the classroom, and has won recognition as a young playwright. He was recently honored as one of California's top young playwrights, and will have a play staged at the Old Globe in months to come.

Returning: Josh Rickert (12) 20:29; Chris Evertson (10) 22:16; Bryan Atkinson (12) 23:24; Yas Kanomata (12) 24:08. Bishop thinks Rickert will be the team's number three runner.

New: Pepe Cervantes (9), Chris Livingston (9), Chris Buffington (9), Anthony Mercado (10), Nick Villarino (10), Mike Morgan (10). Morgan, who is also the kicker on the Warhawks' football team, is probably the number two runner, according to Bishop.

The outlook: This team should be competitive in the Harbor League, especially with Hamlin running well. A lot depends on how the younger runners develop.

GIRLS: 10 runners.

Best runner: Nikki Socie (11) 18:15. Bishop said Socie is, "a real good, hard worker."

Returning: Tracy Luce (12) 21:57; Laurel Martindale (12). Luce is probably the team's number two runner at present.

New: Shontay Tatum (9), Cara Montisano (11), Special-K Pirie (9). Montisano was designated by Bishop as the team's number three athlete.

The outlook: The team should be a competitive group in the Harbor League. If the young talent can improve, they'll be fine.

Marian Catholic
Division: Five.
Coach: Terry Mason.

BOYS: 5 runners.

Best runners: Phillip Cota (12), Mike Bullard (10), Daniel Y. Behrens (12), Christian Taulin (12). Cota, a basketball player, has shown the best in work-outs, according to Mason. Behrens is an exchange student from Germany.

The outlook: Marian was almost a non-presence in the sport last year, but the interest level has seemed to increase this year. The numbers are not yet at high levels, but they are up.

GIRLS: 4 runners.

Best runners: Monica Escubedo (10), Veineke Heirich (12), Leslie Usi (11). Escubedo ran last year, and might be pushed by Heirich this year.

The outlook: The reality of competing at a small school is that the numbers crunch always works against you. Marian doesn't even have a minimum number for a scoring team yet, but they are growing, which is an encouraging sign. In the Harbor League, teams don't have to have mammoth rosters to compete.