Palomar:
Poway boys, Fallbrook girls triumph
Baskin, Goffredo impress
It's never dull in the Palomar League. The boys team race had five potential
winners, and the girls team race featured three of the top teams in the
state.
Fallbrook's girls team and Poway's boys team took titles in the championship
meet, held at Guajome Park on Friday.
Orange Glen's Kendra Goffredo and Mt. Carmel's Mike Baskin both looked
very good in winning individual titles, and both runners led their squads
to second-place finishes in the team race.
Fallbrook's girls dominated a field that included two other teams (Orange
Glen and Vista) that were ranked in the state's top ten (in Division I).
Senior Tricia Mattson took third in a talented field of girls, and a startling
number of Fallbrook runners populated the top slots.
The Warriors are currently ranked third in the state in Division I. OG
is number four, and Vista is ranked eighth.
The Fallbrook scorers also included Cathy Picha (6th), Kristen Brown (8th),
Kim Croswell (9th) and Carly Hampton (11th). The Warriors had two others
in the top 15, and their eighth girl was 22nd in the field.
Did they dominate? Fallbrook's number five was one place behind Vista's
number one. Fallbrook's number six was one place behind Mt. Carmel's number
two. Fallbrook's number seven was one place ahead of Orange Glen's number
three. Fallbrook's number eight was one place behind Poway's number two.
"I was really happy," Fallbrook coach Marty Hauck said. "It
was a great meet. Our goal was to put seven in the top 15, and that's what
we did."
Orange Glen, runner-up in the girls race, had a good news/bad news kind
of meet. The bad news was that number two Cara Rumble was out. The good
news was that Katie Cottrell returned to racing with a good effort that
probably inspired her teammates. An expected challenge from Vista's girls
didn't materialize, and OG was easily second.
In fact, Poway's girls team tied Vista for the third spot.
"I was just as proud of my girls team as I was of my boys team,"
Poway coach Dan Schaitel said. "They've had to overcome some big demons."
Individually, OG's Goffredo may have assumed the favorite's role at CIF
with a win here, holding off a good field that included defending champ
Sarah Wilkins, Tricia Mattson and Julie Manson.
The win for Poway's boys was considered an upset by some, but it's hard
to understand why. The Titans had only one dual meet loss coming in, and
they are the defending league and CIF champs. It was also Poway coach Schaitel's
50th birthday, so the Titans had the psych going on a number of levels.
The Poway plan was to get out early, essential for a pack team on a relatively
narrow course like Guajome.
"We had to get out and we had to stay together," Schaitel said.
"Our priority was to get out there and keep pushing it."
That's just the way it worked out, as junior Mike Helms (8th) headed up
a 24-second spread among the first five. Senior Sean Zanderson (9th), junior
Matt Gailey (10th), senior Jake McNeely (12th) and freshman Josh Pope (14th)
completed the scoring. The Titans had such great depth that their eighth
runner (who was 22nd) was several places ahead of any other team's number
five.
"This season has been an exercise in patience," Schaitel said.
A number of other teams have gotten more attention throughout the season,
especially early on, but the Poway team has just kept improving.
"You know your athletes," he said. "You know what their
capabilities are. It's just a matter of getting them to run to their capabilities
at the right time."
Mt. Carmel and Rancho Bernardo, two teams that are strong at the top but
which are certainly more spread out than Poway's group, tied for second
in the meet, but Mt. Carmel was awarded second on a sixth-man tiebreaker.
Rancho Bernardo, who came in ranked number one, and who was 7-0 in Palomar
duals, lost a tie for the Palomar title because of the tie-breaker.
"We didn't run horribly," RB coach Don Jones said of his team.
"They (Poway) just ran better. But it was really tough to lose on
the tie-breaker. I feel bad for our kids."
Mt. Carmel junior Baskin steamed to a 19-second win over a quality field,
which makes him at least a co-favorite in CIF's Division I. Many think
Baskin is the top runner in the county in any division.
Two other contenders, Vista and Rancho Buena Vista, had all sorts of problems.
Vista's Steve Ketcham was ill, and ran well back. RBV's runners got spread
out, although some of their top guns got good position early in the race.
"I thought Poway's team ran a very smart race," RBV coach Tom
Lux said.
The results:
BOYS (3.2 miles):
Teams: Poway 50, Mt. Carmel 61, Rancho Ber-nardo 61. Vista 99, Rancho Buena Vista 114, Fallbrook 138, Orange Glen 196, San Marcos 199. Poway wins Palomar League championship, based on 6-1 dual meet record and first in league finals meet. Rancho Bernardo was first in duals, at 7-0, and tied for second in the finals with Mt. Carmel, but lost second in that meet on a tie-breaker (sixth man). RB thus finishes second in the league overall.
Individuals (78 finishers):
1-5: Mike Baskin (Mt. Carmel) 16:26, Fernando Blanco (Rancho Buena Vista) 16:45, Eron Tello (Rancho Bernardo) 16:53, Sean Ricketts (RB) 16:54, Burt Rome-ro (MC) 16:55.
6-10: Gonzalo Garcia (Vista) 16:58, Mike Helms (Poway) 16:59, Sean Zanderson (P) 17:03, Matt Gailey (P) 17:04, Matt Galaviz (RB) 17:12.
11-15: Jeff Sleichter (MC) 17:13, Jake McNeely (P) 17:18, Eladio Garcia (RBV) 17:19, Josh Pope (P) 17:23, Tod Benjamin (RB) 17:24.
16-20: Efrain Casarez (Fallbrook) 17:24, Justin Neuroth (V) 17:26, Justin Lucas (P) 17:28, Scott Bachman (MC) 17:29, Steve Ketcham (V) 17:37.
21-25: Scott Strachan (P) 17:37, Ben Schwab (P) 17:39, Cameron Jones (F) 17:40, Jose Escobedo (F) 17:41, Nick Wheeler (Orange Glen) 17:46.
26-30: John Zanzucchi (MC) 17:48, Andrew Smith (V) 17:49, Nick Schlapfer (OG) 17:50, Rocky Metcalfe (MC) 17:51, Sean McElroy (RB) 17:53.
31-35: Sean Daley (V) 17:54, Victor Olivares (San Marcos) 17:55, Jaimal Hornbacher (RBV) 17:56, Mark Jordan (RBV) 17:57, Carmelino Ortiz (RBV) 17:58.
36-40: Chris Kenyon (MC) 18:00, Roy Quinn (F) 18:02, Arnel Aradanas (MC) 18:07, Christian Esquivel (MC) 18:10, Marcel Meerstetter (RB) 18:10.
41-45: Lynn Ly (OG) 18:11, Jose Fernandez (SM) 18:14, Hever Chavez (RBV) 18:15, Tyler Bochenek (F) 18:17, Sean Keating (SM) 18:19.
46-50: Charles Wilson (SM) 18:20, Andrew Boring (SM) 18:20, Ryan Franzen (P) 18:23, Cesar Rodriguez (V) 18:24, Pete Coughlin (F) 18:27.
GIRLS (2.5 miles):
Teams: Fallbrook 37, Orange Glen 65, Poway 101, Vista 101, Mt. Carmel 110, Rancho Bernardo 124, San Marcos 214, Rancho Buena Vista 220. Fallbrook wins Palomar League championship, based on 7-0 dual meet record and a win in the league finals meet.
Individuals (79 finishers):
1-5: Kendra Goffredo (Orange Glen) 14:46, Sarah Wilkins (Rancho Bernardo) 15:54, Tricia Mattson (Fallbrook) 14:56, Julie Manson (RB) 14:57, Lorena Jimenez (OG) 14:59.
6-10: Cathy Picha (F) 15:13, Brianna Hibbs (Poway) 15:16, Kristen Brown (F) 15:20, Kim Croswell (F) 15:30, Noelle Magana (Vista) 15:33.
11-15: Carly Hampton (F) 15:45, Karen Vasco (Mt. Carmel) 15:46, Samantha Stevens (MC) 15:48, Mindy Green (F) 15:45, Katie Hauck (F) 15:51.
16-20: Laura Lawrence (OG) 15:52, Brooke Schroeder (V) 15:56, Natalie Forsyth (V) 16:03, Katie Cottrell (OG) 16:13, Devon Lasiter-Thurber (V) 16:14.
21-25: Hollie Babione (P) 16:15, Allison Plischke (F) 16:15, Mande Clark (P) 16:16, Briss Jennings (P) 16:17, Diana Dibble (OG) 16:20.
26-30: Melissa Hieb (OG) 16:20, Christine Alford (MC)16:25, Veronica Roberts (MC) 16:25, Meridith Nespor (P)16:29, Gill Guyer (F) 16:30.
31-35: Gina Rennix (OG) 16:31, Stacey Sims (Rancho Buena Vista) 16:32, Monica Hite (P) 165:35, Erin Masters (MC) 16:36, Jennifer Peterson (San Marcos) 16:38.
36-40: Lisa Vasek (P) 16:41, Kelly Kodadek (SM) 16:42, Laura Rankin (P) 16:44, Darlene Lee (V) 16:45, Jessica Johnson (RB) 16:47.
41-45: Lauren Aposhian (V) 16:51, Maria Mendoza (V) 16:52, Noelle Rideout (F) 16:52, Julie Davidson (V) 16:54, Lisa Lyons (RB) 16:57.
46-50: Emily Joller (RB),16:57, Michelle Flores (P) 16:59, Erin Spooner (P) 17:00, Karina Kloos (RBV) 17:03, Erika Batiz (V) 17:04.