Southern:
Holtville denied entry; were they too good?

A Commentary:

The Southern Conference, or Coastal League, needs to get its act together.
In a shameful decision handed down by the league's athletic directors less than 48 hours before the championship meet was to be held, Holtville's request to be included in the meet was denied.
The decision overshadowed the subsequent competition, which Track magazine does not recognize as a legitimate championship.
The decision to deny Holtville entry into the meet was curious because of a number of facts:

  1. Holtville is a member of the Southern Conference.
  2. Holtville's boys cross country team is quite probably the strongest team in the conference (and possibly a State contender in Division V).
  3. Holtville junior Miguel Ramirez, one of the best runners in the state (in Division V), could be expected to win the race handily.

The suspicion is that the league's directors didn't want Holtville to participate because they are too good.
"They thought they would be upstaged," Holtville coach Gerardo Lara said.
"I didn't really think it was right for Holtville to participate, because they would take a disproportionate number of awards," one coach said. "It's not right because they don't participate in the dual meets."
Except that there is precedent for a team to operate independently and then score in the finals. Julian High did it in 1989, when their program was just being restarted. Of course, they were no threat to win awards. And the CIF has no restriction on independent teams entering these types of meets.
"I'm not even sure Holtville is in the league," a coach said. "Maybe we need to clarify if we are the Coastal League, or the Southern Conference."
Of course, Imperial, another desert school, annually participates in the league's track championships. "But they participate in the dual meets," a coach said.
Of course, to encourage Holtville's participation in the league's dual meets, the league would probably have to change their scheduling policies, which definitely need some scrutiny. Now, it is the league's policy for teams that have "stronger programs" to host several dual meets on home courses, while teams that have "marginal programs" are given one token home meet, if any. The net effect is for teams such as Warner, Julian and Borrego Springs to be forced to travel to three or more meets, most of them entailing well over an hour (one-way) of travel time. Such a practice is patently discriminatory.
It is important to note a number of other factors regarding the decision.

  1. The decision was made by the league's athletic directors, and not by the cross country coaches, at least some of whom were eager for Holtville to participate.
  2. The ADs seemed to be upset when Holtville's coach asked to be included by making a direct request to the meet director, and not by going through "proper channels," whatever they are.
  3. There is a considerable history of rancor within the league, which is an uneasy alliance of well-to-do private schools, small religious schools, and far-flung back country public schools. Generally, the private schools are suspicious of the public schools, and vice versa. "I did sense that there was an anti-desert sentiment at work in the decision," Calvin Christian coach Bill Stout said. "The feeling seemed to be that, 'Here's another desert school, trying to pull something.'" Stout, also his school's AD, abstained from the vote.

Holtville's cross country program is now in its third year, under the direction of walk-on coach Gerardo Lara. Last year, they finished third in the CIF Division IV race, behind Clairemont and Coronado. Ramirez won his second consecutive CIF championship and followed that with a third in the state finals.
Lara, who has little budget for travel, has to scramble for competition. "We haven't had that many meets," he said. "We really need to race." A tuneup meet last week is just what the race-short Vikings required to tune up for the CIF and State meets.
The league determines its championship by dual meet results. But the finals meet is scored, and a trophy is awarded to the winning team. Representing what? The meet also determines all-league awards, which this year are much less meaningful, at least on the boys side.
It is the position of Track magazine that there was no compelling reason to deny Holtville's entry into this meet, despite some unusual circumstances surrounding their entry.
Cross country is supposed to be a sport that is based on equal opportunity, fairness of competition, and just rewards for hard work and the excellence that results from it. This incident did significant injury to those principles.
Ironically, if Holtville, or Ramirez, enjoys any measure of success at the State level, it will reflect creditably on the conference which so poorly served them.

NOTE: Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding this competition, Track magazine does not recognize the boys race as being a true championship.

BOYS (3.0 miles):

Varsity:

Teams: Calvin Christian 48, Francis Parker 53, La Jolla Country Day 62, Bishop's 76, Lutheran 146, Army-Navy 153. Julian, Borrego Springs, Warner, no score.

Individuals (49 finishers):

1-5: Justin Scarfeo (La Jolla Country Day) 17:05, Bart Conner (Calvin Christian) 17:23, Jessee Powell (Warner) 17:30, Jared Ziman (LJCD) 17:38, R. J. Sparks (Francis Parker) 17:54.

6-10: Peter Holland (Bishop's) 17:54, Chad Young (CC) 18:05, Jon Beutlich (CC) 18:12, Mark Mullert (Lutheran) 18:18, Huw Lewis (FP) 18:21.

11-15: Shane McElreavy (FP) 18:22, Max Spevack (FP) 18:24, David Pechet (LJCD) 18:25, Daisuke Nonaka (B) 18:29, Max Johnson (B) 18:30.

16-20: Chris Navarro (LJCD) 18:31, Justin Verhoeven (CC) 18:34, Ryan Brown (CC0 18:40, Steve Mavis (CC) 18:49, Sean McCarty (Julian) 18:58.

21-25: Karl Rinderknecht (FP) 19:12, Joe Klvey (CC) 19:12, Tom Suiter (B) 19:14, Josh Hermeston (Army Navy) 19:21, Chris Wong (B) 19:24.

Junior Varsity (59 finishers):

Teams: Francis Parker 41, Calvin Christian 52, Bishop's 66, Army-Navy 79, La Jolla Country Day 244. Lutheran, no score.

Individuals:

1-5: Josh Jackman (FP) 19:05, Nathan Huff (CC) 19:20, Casey Marks (FP) 19:25, Cosmo Chiementi (ANA) 19:33, Jerry Hsieh (ANA) 19:34.

GIRLS (2.45 miles):

Varsity:

Teams: Bishop's 48, Francis Parker 49, La Jolla Country Day 52, Calvin Christian 82. Lutheran, Julian, no score.

Individuals (31 finishers):

1-5: Lindsay Weinberg (La Jolla Country Day) 16:16, Alison Gordon (Bishop's) 17:09, Sandra Ruiz (LJCD) 17:22, Gwyn Leachman (Francis Parker) 17:24, Zoe Landers (FP) 17:36.

6-10: Jennifer Lloyd (Lutheran) 17:39, Karen Memmelaar (Calvin Christian) 17:42, Monica Bornemisza (LJCD) 17:58, Amanda Shipley (CC) 18:10, Heather Ray (B) 18:22.

11-15: Angie Markle (FP) 18:40, Jenny Evans (B) 18:45, Angela Wachtler (B) 18:56, Sarah Manley (FP) 18:57, Shelby Polakoff (B) 19:03.

16-20: Lindsay Hilz (Julian) 19:04, Ana Landa (B) 19:14, Brooke Miler (B) 19:14, Jenny Dorth (FP) 19:35, Lydia Boonstra (CC) 19:45.

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