MARTIN LUTHER KING
GREATE
G CROSS COUNTRY
ER THAN
2019 King High Cross Country Yearbook Volume 21 Coaches: Brad Peters, Dan Pierce, Jim Griesinger, Carrie Soholt, Pedro Sandoval, Raelyn Werley Athletic Director: Chip George Principal: Mike West Writing by Brad Peters and Jenna Bernath Photographs by Brad Peters, Stephanie Ortiz and Mackenzie Peters 72 Athletes at season’s end www.kingcrosscountry.com
In 2019 our nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of an amazing event. It was July of 1969 when, after a decade of trial, error, planning and thinking, the United States landed the first person on the moon. That man was Neil Armstrong. With careful attention, he back-stepped off the ladder of the landing craft and let down upon the moon; his boot printing the dusty surface with a human mark. What an historic moment! And then, just after that first step, came Armstrong’s first words from the surface of the moon: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” What a great statement! He could have stood there and exulted in what he had just done, what his talent, his brilliance and courage had just accomplished. He could have done a victory dance and taken all the glory. “Look at me!” Instead, he turned the spotlight on the “we”rather than the “me.” His statement, while short, spoke volumes about the team that got him there. There were the two other astronauts there with him, thousands of engineers, scientists, dreamers, mathematicians (like those highlighted in the movie, Hidden Figures) and politicians who made the moon shot possible. In that amazing singular moment of Armstrong’s he was quick to say the obvious: A great moment like this took all of us. We > me. That was what we tried to get at in this year’s season theme: Greater Than. As we’ve done for nearly half of our program’s history, we built our season around a central theme, a big idea that was intended to challenge and motivate us toward a better place. By evoking “greater than”, we were not talking about “dominating” or otherwise taking a position of superiority over our opponents. Rather, we looked at the challenges that are common to cross country teams and asked: “How can we be greater than what seems to be impossible?” Could there be a more appropriate theme for a high school XC team? In now 30 years of coaching, I’ve seen kids and teams wilt under the challenges that come with the sport and forming a team. So often, the obstacles are perceived as insurmountable. Success and team bonding are sacrificed because the challenge is seen as too great, too tough. he challenges are often: > We wanted to change that kind of thinking. Perhaps you wondered how the theme fit when it was clear other things proved to be greater than us. Well, sometimes that was true. We didn’t always win, we didn’t always come out on top. But if you think about it, for literally thousands of years that’s what humans had said of getting a person on the moon. “It’ll never happen. It’s too hard.” But then, in the 1960’s a group of Americans said, “why not? Why does getting to the moon have to be too great a task? Who says we can’t figure out a way? Why can’t we be greater than what seems impossible?” President Kennedy said it well, “We choose to go to the moon, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.” Indeed. So much of being on a cross country team is hard, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be greater than the difficulties we face. And when we get to that space, great reward comes. I hope the 2019 theme moved you closer to that end.
GREATER THAN
Jazz Arroyo ~ Jenna Bernath ~ Camille Bradford ~ Audrey Brunken ~ Alessandra Castro ~ Jessi Evenie Fuentes ~ Jane Gathuu ~ Neveah Gonzales ~ Victoria Gonzalez ~ Andreya Goodson ~ Jo Grace Lowry ~ Sydney Magno ~ Justine Marshall ~ Kela Mavhera ~ Mariah Ngo ~ Stephanie Or Emily Richmond ~ Jocelynn Stevenson ~ Brooke Tovar ~ Snow White
Arturo Avalos ~ Joshua Balsells ~ David Bedoya ~ Scotty Biddle ~ Malachi Cabanilla ~ Nathan Austin Fortenberry ~ Luke Freese ~ John Gathuu ~ Brady Goodson ~Brian Green ~ Michael Gu ~ Daniel Herrera ~ Mitchell Machuca ~ Gray Mavhera ~ Joseph Mayberry ~ Jeff Mirtich ~ Julia Edgar Ortega ~ Ben Peirce ~ Bryson Pradia ~ Brendan Provance ~ Angel Rawdon ~ Michael Ro ~ Matthew Somody ~ Sebastian Sosa ~ Luke Stokes ~ Matthew Stokes ~ Ryan Stuckey ~ Brando Francisco Zavaleta ~ Damien Zemanek
ica DuCasse ~ Taylor Eckles ~ Julia Freese ~ oan Green ~ Shelby Grossi ~ Andrea Guadian ~ rtiz ~ Avalon Provance ~ Ashlyn Richmond ~
Curtner ~ Albert Deleon ~ Adrian Flores ~ uerrero ~ Nikko Guzman ~ Matthew Gwynn ~ Ben Heick an Morgan ~ Gilbert Northington ~ Raymundo Ortega ~ odriguez ~ Bohdin Rush ~ Hector Ruvalcaba ~ Jack Slavin on Valenti ~ John Wangari ~ Jonathan Weaver ~
Nike Cross Nationals 2009, 2010 - Lane Werley 2016, 2017 - Lauren Peurifoy State Finals 2017 – Carissa Avila, Jenna Bernath, Joanie Green, Allison Janes, Sydney Magno, Kela Mavhera, Lauren Peurifoy, Joelle Ramos, Amanda Sosa, KaryLee Taylor 2016 – Kathryn Hammar, Ashley Haring, Allison Janes, Kela Mavhera, Rebekah Pendleton, Mackenzie Peters, Lauren Peurifoy, Joelle Ramos, Skylar Smith, Amanda Sosa 2015 – Tyler Janes 2014 – Andrew Boebinger, Daniel Gonzalez, David Huff, Tyler Janes, Rolando Phalen, Isaiah Quiambao, Carlos Ramirez, Blake Simpson, Seth Villanueva, Mark Werley 2010 - Lane Werley, Hanna Peterson 2009 - Lane Werley, Kelsi Tippets, Aubrey Bowman, Emma Jaramillo, Raelyn Werley, Rebecca Asplund, Hanna Peterson, Katrina Graham, Carrie Soholt, Kasey Tippets 2007 - Kelsi Tippets 2006 - Carissa Bowman CIF Finals 2018 – Jacob Call, Dathan Chann, Matt Casro, Malachi Cabanilla, Austin Fortenberry, Brian G reen, Mitchell Machuca, Gray Mavhera, Edgar Ortega, Garrett Vasta, Francisco Zavaleta, Jenna Bernath, Audrey Brunken, Joan Green, Shelby Grossi, Justine Marshall, Kela Mavhera, Lauren Peurifoy, Avalon Provance, Briana Rodriguez, Amanda Sosa, Jocelynn Stevenson 2017 – Carissa Avila, Jenna Bernath, Joanie Green, Allison Janes, Sydney Magno, Kela Mavhera, Lauren Peurifoy, Joelle Ramos, Amanda Sosa, KaryLee Taylor 2016 - Kathryn Hammar, Ashley Haring, Allison Janes, Kela Mavhera, Rebekah Pendleton, Mackenzie Peters, Lauren Peurifoy, Joelle Ramos, Skylar Smith, Amanda Sosa, Christopher Barba, Cameron Boydd, Dathan Chann, Austin Dai, Daniel Lopez, Mario Machuca, Jonathan Moncada, Aman Rana, Andrew Simpson, Garrett Vasta 2015 - Andrew Boebinger, Daniel Gonzalez, David Huff, Tyler Janes, Wyatt Smith, Mark Werley, Jonathan Moncada, Chris Barba, Michael Robinson 2014 - Andrew Boebinger, Daniel Gonzalez, David Huff, Tyler Janes, Rolando Phalen, Isaiah Quiambao, Carlos Ramirez, Blake Simpson, Seth Villanueva, Mark Werley 2013 - Brianna Jacklin, Aimee Martinez, Lauren Boydd, Alyssa Haring, Hannah Johnson, Rachel Rosales, Ruth Wiggins 2012 - Brandon Berz, Nathan Torres, Perry Elerts, Joe Casco, Robert Sanchez, Trevor Berney, Rolando Phalen, Seth Villanueva 2011 – Raelyn Werley 2010 - Priscilla Carrasco, Hannah Peterson, Katy Fatten, Lisa Garside, Carrie Soholt, Kasey Tippets, Raelyn Werley, Daniel Balcazar, Devin Becerra, Chris Miller, Nick Rini, Adam Schupp, Lane Werley 2009 - Lane Werley, Kelsi Tippets, Aubrey Bowman, Emma Jaramillo, Raelyn Werley, Rebecca Asplund, Hanna Peterson, Katrina Graham, Carrie Soholt, Kasey Tippets 2008 - Rebecca Asplund, Aubrey Bowman, Katrina Graham, Hanna Peterson, Carrie Soholt, Kasey Tippets, Kelsi Tippets 2007 - Rebecca Asplund, Aubrey Bowman, Carissa Bowman, Danielle Fillmore, Carrie Soholt, Kasey Tippets, Kelsi Tippets 2006 - Carissa Bowman, Rebecca Asplund, Larissa Davis, Danielle Fillmore, Brandi Rosenau, Kelsi Tippets, Kaitlyn Traver 2005 - Carissa Bowman, Larissa Davis, Bridget Gonzalez, Mary Griesinger, Amber Mooney, Addy Odekirk, Carly Sjogren 2004 - Carissa Bowman, Larissa Davis, Mary Griesinger, Jodi Mettler, Kristina Moore, Carly Sjogren, Morgan Sjogren 2003 - Megan Fairley, Stephanie Fematt, Erin Fitzgerald, Jodi Mettler, Kristina Moore, Carly Sjogren, Morgan Sjogren 2002 - Garrett Allen, Daniel Beld, Brian Brierly, Grant Carter, David Lee, Jon McLaughlin, Steven Vance, Megan Fairley, Stephanie Fematt, Bridgett Gonzalez, Kristin McHugh, Tawny Odekirk, Carly Sjogren, Morgan Sjogren 2000 - Garrett Allen, Brian Brierly, Steven Griesinger, Donald Hartness, Shamari LaCour, Jon McLaughlin, Steven Vance, Tawny Odekirk, Angella Nanyonyi, Laura Fairley, Katie Chouinard, Megan Fairley, Lauren Wilson, Samantha Johnson 1999 - Shawn Lawrence, Regis Riley, Eric Stevens, Shamari LaCour, Donald Hartness, Jon McLaughlin, David Lee
2019 - Jenna Bernath, Camille Bradford, Audrey Brunken, Evenie Fuentes, Jane Gathuu, Victoria Gonzalez, Andreya Goodson, Joan Green, Justine Marshall, Jocelyn Stevenson, Austin Fortenberry, John Gathuu, Brian Green, Mitchell Machuca, Gray Mavhera, Julian Morgan, Edgar Ortega, Bohdin Rush, Hector Ruvalcaba, Francisco Zavaleta
2019 LETTER EARNERS 3rd Year Jenna Bernath, Austin Fortenberry, Joan Green, Mitchell Machuca, Edgar Ortega, Francisco Zavaleta 2nd Year Audrey Brunken, Brian Green, Justine Marshall, Gray Mavhera, Avalon Provance, Hector Ruvalcaba, Jocelynn Stevenson 1st Year Camille Bradford, Evenie Fuentes, John Gathuu, Victoria Gonzalez, Andreya Goodson, Julian Morgan, Brendan Provance, Emily Richmond, Bohdin Rush, Snow White
HOMECOMING COURT
Nikko Guzman, Snow White and Mitchell Machuca were all honored by their peers this year and were selected for the Homecoming Court.
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR ATHLETES 4.0 GPA and Above
Sydney Magno, Francisco Zavaleta, Emily Richmond, Joan Green, Brendan Provance, Brian Green, Mariah Ngo, Evenie Fuentes, Shelby Grossi,Jenna Bernath, Hector Ruvalcaba, Mitchell Machuca, Ashlyn Richmand, Daniel Herrera, Jack Slavin, Ryan Stuckey, Alessandra Casto, Snow White, Andrea Guadian, Stephanie Ortiz, Jessica DuCasse
3.7+ GPA
Scotty Biddle, Matt Gwynn, Victoria Gonzalez, Gilbert Northington, Brandon Valenti, Julian Morgan, Avalon Provance, Andreya Goodson, Luke Freese
3.5+ GPA
Camille Bradford, Jocelynn Stevenson, Taylor Eckles, Bohdin Rush, Damien Zemanek, Brady Goodson, Nathan Curtner, Ray Ortega, Audrey Brunken, Justine Marshall
ALL ACADEMIC TEAM ~ BIG 8 LEAGUE JOAN GREEN, BRIAN GREEN, FRANCISCO ZAVALETA
OUR FOUR YEAR RUNNERS 2016 2017 2018 2019
Matt Somody, Angel Rawdon, Luke Freese, Nikko Guzman, Austin Fortenberry, Mitchell Machuca, Hector Ruvalcaba,Kela Mavhera, Mariah Ngo, Sydney Magno, Jenna Bernath, Snow White FaithFULL, Thinc Diphrunt, Legacy, Greater Than XC4LIFE: Learning, Integrity, Faithfulness, Excellence
Remember 2016?
They came to us as little kids, just removed from middle school and will leave in a few months as young adults, ready for the world. It’s been a good run for them and for us.
POOL PARTY!
As we have for many years, we wrapped up our Summer Camp with a fun afternoon of pizza and pool time! It was fun ... especially the belly-flop contest!
For the first time in our program’s history, we had a BBQ “Kick Off ” event that was a hit! We invited alums Lane Werley, Rafi Perez, Raelyn Werley and Carrie Soholt to share through a Q&A format about the things they learned while running at King. Former Major League Baseball player, Alvin Davis spoke about “Integrity in Sports” and if you’ll pardon the pun, he hit a home run! “Choose your friends wisely” he said. “Especially those whose words and actions you allow to shape your thinking.” Great words, and an important part of a great night.
SEASON KICK OFF & BBQ
The cross country teams kicked off their season at The Great Cow Run, hosted by Cerritos High School. After a summer of preparation, which followed a 2018 season that had a lot of questions embedded in it, part of the intrigue of the 2019 opener was, where are we? Cerritos isn’t hard to find on a map, but a team’s identity is something altogether different. It takes time, some wandering, some searching and a whole lot of perseverance to ultimately come to the conclusion: This is who we are. Is a team what the preseason rankings say they are? Are the injuries that plagued a team a year ago healed? Are the young ones ready for prime time? Will there be a freshman or two that burst on the scene? The first race of the season is a good place to start looking for the answers, and the races at Cerritos Regional Park showed King is ready to start a new year and answer a few of the questions left unanswered in 2018. The Boys Varsity, ranked 4th in CIF SS D1, showed that ranking might be accurate as they won the race over D2 power Loyola and D1 perennial, Ayala. They were led by Mitchell Machuca but it was outstanding races by Francisco Zavaleta and Gray Mavhera Jr, that impressed and helped King push to the front. Brian Green and Edgar Ortega rounded out the scoring 5. Hector Ruvalcaba had a break through performance to finish in the 6th man spot, with a lifetime personal record (PR). Gray ran the #5 soph time in school history, Francisco the #7 Junior time in our history. Jack Slavin led the Freshmen boys in the first race of the day and scorched to a 16:25 mark, the 6th fastest freshman time over three miles in school history. His pace certainly inspired his teammates who packed nicely near the front to win going away. Damien Zemanek, Ben Pierce, Scotty Biddle, John Gathuu and John Wangari all crossed the line between 17:00 for Damien and 17:18 for Wangari. Very impressive and a nice first race of the season. Bohdin Rush led the entire way of the JV boys race, and had to do it in decidedly warmer and more humid temperatures than the earlier races had under the cover of a marine layer. He was on fire, so it must not have felt that hot to him as he scorched a lifetime PR for three miles. Nikko Guzman had a terrific last-half of the race to move up a number of places and finished fifth overall, also with a strong improvement. Angel Rawdon, Tommy Lu and Raymond Ortega all ran course PR’s and the team finished in 4th out of 22 teams. On the girls side, it was a similar story. The girls varsity, rocked by injuries to key runners last year, are still not 100% healthy, but they are forming a strong bond and working hard together. That showed in a big jump from one year ago. In the 2018 Cow Run, the ladies finished in 10th. On this day, behind strong front running by Joan Green, they finished in 3rd, behind two annual powers in Ayala and Los Alamitos. Jocelynn Stevenson showed she’s back from an Achilles injury that kept her out of track, but it was the inspired racing by Evenie Fuentes (injured in 2018) and Camille Bradford, who was running frosh-soph last year that also stood out. Justine Marshall was also a big improvement from last season to finish 5th for the Wolves. Third place and a full four minutes faster in team time than a year ago ? ... yea, that’s a nice turn toward a redefining of the girls’ identity. In the freshman race, Andreya Goodson was very strong, with a time that put her 9th overall for all King runners on the day. Ashlyn Richmond was also racing well and finished just behind. The JV girls concluded the day with a second place finish behind very solid racing by Neveah Gonzalez, Mariah Ngo, Jane Gathuu, Emily Richmond and Avalon Provance who all finished in the top 22 places. There is still much season left to go, more exploring for what will eventually be the identity of the 2019 teams. But if the first race is any indication, holy cow, they’re off to a good start.
HOLY COW! TEAMS GET OFF TO A GREAT START
TEAMS TAKE A SEAT ON THE STRUGGLE BUS The first Big 8 meet of the season saw King take a front row seat on the struggle bus. They got on at Andulka Park in Riverside and it didn’t take long to become a wild and bumpy ride. The JV girls were the first to take the line and inexplicably, midway through the race, the first three runners -- all from Santiago High School -- decided to take a significant course detour, essentially hanging a U-ey in the middle of a hill that was required to be fully crested. Then, even more inexplicably, just about everyone else in the race followed their lead. Coaches and spectators alike stood agape from a distance and muttered or said, “What are they doing?” as runner after runner mimicked the one in front of her. Those further back in the field who couldn’t witness the chaos up front, dutifully continued to the top of the hill and completed the entire course, unaware that 80% of the field had made a shortcut for themselves. Since almost everyone had played “follow the leader” it was determined to just accept the outcome as it was, (albeit with an estimated shorter distance) which left King in 3rd place. The varsity girls race was equally calamitous as two of the seven starters weren’t able to finish the course due to health issues. It left King with the bare minimum of five finishers to qualify for a scoring effort. Still, they were able to snag a third place finish. Roosevelt’s and King’s boys varsity teams have been ranked in the top 10 of CIF to start the season but that’s where the comparison ended on this day as the Mustangs dominated by putting all five scorers in front of King’s first. It was a proper drubbing. The Wolves were well off their “game” and will have to rebound mentally and physically in the last half of the season. The only bright spot on the day shined on the JV boys who ran a great race to win, led by Julian Morgan and Nikko Guzman who both ran strong races to go 1-2. The thing about all buses, even the ones that are uncomfortable, is that they are moving, they are taking you somewhere. And the thing about Struggle Buses is that if you ride them out to their final destination they can leave you off in a better place than where you started. The key is to hang on and keep going. Trust the process, you’ll get there. And that’s good news after a day like yesterday.
freshmen boys of King were FAST FRESHMEN The at it again on Saturday at the Invitational. In their AND JAMMIN’ Mt.Carmel second invitational of the year, backed up their victory at JUNIORS STEAL they The Cerritos Invitational back on 31st with a second straight THE SHOW AT August Invite victory, this time over the of Morley Field in Balboa MT.CARMEL hills Park in beautiful San Diego. It was an impressive performance. Jack Slavin and John Gathuu were in the top five early on and held top spots throughout to pace the team effort; Gathuu ended up finishing 3rd, Slavin 6th. But it was Damien Zemanek (8th), Ben Pierce (9th) and John Wangari (15th)who stayed close to the leaders and kept the Wolves’ score a low one, beating Los Angeles Loyola HS by 41. Poway HS and 17 other schools were well back from there. The Junior boys (all races at Mt.Carmel are at grade level) weren’t going to allow their younger teammates to get all the attention and they put together a fine race as well to beat Trabuco Hills by 30 and 20 more schools by even more. Francisco Zavaleta was the tip of the spear for King but on his heals were Edgar Ortega, Brendan Provance, Jonathan Weaver and Bohdin Rush who all race exceptionally good races as individuals to make the whole a better unit. The group defended their “title”; in 2018 as sophomores, they won that race too. In 2017 as freshmen, they finished third. There were individuals peppered throughout the morning that had outstanding days. Sophomore Adrian Flores improved on the course from last year by over 3 minutes! Fellow soph Gray Mavhera was 45 seconds faster than 2018 and finished 8th overall in the race. In the senior race, Hector Ruvalcaba was over a minute ahead of where he was a year ago and sophomore Brady Goodson also lopped 62 seconds off his course best set last year. As a team, the girls’ best showing was in the Junior race where they finished fourth. The racing of Jocelynn Stevenson continues to headline King’s season thus far as the quiet warrior has put together a string of quality races, Saturday’s included. She finished 3rd overall in the race and notched King’s 18th best all time on the course, a course King has raced 15 times in its history. Justine Marshall raced well too, finishing 18th, but Neveah Gonzales had the best race of her career thus far with a wonderful race in the 3-spot for King. Emily Richmond and Shelby Grossi rounded out the scoring. Camille Bradford had a 37 second improvement from last season; Marshall matched it nicely. Freshman Ashlyn Richmond ran a solid race in the freshman division. After the struggles of the league race on Wednesday, it was good to see the team bounce back, even if just a little. When all race results were merged in the computer, King’s boys finished 7th of the 81 schools competing; and that was without normal front runner Mitchell Machuca who didn’t race. The girls collectively finished 18th out of 74 total schools.
KING FINDS FIRE IN THE DESER Wander off into the desert, and you’ll likely come face to face with overwhelming obstacles to your own survival.
Drive purposefully into the desert, like the cross country teams did this weekend, you might just be looking for something. That “something” that King was looking for was the Nike Desert Twilight Invitational, a meet that drew 6900 athletes from 220 schools from 10 states, many among the best in the country and the Southwest. The Wolves were looking for a competition to test their mettle, to push them into the fire and find what comes from such pressure. They got that heat out there in the desert, just as hoped. The boys were entered in the elite race of the night with a couple of National and state ranked teams in the field. Hoping for a top 10 finish, the boys finished 11th and discovered for the first time just how fast elite teams can cover a 5K race. “I couldn’t believe how fast the first mile was” said sophomore Gray Mavhera who slipped past the marker under 5:00 and found himself already consumed by half the field of 220 harriers. He wasn’t alone in his thoughts, the leaders of the race would average 4:35 for the whole race and ended up running 14:14 and 14:16, the second and third fastest 5K XC races by a high school runner in US history! But Gray and the rest of the Wolves gamely held on and tenaciously fought against a stellar field of racers over the grass and dirt covered course at the Grande Sports Complex. The team would go on to run the thirdbest 5K team time (cumulative times of the first five runners) in school history. Francisco Zavaleta led the way for the team in 55th place and a personal best time, but it was the pack of Edgar Ortega, (also a PR) Mitchell Machuca, Mavhera (a PR) and Austin Fortenberry that put them in 11th. “King held its own” wrote Rich Gonzalez of www. prepcaltrack.com. And indeed they did. Though not their best race, it certainly was a good one and a nice “comeback” after struggling a 10 days earlier in league competition. “Where we are right now ...” said Junior Edgar Ortega, “is one small step in the right direction, but it is a small step that we all took together. To take the pressure against a national level caliber field was a great opportunity to see how well we can handle ourselves.” The varsity girls could well have described the step they took out there in the desert as a leap. Struggling through injuries to several of their top lineup, the team has been a group of “running wounded” but they were able to muster up a capable lineup and took advantage of the opportunity. Entered in the “Championship” race - the #2 seeded race of the day - and led by Joanie Green’s best race of her career in 9th and Jocelynn Stevenson right behind her in 13th, the girls finished 3rd by a mere point ahead of 4th. That point could have been earned anywhere along the way, but certainly the final kicks of Green and Jenna Bernath, both of whom passed several in the final stretch made a big difference. Neveah Gonzalez performed exceptionally well on the big stage, despite little prior varsity experience. Camille Bradford was third for the Wolves and Justin Marshall scored as well. The girls notched the 10th fastest 5k team time in school history and demonstrated a poise that was refreshing to see for a team that has had a couple years of adversity. Malachi Cabanilla led the JV boys to a second-place finish and the Freshmen boys won again, for the third time in three tries this season. Jack Slavin again did the pacing duties until Scotty Biddle made a big move in the final quarter mile to snag the lead spot for King, finishing 2nd with Slavin sliding into third. But Ben Pierce and Damien Zemanek were hanging tough as well, crossing in 5th and 7th respectively. The fifth spot, the anchor of the team looked like it was going to be Michael Guerrero’s responsibility, but he faded a bit just as Ben Hieck’s last mile was strong. They sealed the deal for the team and King distanced the freshmen from national power Desert Vista High School by 61 points. Another freshman, Andreya Goodson had another strong race in the 9th grade race, finishing 9th overall and running King’s 7th fastest time of the entire meet. Going deliberately into the desert isn’t usually done, unless there’s something out in that wilderness you’re looking for. What King was looking for was the pressure of a big meet, with big teams and big competition. They found the fire out there in the desert and they didn’t get burned. They got better.
RT, ISN’T BURNED
ARIZ
ZONA
“It was a good day to be named John” said King cross country coach Jim Griesinger after the meet was over. He was speaking to the assembled King cross country team as he praised three of their own: Johnny Weaver, John Gathuu and John Wangari. The three harriers had exceptional races and headlined what was a good meet for a school named after Martin Luther King. The meet was the So Cal Invitational, hosted by El Camino High school. On a true cross country course of trails and hills over 5K, the meet was a low-key affair of mainly San Diego Section schools but it afforded King the opportunity to rest out some normal varsity runners and open up opportunities for younger kids to race at a different level. They took advantage of it. John Gathuu, was put into his first varsity race of his career and he excelled. The precocious freshman scampered through the rolling layout in the Varsity #6-#7 race and went on to win it outright in what would be King’s 5th best time of the day. John
followed by Damien Zemanek who had a really fine race, then Jack Slavin with Scotty Biddle finishing as King’s 4th scorer. The anchor of the team was David Bedoya who is (gasp!) a sophomore, BUT ... he is a rookie ... so does that count? We’re going to say yes. The freshmen are still undefeated!* Joanie Green is quietly putting together a really fine senior year. She set the pace for the Wolves in the Varsity 1-3 race along with Jocelynn Stevenson and Camille Bradford. Jenna Bernath also put down a solid race in the varsity 4-5 race but it was the return of junior Victoria Gonzalez that was a pleasant surprise as she’s missed much of the season with injury. Fellow junior, Shelby Grossi had her best race of the season. Not everyone can be named John, and not everyone can win or place high in a race like the John, John, and John did on Saturday. But even for those with different names, all had the same name on the front of their jersey and at the end of the day, that name did pretty good too.
A GOOD DAY TO BE JOHN, Wangari, Gathuu’s cousin and also a freshman, led the froshsoph race almost from the start and also went on to win the race. The two earned some Asics swag for their effort. Johnny Weaver, an 11th grader, had perhaps his best race of his career, nearly matching his PR for 5K, which was set on a flat course two weeks ago. A patient approach had him chasing the leader in the first mile, only to emerge in the lead of the JV race with a mile to go. He held on for a fun second place finish. Bohdin Rush and Julian Morgan also got their first taste of varsity race experience and held their own with strength and poise. Austin Fortenberry had his best race of the season while Francisco Zavaleta raced well again, placing 7th fastest of all runners on the day. It was a sister act in the varsity 6-7 race, as Emily and Ashlyn Richmond toed the line on varsity for the first time and (fun!) did it in a two-woman team race. Side by side the siblings ran for the first two miles before Emily edged away from her little sister over the third and final one. They seemed to enjoy the experience. The freshmen boys have won every invitational they’ve contested this year, and they can add another to that pile, along as an asterisk goes next to it. This season they have won the freshmen races at three invitationals: The Cow Run, Mt. Carmel and the Desert Twilight in Arizona. In a sense, they “won” again on Saturday at So Cal beating Poway by 25 points and 10 other teams. The asterisk comes in that the race was billed a “novice” race, primarily run by 9th graders. However older “novices” were allowed in the field but of the 127 finishers, fewer than 10 were outside the class of 2023. Wangari led the way for the Wolves,
, A GOOD DAY TO BE KING
KIDS PASS THE BIG 8 TEST
In the first running of the Big 8 cross country season, the Wolves ... well you could say they survived. On the boys’ level they were walloped by Roosevelt, on the girls side, they struggled home with a third-place finish. It wasn’t King’s best day that day some three weeks ago. But adversity is a test all must pass, and by the looks of things yesterday in the second running of the Big 8 season, King is passing that exam. The kids ran great. On the girls side, behind them was that first go-around where two of their seven didn’t finish the race, leaving the minimum of five finishers. But on this day, Round Two, under cloudy skies the girls raced with great poise. Joan Green and Jocelynn Stevenson were 2-3 for most of the race and finished there as well. But it may have been the performance of Evenie Fuentes that turned the story for King. Held up through much of the season due to injuries, there was some question if her battered legs would let her get to the starting line on Wednesday. But race she did and she pulled off an inspired performance. “Going into the race I was more excited than nervous” Fuentes said. “Knowing that I came really close to not racing and just the energy of the team carried me through.” It goes both ways and her energy no doubt carried her teammates as well. Audrey Brunken, Camille Bradford and Jenna Bernath formed a tight pack and finished 17, 18 and 19. Freshman Andreya Goodson wasn’t far behind them as King’s #7. The girls finished second to Santiago, a marked improvement from round one of the league season. The boys were second the first time and second again to Roosevelt this time, but the manner in which they raced was the best part. Francisco Zavaleta and Austin Fortenberry established themselves in the lead pack right from the start and held on for top 5 finishes. “Before the race I knew I had to step up” said Fortenberry. “I told myself I needed to think of the team, so when Francisco came by me on the first mile, I latched onto him and tried to push him and myself.”
That mental battle was recognizable for all before the start. Zavaleta noted that “a lot of the elements in the meet were different, the course (first time on it for King since 2015) and even the start of the race was different.” A medical emergency for a league runner pushed back the start times and threw off the warm up of the varsity runners. “Oh,” he added, “and some of us were taking a difficult test in the morning, but everyone was able to adapt and overcome in a professional manner.” Indeed they did. Edgar Ortega shored up the middle of the scoring pack for an ailing Mitch Machuca who was less than 24 hours removed from the stomach flu. Scoring for the Wolves was freshman John Gathuu. Brian Green and Gray Mavhera were 6th and 7th man for King in a team effort that brought them within 5 points of the victory.
The JV races were mixed. The boys dominated with a clean sweep of the top five places. Malachi Cabanilla led the way, followed by Julian Morgan, Bohdin Rush, Jonathan Weaver and Damien Zemanek. The girls JV was third overall and led by Jane Gathuu, but the return of Kela Mavhera was a pleasant development. Kela has been battling injuries for three seasons and this was her first race of 2019. Avalon Provance also had a solid race. Many took the normal PSAT or SAT tests in the morning. We hope they did well. They took the Big 8 test in the afternoon and earned high marks. Good for them.
HOMETOWN CROWD BRINGS GREAT EFFORTS
Written by Jenna Bernath. Photos by Stephanie Ortiz
The Riverside Cross Country Course is a course the Wolves know almost too well. They know the dips, bumps, and sharp turns, but most notably they know the dust. Saturday’s dust settled over the course like a morning fog, making for a perfect Halloween season scene. Despite living up to its name, “the Dust Bowl, as many call it, King emerged from the dust and pulled through for a great morning of racing. The sophomore boys started the morning off right with Adrian Flores running the race of his life. He was followed by Luke Stokes and Nathan Curtner who also ran their lifetime PR’s. The fast pace challenged all three of the boys, luckily, they were up for it. Their contagious joy over their accomplishments encouraged the rest of the team as they prepared for their own races. King’s freshmen wasted no time making a name for themselves in front of the home crowd. Andreya Goodson placed sixth and broke the 20 minute mark with her time of 19:53. Ashlyn Richmond came in as King’s number two, also with a nice PR. The boys freshmen placed second as a team following Dana Hills. John Wangari led the way with Jack Slavin on his tail and Scotty Biddle not too far behind, all three of them came in the top 20 finishers. The two Bens, Ben Pierce and Benjamin Heick, also ran well rounding out the Wolves’ five. Boys and girls varsity ran competitively in their respective races. There was a whole new set of faces on the boy’s side with the “A-squad” varsity runners at Mt. Sac, but this group in Riverside held their own, showing great efforts. Freshman, John Gathuu, continued to impress leading the pack for the Wolves with Bohdin Rush close behind. For the girls, Joan Green and Jocelynn Stevenson stayed consistent holding King’s number 1 and 2 spots. Saturday was a good practice run for the CIF hopefuls. King’s JV level came to compete and compete they did. Raymundo Ortega ran a fantastic PR coming in first for King. Luke Freese followed with a solid race. The girls placed sixth as a team giving forth maximum effort. Shelby Grossi and Jane Gathuu pushed each other through the race and ran very nicely. The rest of the squad followed in their footsteps and Justine Marshall ran well in her first race back from a week of bed-rest. All in all, the Wolves displayed great efforts that paid off. King cross country coach Carrie Soholt reminded the group at the conclusion of their races that if they set their minds on something they will accomplish it, even if their vision is clouded by dust in the beginning.
STILL TRYING TO FIRE ON ALL CYLINDERS
By most measures, the 2019 boys varsity team is a good one. Lots of experience, several seniors, talent ... the parts are there. But for whatever reason, all those parts have yet to show up together on the same day in the same race. Like an engine who has 3 or 4 of it’s 8 cylinders not running in sync, this team has struggled to find its rhythm and power. On Saturday, while the rest of the cross country team was at the Riverside Invitational, the boys traveled to the 72nd running of the Mt.SAC Invitational. Entered in the Sweepstakes race, the fastest of the day, they were hoping the setting would bring out the best in them. Unfortunately, the team sputtered and missed that opportunity. It wasn’t a “bad” day, but it certainly left much to be desired. Sophomore Gray Mavhera was one who had a good day, racing a superb second half to finish well. Junior Edgar Ortega did the same, the two seemingly running with the same strategy. Austin Fortenberry, whose physical size would make a hilly course like SAC a double challenge, actually proved to be greater than the hills and ran an impressive race. Mitchell Machuca was the first King runner across the line but admitted after that he misjudged the hills and finished with gas in the tank. Brian Green was 5th for the Wolves, while Francisco Zavaleta and Malachi Cabanilla rounded out the squad at 6th and 7th respectively. Mt.SAC is a course that can cause a runner or a team to misjudge the challenge. King’s boys - a good team - is looking to find that race in which all seven on the line race like most judged they would back at the start of the season. With just the championship rounds left to go, there is still time to rev it up and hum along ... just like they know they can.
IN THE END, CAMARAD Written by Jenna Bernath Coach Brad Peters constantly reminds his athletes that team chemistry is the most important aspect of a team because it is not the PRs that get remembered, it is the memories with teammates that live on for a lifetime. The Big VIII League Finals held at Riverside’s Andulka Park on Wednesday, brought out some impressive times for the Wolves, but it also showcased the team’s bond. From the prerace huddles to the post-race “Wolfpack” cheer and all the great running in between, the Wolves displayed what it means to be a King High athlete. On the JV boy’s side, the Wolves continued their pack running technique with the first 4 runners finishing within 20 seconds of each other. Those four, Jonathan Weaver, John Wangari, and Jack Slavin earned course personal records (PR) as well as number 5, Bohdin Rush, who PR’d by 9 seconds. All of these boys, including Julian Morgan who ran a fantastic race and freshman Damien Zemanek, earned themselves medals to take home; Damien snatching the last one with a 21st place finish. Adrian Flores, Luke Stokes, Ben Heick, and Matthew Gwynn also ran significant PRs running around 1 minute faster than their previous best. The boys’ Varsity had a similar story with almost the entire squad of seven running PRs and earning patches. Mitchell Machuca led the squad and was followed by Francisco Zavaleta and breakout freshman John Gathuu. Austin Fortenberry and Edgar Ortega rounded out the squad and solidified the boys’ second place finish. Before the race, sophomore Gray Mavhera felt that the boys would either have their worst or best league meet and thankfully the boys finally had all their good days on the same day, something they had been waiting for and working together for all season. The girls team didn’t see nearly the amount of PRs that the boys had but they displayed the same camaraderie. The girl’s JV was a race that could have been seen in a movie. Freshman Andreya Goodson led the pack with a 3rd place finish with Justine Marshall coming in shortly after. Emily Richmond, Ashlyn Richmond, and Mariah Ngo had remarkable races coming down the finishing stretch together. Emily and Mariah both took home PRs from their performances. All of these ladies earned hardware to take home as well. Andrea Guadian also had a great race looking very strong throughout the 2.9 mile course. The Varsity girls would be the first to tell you it wasn’t their best day but they all ran together, finally getting a little racing pack that they had been working for every race this season. Jocelynn Stevenson came in first for the squad followed by Jenna Bernath and Victoria Gonzalez who ran side by side for a good chunk of the race. Evenie Fuentes and Audrey Brunken rounded out the scoring five putting forth their best efforts. Joanie Green’s asthma gave her some trouble causing her to be behind her normal position which was disappointing for the entire squad, but the friendship between the girls kept them in the race. Evenie Fuentes explained: “The rush of energy Victoria, Jenna, and I felt when we saw Joanie slow down shows just how close we all are.” What all the King athletes saw at the Finals was what Coach Brad Peters actually means when he issues his constant reminders on team chemistry. King wasn’t the fastest team despite their amazing races and efforts but they definitely were the most closely bonded and at the end of the day that’s what counts most. No matter how fast they all ran, they all ran “today’s PR” as Camille Bradford put it and they did it together.
DERIE COUNTS MOST
AR G N O I D L I LER R COASTER Written by Jenna Bernath
After a season of ups and downs, the cross country teams entered the CIF Prelims on Friday with one goal: Advance to CIF Finals. The lofty accomplishment would validate the endurance 2019 has required of them. Both the CIF Prelims and next week’s Finals are held at the Riverside Cross Country Course, a home “field” of sorts for the Wolves that they have raced on many times. Friday dawned chilly and fog settled nicely over the course making for prime running conditions. With the great course and cool weather, all the Wolves had to overcome was their roller coaster of a season. The boys team has been waiting for it to be “their day” all season long. It seemed like every race only half of the boys would be having a good race and the other half would be struggling. They had all the potential they could need, they were just having a hard time showing it. However, on Friday morning, it finally happened. The CIF-SS got to witness the potential King has been hiding the entire season. They raced great, surprising everyone including themselves. Brian Green (‘20) said, “This season has not been what we expected, but this Friday it was amazing to see our team come together to do better than expected.” The squad was led by freshman John Gathuu who looked strong throughout all three miles of the course. Gathuu ran a nice
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PR and grabbed himself a 10th place finish. Mitchell Machuca, Austin Fortenberry, Francisco Zavaleta, and Edgar Ortega all finished within 8 seconds of each other with Brian Green and Gray Mavhera bringing them home shortly after. Austin Fortenberry earned himself a season best with his performance, something very special for it being his senior season. The boys’ collective effort and close finishes enabled them to snag a third place finish in their heat beating Vista Murrieta, a highly respected opponent. (The top 8 teams advance to CIF Finals on November 23) On the girls side, the season has been filled with ups and downs for the Wolves. Injury and illness appeared to be inescapable for the ladies. Making CIF Finals would be a great challenge for the squad, but one they were obviously up for as they placed 8th to secure their spot on the line. Just like the guys, the girls surprised themselves with their performance. Joan Green and Jocelynn Stevenson led the squad as numbers 1 and 2 which they have all season. Joan finally got the PR she was hoping for and Jocelynn set a solid season best time. Victoria Gonzalez followed as King’s number 3 with Jenna Bernath and Andreya Goodson finishing shortly after. Freshman Andreya held her own among the highly competitive Division 1 field running her second best time on a 3-mile course. Camille Bradford, battling a cold, and Audrey Brunken rounded out the group finishing only one second apart. All the girls went to the line knowing what they wanted to accomplish and they pulled it off. Jocelynn explained, “The race on Friday was a breath of fresh air for the girls team ... making it to Finals was something we were all hoping for and how we raced really showed that.” The amount of struggles that both teams have gone through this season didn’t get in the way of them accomplishing the goals they set for themselves. They proved that CIF Prelims is not where King’s story ends no matter what their prior races seemed to be saying. Maybe the Wolves will surprise themselves again at CIF Finals next week.
KING CROSS COUNTRY: A HISTORY OF MAKING CIF FINALS BOYS
1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
GIRLS 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
All year the boys from King have been full of potential but lacking in execution. They finished last season 13th at CIF Finals and returned all but one from that race in 2019. That potential had the Wolves starting the season ranked in the top 5 of CIF SS Division 1 (A division with more than 85 schools in it) but their results throughout the season saw that ranking steadily edge downward to 14th by the end of the regular season. It wasn’t that the team couldn’t run faster, it was just that they couldn’t manage to put it all together in any one race. It really was a roller coaster for the team until last weekend in the Prelims where a good race seemed to indicate the potential was becoming the reality. The day they were hoping to have since August finally arrived on Saturday at the CIF Final. File it under “saving the best for last” or perhaps, “desperation” as not only was redemption on the line but so too was a shot at the State meet. The boys put together the race of their season, packing well, racing fast and finishing high: That 14th-ranked team finished 8th in the Finals. It was sweet. The bitter pill however was that despite a great race, the team finished
CIF FINAL IS SWEET BITTER
one place short of the 7th and final team berth into the State Championship, to be held next weekend in Fresno. To make it harder to swallow, just six points separated them from that final spot which was taken by Vista Murrieta. The boys were understandably upset, leaving the arena so close yet so far away from a season-long goal. The mid-race score had King hanging on to 7th place. Mitchell Machuca was screaming in the last mile and a half (passing 14 opponents) to keep it close, but the 7th position slipped from their grasp. Machuca led a parade of PRs for King. His 15:38 bettered his best from last year. Freshman John Gathuu nearly matched his PR and 9th grade school record set last week. He was also the fastest freshman in the field of 183 finishers. Francisco Zavaleta, Austin Fortenberry and Edgar Ortega all scored with season-best marks for the course. Brian Green and Gray Mavhera were 6th and 7th for the Wolves. The girls have had a different story this season than the boys, as they have never been ranked and got into the Finals by the skin of their teeth; they were the 25th squad of 25 to make it. So with nothing to lose, they went for it, aiming at a top 20 finish. They were close but finished 22nd. Joan Green, in her last XC race of high school, finished with a PR at 18:13, leading the team in 32nd place overall. Jocelynn Stevenson matched her best time on the course while Evenie Fuentes ran a 30 second course best to cross in 3rd for the Wolves. Victoria Gonzalez and Jenna Bernath wrapped up the scoring group for the team while Audrey Brunken and Andreya Goodson were 6th and 7th for the group. Both teams ran good races, and on the final race for good measure. If they’re already looking to the future, to 2020, they should be encouraged. The girls lose just two seniors from this squad and while the boys will bid farewell to three, there is a stable of fast and very talented underclassmen waiting in the wings to complement the current varsity guys that will return next year. Whatever bitterness they may taste right now will fade, but before it does, it should fuel the hunger for better things to come. By the looks of it today, there is much good to come. Which is a sweet thing.
When the results from all 5 divisions were merged from C schools that had a team at CIF Finals. The girls were 57th
CIF Finals, the boys ranked 17th of the 121 h. The Southern Section has nearly 500 schools!