2011 Cross Country Yearbook Volume 13 Written and compiled by Brad Peters Coaching Staff: Leisha Clendenen, Jim Griesinger, Dan Peirce, Brad Peters, Martin Stevens 86 athletes at year’s end
KING XC 2011
ADVANCE
ADVANCE The concept of advancement is an interesting one. With the ticking of time, one could argue that we all advance, we have no other option but to move forward along the time line. Turning the pages of the calendar, our lives advance. But is that necessarily true? Is advancement simply the biding of time, or is it a purposeful verb? King Cross Country is now 13 years old, and with each passing year, the coaching staff is faced with the question: What do we make of the season just completed? What are we to make of the next? As 2010 gave way to 2011, it was apparent that our program had a choice. With the departure of a talented and dynamic group of veteran seniors we could easily have turned this into a season of rebuilding ... of going back to square one and starting over. Or, we could cinch up our belts and get at the business of advancing. We chose the latter. And we’re so glad we did. Choosing to ignore what the naysayers and rankings might say about us, we made this season all about getting better as a program. Having bid goodbye to last year’s senior class, we focused on the present and leaned into making this group faster than last year’s. We raised our standards, we increased our coaching staff, we counted on more parental help, we sought out the same competitive meets and got at the business of advancement. While we can’t say the journey to this place was easy, we can say that it was worth it. Along the way came pleasant surprises as new kids stepped into the gap and did their part. Along the way came breakthroughs, individually and collectively. And along the way we got better. Advancement was had.
VARSITY LETTER EARNERS 3rd Year - ‘09, ‘10, ‘11
Taylar Amiot, Brandon Berz, Emma Jaramillo, Raelyn Werley
2nd Year - ‘10, ‘11
Adam Schupp, Nathan Meier, Lisa Garside, Katelyn Fatten, Lauren Soholt, Perry Elerts, Ethan McAbee
1st Year - 2011
Joe Casco, Nathan Torres, Iveth Gutierrez, Daltan Seckinger, Weston Templeton, Aimee Martinez, Ryan Gibeault, Trevor Berney, Jordan Goldie, Mitchel Cleland, Robert Sanchez, Tyler Parrish
CIF DIVISION ONE FINALIST
- Raelyn Werley
2011 BIG 8 ALL LEAGUE RUNNERS Raelyn Werley Emma Jaramillo Lisa Garside Katelyn Fatten Nathan Torres Adam Schupp Joseph Casco Brandon Berz Nathan Meier Perry Elerts
2011 SQUADS -THE 13th YEAR OF KING XC
The 2011 teams advanced in numbers ... 86 athletes finished the season, four more than a year ago.
Christian Agatep Ryan Gibeault Tim Pungaew Ryan Aguirre Jordan Goldi Carlos Ramirez Declan Arsenault Brendon Gutzmann Ryan Rasmussen Taylor Beaulieu Parker Gutzmann Jake Rosales Trevor Berney Jose Guzman Robert Sanchez Brandon Berz Vincent Hernandez Adam Schupp Kyle Boutwell Skyler Kent Dalton Seckinger Joe Casco Garret Koontz Miles Smith Mitchel Cleland Woodie Landeros Weston Templeton Matt Cleland Ethan McAbee Joey Tompkins James Curtis Nathan Meier Nathan Torres Hunter DelaHoya Dillon Mihalik Jonathan Torres Ani Dhruva Tyler Parrish Joshua Trupp Perry Elerts Eric Penaloza Tristan Valenciano Jacob Enriquez Gabriel Penate Seth Villanueva Vincent Fowler Jacob Pendleton Drew Wolpert Anthony Garcia Rolando Phalen Anthony Zavala
Taylar Amiot Courtney Mort Mireya Ascencio Bayleigh Porter Lindsay Berney Kaitlyn Rini Lauren Carr Alex Roberts Monique Carrasco Rachel Rosales Katelyn Fatten Stephania Santana Lisa Garside Savannah Saucedo Kaitlyn Gonzalez Britney Saucedo Kimberli Graham Cecilia Serna Morgan Sherman Iveth Gutierrez Lauren Soholt Jennifer Gutierrez Alesha Stagg Amanda Haring Sabrina Suarez Briana Jacklin Shana Tenne Emma Jaramillo Carli Texeira Hannah Johnson Raelyn Werley Emily Kettering Madeline Wrathall Aimee Martinez Krista Zwart
ADVANCE: FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
The health of any cross country program lies in large part to it’s ability to nurture younger runners, bringing them along surely, steadily, slowly. It’s especially exciting when a crop of newbies comes in with some athletic ability and a willingness to be coached. While no crystal balls exists, it’s hard not to look into the future, thinking, dreaming of what may come. Such was the case with this year’s freshmen boys, the “class of 2015” as some of them drew on their legs with Sharpies at League Finals. Loaded with ability and a gung-ho, can do spirit, this group got down to business at the Cow Run, winning the first team race the group ever competed in. The next week in San Diego, they pulled off the same achievement, albeit with far greater competition than the affair in Cerritos has produced. Along with some sophomore help, they took victory at the inaugural Lancer Classic, then for good measure plaqued third place at Mt.SAC. It was an exciting year for the freshmen boys, a year that we hope will plant in them the seeds of hope and growth; seeds that will sprout in the coming years in what could be a fantastic team capable of big things in a couple of years. Here’s our challenge guys: Commit to each other, to hard work, to being patient, to being coached, to sticking with the program. If you do, the sky’s the limit!
SCHOLAR ATHLETES 4.0+
Brandon Berz Jordan Goldie Jonathan Torres Christian Agatep Ryan Gibeault Ryan Rasmussen Joe Tompkins Joshua Trupp Robert Sanchez Lisa Garside Iveth Gutierrez Emma Jaramillo Raeyln Werley Monique Carrasco Courtney Mort Kaitlyn Rini Madeline Wrathall
3.5-3.99
Mitchel Cleland Perry Elerts Ethan McAbee Nathan Meier Tyler Parrish Adam Schupp Trevor Berney Matt Cleland Vincent Fowler Brandon Gutzmann Vincent Hernandez Jacob Rosales Seth Villanueva Taylar Amiot Lindsay Berney Mireya Ascencio Kimberli Graham Bayleigh Porter Alesha Stagg Sabrina Suarez Krista Zwart
3.0-3.49
Ryan Aguirre Taylor Beaulieu Kyle Boutwell Hunter DelaHoya Jacob Enriquez Parker Gutzmann Garret Koontz Weston Templeton Nathan Torres Cecilia Serna Lauren Soholt Kaitlyn Gonzalez Hannah Johnson Aimee Martinez Britney Saucedo
MARTIN LUTHER KING SERVANT LEADER AWARD
When Martin Luther King Jr was alive, he believed strongly in the paradoxical idea that in order to gain one’s life, he or she had to be willing to give it up. Of course he lived that truth in the way he lived and, tragically, in the way he died. Key to King’s philosophy was the notion of what he called, “the Beloved Community.” It was a concept rooted in New Testatment theology that people are better off when they live in a committment to “brotherly love.” King said once, “We love men not because we like them, nor because their way appeals to us ... we love every man because God loves them.” In 2007, the King High Cross Country program got to walk the streets of Montgomery, Alabama and sit in the pews of Dexter Ave Baptist where King once preached. It was a journey that changed some of us; it inspired others. That trip also gave birth to a new and esteemed award, the Martin Luther King Servant Leadership Award. This is, for us, the highest honor we bestow tonight. It’s an award that signifies “leadership through servanthood” just as Dr. King modeled when he was alive. We ask our athletes to observe their teammates throughout the year, and then select one person -male or female -- who best embodied the idea that “the first shall be last,” and in a way, loved and led the team not by parading around with power, but by quietly and sometimes unassumingly serving the needs of our team and our community of runners.
The selections over these past years have been spot on. In 2007 it was Rebekah Fairley. In 2008 Charlie Alvarez earned the honor. 2009 was Derek Nelson and last year was Carrie Soholt. We will honor again tonight a young person who whether by design or by character, led by serving. While it may seem a contradiction in terms, as we’ve seen in history and through the example of Martin Luther King Jr, what may appear to be backwards is often times the way forward.
MA
MMOTH
What do you stand for? What hill will you defend? These were the questions our week in Mammoth were built upon. Throughout the week we talked about and developed the idea that we all must get to a place where we decide:
To advance, we must decide to plant our flag atop a hill ... a place of final, unflinching, uncompromising defense. What was interesting to discover was that for many of the 2011 harriers, the metaphorical hill they realized they needed to defend was “Self Confidence.� Marching orders were in place. The week was filled with good food courtesy once again of Chef Peirce, team talks, trips to town, a Nike Outpost hangout, and challenging runs over hill and dale. We returned to Riverside physically and mentally pushed, ready to defend the hill of 2011.
DEFEND THE HILL
SUMMER’S END POOL PARTY Burgers, dogs, cool water on a hot day, and ice cream to top it all off. ADVANCE: A new way to end the summer over our past traditions.
ALLFOURYEARS
2 0 0 8 - 2 0 1 1 - A D VA N C E : T H E L A R G E S T G R O U P OF FOUR YEAR RUNNERS SINCE THE SEASON OF ‘06
short stories of the season
IMPROVEMENT THUNDERS THROUGH CERRITOS With thunder rattling through the skies during the opening hour of the Cerritos Cow Run, King opened it’s season in similar fashion, showing great improvement from a year ago despite the soggy conditions. The Freshmen boys were the first race of the day and produced their own thunder (under a driving downpour) with a resounding win over all others. The group was led by Dalton Seckinger, whose summer of training really showed as he finished 2nd overall. The team race was just as thrilling though, with Rolando Phalen, Seth Villanueva and Carlos Ramirez
forming a tight pack in the top 20 places. The still getting fit yet uber talented Erick Penaloza rounded out the scoring five to bring home the victory for the Wolves. The varsity boys ran a great pack race, gapping 1-5 under 20 seconds and notching a team time that was much, much faster than a year ago. Joe Casco was a minute faster than 2010 to help the cause along with Adam Schupp who looked strong throughout. Nathan Meier also dropped a great race with a PR on the course in his own right! Collectively, the boys averaged 15:41 and shattered the team time school record by 35 seconds, set last year at The Great Cow Run. Raelyn Werley led the girls’ charge and did so in a “break-out” effort. For most of the race she settled into the highyl ranked Redondo Union pack which worked together at the front of the field. She hummed along to a lifetime PR and a 5th place finish. Lisa Garside, Kate Fatten, Taylar Amiot and Iveth Gutierrez rounded out the scoring to finish 2nd oveall. Jacob Enriquez was at the front of the soph race, leading the team to a third place finish. Tim Pungeaw broke 18:00 for the first time while Ryan Rasmussen, Tristan Valenciano and Taylor Beaulieu rounded out the scoring group. On the girls sophomore side, Aimee Martinez really impressed with a strong race and a time that put her in the top 7of King’s runners on the day. Second place was where the JV boys found themselves as well. Ethan McAbee led a strong pack for the boys, which was made up of Jordan Goldie, Ryan Gibeault, Bobby Sanchez and Jon Torres. The JV girls were third overall, with Lauren Soholt leading the way, followed by Kaitlyn Gonzalez, Monique Carrasco and Alex Roberts, all of whom had very solid races for the first go of the season. If improvement is a key marker of achievement, then the five team awards and multiple individual medals the team hauled home paled in comparison to the incredible growth shown by those who have been around awhile and found themselves considerably faster than they were this time a year ago. For the freshmen, it was just a beginning, but like the thunder and rain that accompanied their race, a noisy beginning it was.
WINDS OF CHANGE BLOW ACROSS MT. CARMEL Improvement seemed to be the operative term for Saturday’s 31st annual Mt. Carmel Invitational held on the Footlocker XC Nationals course in sunny but cool San Diego. Since King has now amassed a decade’s worth of results on this very fine course, it’s always fun to “check the list” to see how far the athletes have come since they first set foot on the line at Balboa Park. By the end of the meet, numerous changes were made to the all-time records While the freshmen boys don’t have personal history to compare themselves to, they do have the amazing competition that descends upon the meet to which to match themselves, and for the second week in a row, the precocious pack held together to turn back the likes of Clovis West of Fresno, Vista Murrieta and Poway and captured the team title. Dalton Seckinger led the way again with a 5th place finish and a 17:08 mark. While we don’t keep grade-level records for the course, it was discovered to be the second-fastest freshman time any King harrier has ever run on the course. But one guy doesn’t make a team, and it was the strong running by Carlos Ramirez, Seth Villanueva, Rolando Phalen and Erick Penaloza that sealed the deal and the win. A truly impressive group and another fine team effort. The front end of King’s teams were doing some serious improving over the storied hills and dales. The fastest six boys on the day all dropped or matched their marks from last year. Tyler Parrish is four minutes faster than he was as a 9th grader and, get this, two minutes faster than last year! Amazing. Nathan Torres led the charge with a solid 30 second improvement and etched his name as the fourth-fastest King runner on the course all time. Weston Templeton, who this time last year was wearing a helmet and pads and playing football for King, kicked off his season with a very impressive top-7 finish for the Wolves. An interesting point of analysis showed a collectively strong performance compared to last season. If you throw out Lane Werley’s ridiculously fast 14:41 (the #3 time ever run on the course in 30 years), the 2-6 runners in 2010 ran a team time of 81:19. This group’s #1-5 ran 81:55, but with a pack that’s to die for! Only 14 seconds separates the 1-5 runners! Raelyn Werley had a terrific day leading the ladies and becoming only the second girl in King’s history to drop below 16:00 for the 2.7 mile course. Her 15:56 was #2 all time and placed her in the top 15 times recorded on the whole day. Iveth Gutierrez had a strong race as well ... that is if you consider improving 1:20 in one year is strong! Eye popping improvement. Katy Fatten had King’s #7 all time best mark. Bayleigh Porter finished with an exhausted smile knowing her effort was worth every ounce of effort. She was 1:13 faster than in 2010. But eclipsing them all was Aimee Martinez who proved that the great race she had a week ago at the Cow Run wasn’t all there was inside this young runner. The sophomore continued to bust down the walls of “what’s possible” with a ... wait for it ... 3:26 improvement from last year. Believe it. This girl is for real and looks like she’s the next “big jump kid” for King. Some nice drops that may have been lost in the crowd came from seniors Kimberli Graham who was a minute faster than last year and one of our four year seniors, Monique Carrasco who ran :53 seconds faster than 2010. After struggling through seemingly endless injuries, it’s great to see Monique showing what perseverence looks like and enjoying the fruit of her efforts! On the boys’ side, there were also some individual races that stood out above the crowd. Sophomore Tim Pungeaw was almost exactly 3:00 faster than last year! Four year runner, Ethan McAbee improved about 45 seconds from last year, but showed what four years of hard work can do, as he capped his four trips across the Mt.Carmel layout almost 3:00 faster than when he started as a freshman! Nicely done! Nathan Meier, who was the sixth-man for King on the day, ran an exciting 16:32, which was
almost four minutes faster than the 20:25 he ran as a sophomore. Perry Elerts was 1:20 faster than last year and threw down the #7 mark in school history. Jacob Enriquez was 2:00 faster than a year ago. So it was a great day for King. One can’t always do much about one’s opponent, but there is that inner commitment to doing one’s personal best, a moral compass that allows one to measure him or herself against what is recognizably doable. History serves to show, no, to prove, that such commitment will often time bring the refreshing winds of improvement. Like the ones that brushed over the hills and through the eucalyptus groves of Mt. Carmel.
BIG EFFORT IN TOUGH FIRST BIG 8 MEET
The Big 8 league has improved tremendously. That much was for sure today as the group of schools renewed the battle for the fourth year. When it was done, King came away with a second place finish in the boys JV and three third place finishes. Taylar Amiot had one of the finest performances of the day in the JV girls race, which was the first off the line and under the warmest temperatures of the day at 97 degrees. The four year runner ran the race like she’s done the last three years -- steadily move up. For a girl who could barely break 28:00 at a rookie, it’s especially fun to watch her prance up and through the front pack and then leave everyone behind and win essentially uncontested. Lauren Soholt was fifth overall followed by Cecy Serna and Savannah Saucedo and Jennifer Gutierrez rounded out the scoring. With several potential scorers on the disabled list, the score wasn’t reflective of what the group could have produced, and they finished a distant third. The JV boys were seemingly playing catchup from the very beginning as Roosevelt went out fast, faded and were replaced by a surging Corona squad. Robert Sanchez led the charge and ultimatly made some strong moves, followed by Daltan Seckinger. The two finished 4th and 6th respectively. A nice pack of Vincent Hernandez, Mtichell Cleland and Jon Torres was put together starting in 11th, but the Corona Panthers had already put 5 guys in. King’s varsity girls have lost only one race in the last 11 seasons, but this year’s version of the Big 8 ain’t what it used to be as Santiago has welcomed two talented Fresmen and Corona is enjoying one of their best groups in a long time. Those two teams battled to a 1-point difference, while King didn’t have it’s best day. With #2 Katy Fatten ill and finishing 6th for the team despite a strong effort and Emma Jaramillo still rounding into shape, it was a tough couple of acts to follow, but that’s what the girls did, finishing 3rd overall. Raelyn Werley was the first of the Wolves to cross the line in 6th place. Adam Schupp, following the cue that Joe Casco threw down in a hard-charging first 800 meters, ran an incredible race for the varsity boys, dropping below 16:00 and challenging the established order of league elites. Gutsy, all-out and unafraid, he seemed to throw caution to the wind as he went with the leaders for as long as he could. The normal tight, 15-second gap the group of five has held the last two meets wasn’t quite as condensed this time, but the pack was still there and fighting well. With Corona and Roosevelt enjoying front running prowess, the pack attack was not enough this time out and the team finished third overall. Competition is what sports are all about, and how one responds to it is the test of one’s character. This much we know, the competition is tough and King will have to rise to meet it.
A GOOD MORNING AT LANCER CLASSIC DEBUT Our friends at Cal Baptist hosted a first ever meet at Rancho Jurupa that drew only 9 schools but made for a good morning for King. With six races slated over a 2.9 mile course, the Wolves came away with victories in all but two of the races, while those two were solid second place finishes. After a tough week of high temperatures -- including the triple digits that enveloped the Big 8 races on Thursday -- the cool morning was a welcome way to end the week.
The frosh soph girls got it rolling with a 5 point victory over Etiwanda. Savannah Saucedo was 3rd in the race and closely followed by the improving Rachel Rosales. Jennifer Guiterrez, another rookie who is starting to figure the sport out, had a second good race this week in 7th, while Britney Saucedo and Mireya Ascencio rounded out the scoring group. Emily Kettering and Amanda Haring were both right on Mireya’s heels in the top 20 places. Tim Pungeaw, Ryan Rasmussen and Jacob Enriquez went side-by-side to the finish line in their FS race, making it an exciting finish and a scoring nightmare for other teams. Throw in Rolando Phelan’s fine race in 6th, and Carlos Ramirez in 8th, and there really wasn’t much anyone else could do against that kind of front running. Seth Villanueva and Anthony Garcia both had strong races to finish 6th and 7th respectively for the team. Kyle Boutwell, while not in the scoring, continued to show great improvement with a lifetime best average/time. The team finished 22 points ahead of secondplace Etiwanda. Raeyln Werley won her first-ever invitational, but her skinny one point wasn’t enough to offset
Granite Hills tough group and King finished second to the school. Katy Fatten rebounded well after racing sick on Thursday to go as King’s #2 across the line. Emma Jaramillo was third, followed by Lisa Garside and Iveth Gutierrez. The varsity boys most potent weapon this season is turning out to be a very tight pack. That pack was stretched a bit against the Big 8, but it tightened up again to a scant 15 seconds between the 1 and 5 runners. Tyler Parrish led the dash to the line with Adam Schupp and Nathan Meier hot on his heels. The three went 7-8-10, while Perry Elerts and Joe Casco went 12-15. Weston Templeton continued to impress, while frosh Daltan Seckinger got his first taste of varsity racing and finished seventh for the team. Bayleigh Porter came back from a disappointing race on Thursday to win the JV girls race. Lauren Soholt was 5th in the scoring while Cecy Serna also finished in the top 10. La Sierra’s depth was too much for the ladies though and despite some strong efforts by Kaitlyn Gonzalez and Monique Carrasco, the Eagles proved to be victorious. Trevor Berney was the winner in the JV boys race, looking strong, but what followed him was what appeared to be a King-La Sierra dual meet as the two schools shared each of the top 13 places in the race. After Berney, three Eagles came screaming across the line, but they were countered by six King harriers, who together were able to put all seven scorers over the line before La Sierra’s number 4. Vincent Hernandez continued to improve, followed by Mitchel Cleland, Ryan Gibeault, Joey Tompkins, Jake Rosales and Jordan Goldie. This one wasn’t one of the biggies, but it was well run, enjoyed good weather and solid competition. For King it was just what the team needed, making it a very good morning indeed.
WOLF ATTACK TAKES BITE OF SUCCESS IN CLOVIS It took the dust to fall back to earth to fully grasp what the boys varsity team had accomplished in the annual running of the Championship race of the Clovis Invitational in Fresno. At first glance after the boys’ race was done -- a race in which King’s first runner crossed the line in 65th place -- you would be excused if you thought, “Well, they got worked...” When nearly 70 runners finish ahead of a team’s first man, it’s an understandable conclusion. In cross country however, there’s a weapon that’s used at times and can be quite effective. That battle plan is to stick together and attack as a pack. For a team whose nickname is “The Wolves” it’s a strategy that should suit them well. Running in a pack without an Alpha Dog has become King’s singular weapon here in 2011. Where other groups may rely on a “Big Dog” to lead the attack, (as King did in 2010) this group of six-to-seven guys is making a mauling of other teams without the luxury of having a marquee-type front man. Taking cues from real wolves, they are becoming quite adept at it, and used it again very effectively on Saturday, gapping only 13 seconds from the 1st to 5th scorers. That group, again without anyone in the top 50, let alone the top 10, finished 11th in the Championship Race and 12th overall when all 147 schools were combined by the computer into one virtual race. Joe Casco took the honors of being the leader of the pack this time crossing the line in 16:23, a gigantic 1:09 faster than he was a year ago at the same meet. Adam Schupp, who has such a quiet demeanor in normal life, becomes louder than a howl when the racing flats are on. The four-year runner, who has made sooo much of his time here at King -- improving each year by leaps and bounds -- threw down another terrific effort and finished just a tick of the clock behind Casco. Nathan Torres was the next domino across the line, 3 seconds off the back of Schupp. Nathan Meier and Perry Elerts road the coattails of the other three and closed out the scoring within 9 seconds of Torres. For good measure, Tyler Parrish was a mere 5 seconds back of those two! Wow! Of those six, only one - Adam Schupp - had previously run one of King’s top 25 times on Woodward Park. The other five added their names to the list, with Casco, Schupp and Torres landing at # 4, 5, 6 all time; Meier and Elerts were #10 and #16 respectively. Parrish ran the 21st fastest all time mark for King. Had the times been converted to 3 miles (the course is 3.1 miles - 5K), all five scorers would have been at 16:00 or better. Demonstrating the effectiveness of the “pack attack” the 11th place finish was ahead of Fresno’s Buchanan high school, whose fastest runner scored just one point in winning the race out right. The girls varsity doesn’t have the same make-up as the boys and
so the idea of “packing” isn’t one they would plan on executing. Instead, for the ladies racing is a matter of lacing on the flats and going flat out. They did just that as 6 of 7 who toed the line ran PR’s for the course. Raelyn Werley and Katy Fatten had terrific drops, finishing with King’s #5 and #6 marks all-time, both about 50 seconds faster than 2010. Their names now reside in a neighborhood of the list that is populated by past and present college runners. Lisa Garside put together a PR as did Emma Jaramillo and Iveth Gutierrez. Iveth was 1:10 faster than 2010. Taylar Amiot was the sixth runner across the line and also had a huge, near-minute improvement. The girls team finished 14th in the Championship race. Daltan Seckinger races like he most likely used to play football -- all out. The precocious freshman employs a full-tilt strategy when he takes the line, seemingly unafraid of the older and seasoned competitors lined up against him. With teeth bared, Seckinger charged through the course, unintimidated by a head cold, crossing the line in 17:04. He lead a nice contingent of teammates who likewise were having very fine days. Jordan Goldie, Robert Sanchez, Vincent Hernandez and Trevor Berney had their own little pack going to finish the scoring set. They were separated by 13 seconds, with Weston Templeton just a handful back from there. An unofficial scoring put the group in 6th place. The JV girls were led by Aimee Martinez and Lauren Soholt who both ran admirably despite some physical ailments. Katlyn Rini had a good race, while Rachel Rosales and Jennifer Gutierrez finished the scoring for King. Only Soholt had been on the course in prior years.
DARK HORSES NO MORE, KING ADVANCES IN BIG8 After a sluggish first league meet three weeks ago, the challenge for King in round two was to not let the sweep of third place they achieved almost a month ago define them or keep them from advancing. Latching onto the idea of playing the “dark horse”, the teams were challenged in the days leading up to race time to insist that while others may be counting King out, the Wolves would refuse to bow out. Fighting like a team on a mission, they did not disappoint and left the field with one thing for certain: the days of being the dark horse are now over. Race day proved to be hot, surpassing triple digits when the JV girls took the line. Missing several potential scorers the team wasn’t running at 100% and finished third. A nice surprise was the return of Brianna Jacklin who finished third overall and ran a well-paced effort. Her time of 20:15 was King’s #8 time on the day. Bayleigh Porter and Lauren Soholt were in the top 13. Mireya Ascencio had a terrific race to finish as King’s fourth runner and Lauren Carr scored for the first time this season with a fine race. The JV boys were handled well by Corona three weeks ago and never really got going in the race. Things were different this time around as a large pack of Wolves went straight to the front and for the most part held onto it. Ryan Gibeault had an eye-popping effort to lead the hard fought 1 point victory over Corona. He moved from King’s #5 man with about a mile to go to ultimately finish first for King, second in the race and with a lifetime PR for good measure. It was a monster effort for the well-liked and highly respected junior. The scoring group held together well enough to compliment Gibeault’s big move, with Daltan Seckinger finishing in the top 5, Trevor Berney and Weston Templeton went together across the line nearly in tandem. Fitting of a team effort, the victory came by way of the “golden anchors” -- the 5th and 6th men on the day who crossed the line ahead of Corona’s final scorer. Vincent Hernandez was fifth for King, but it was Robert Sanchez in the six-spot that, while not scoring for King, did help to inflate Corona’s score by a very significant point. For all the heroics of Gibeault’s lead, its satisfying to see the victory secured by both ends of the scoring set. As of 2010, King’s varsity ladies had only lost one league race in a decade, so when they finished third in the first race of 2011 -- and by 20 points -it was an unfamiliar position. Things changed on this day, as the ladies roared back into the mix of it with a full-team effort to win by 2 points over Santiago. Raelyn Werley led the way, but it was the 2-3-4 grouping of Lisa Garside, Emma Jaramillo and Katy Fatten who really helped to push King to the fore. Iveth Gutierrez found enough to finish the scoring. She was followed by Taylar Amiot and Aimee Martinez who both ran strong. At the end of the race, most figured it would be a close finish, but when it was announced King had taken the victory by two points, cheers went up with glee. The victory also sets the stage for the league finals, as King is now even with both Santiago and Corona with one race to go.
Roosevelt’s boys are the 9th ranked team in CIF-SS Division One and as their top three boys went 1-2-3 in the race, it seemed as if the talented squad was poised for a blow-out. But credit the pack-attack and poise of King’s boys who relied once again on a scoring gap that’s the envy of any coach. Only 18 seconds separated the scoring pack. Nathan Torres led the charge this time with a great finish, while Adam Schupp and Joe Casco hung on him, one second back. Three scorers in, one second spent. 14 seconds later, Nathan Meier, Perry Elerts and Brandon Berz crossed nearly side-by-side. When the dust settled, King, Corona and Roosevelt finished separated by seven points. Only 5 points behind Roosevelt in second, King’s big move was the doing of a full-team pack attack, and like the girls, sets the stage for what should be a very exciting league final. The lesson of sport is also the drama of sport. Nothing is scripted and you’ve got to run the race to determine the outcome. For the King kids, their specific lesson coming out of the first race, was “don’t count yourself out.” Just because you may start a race as a dark horse, doesn’t mean you have to finish that way.
Hey! You can’t count us out We’ve been living up against the crowd Yeah, we are the Dark Horses We’re singing… Hey! It’s not over now We’ve been down but we’ve never been out Yeah, we are the Dark Horses - Jon Foreman, Switchfoot
A TOUCH OF HOT AND COLD AT MT.SAC Although the heat had risen by the time the 9th and 10th graders took to the course in the 64th Annual Mt.SAC Invitational, it was the younger set that took home the hardware for King. With temperatures in the 80’s by the mid-day start for King’s underclassmen, it would have been understandable had they withered under the mercury that was a good 15-20 degrees warmer than the older varsity and jv runners contended with in the early morning hours. But they didn’t, and the stellar group of 9th grade boys once again looked good. Daltan Seckinger led the squad who wound up in third overall behind Dalton’s second-place finish. At 17:09, he ran King’s #3 all-time frosh time. The usual suspects were behind him scoring points. Seth Villanueva,Carlos Ramirez and Rolando Phalen ran great efforts under 18:10. Eric Penaloza concluded the scoring set, with Jacob Pendleton and Declan Arsenault rounding out the top 7. The sophomore girls were the last race for the Division 1 schools and took the line at 1:00 PM. Brianna Jacklin had another fine effort in her comeback half of the season. She finished in the top 10 and was followed by the ever-consistent Mireya Ascencio in the two-spot (and a mere 3:30 faster than she was in 2010!) with Lauren Carr putting together another fine race to score. Rachel Rosales and Savannah Saucedo both scored and the girls finished 2nd overall. A good race indeed. In the cooler hours of the morning, the JV boys were the first to take the line and got right down to business, finishing in third with both front running and a packattack. Trevor Berney had one of his best races of the year to lead the way with a sub-17:00 effort. Jordan Goldie, Weston Templeton, Ryan Gibeault and Robert Sanchez packed up well, just 9 seconds apart ... they must be taking lessons from their varsity-level brethren who have perfected it this season. Bayleigh Porter led the JV girls to 7th place finish, Jacob Enriquez was at the front of the sophomore boys group, crossing the line in 18:00 and 14th overall. Monique Carrasco, who has spent most of the last two seasons injured, was able to finish her career covering the course in 24:41. The varsity races showed King both hot and cold, with the boys team the warmer of the two. The guys were led by the quickly improving Joe Casco who became the 4th guy in King’s history to run sub-16:00. The normal tight grouping of the team didn’t manifest itself in this race, but Nathan Torres had a fine run at 16:07, the #8 time in school history. Adam Schupp, one second behind Torres, now sits at #9 all time. Perry Elerts was fourth for the team and Brandon Berz appears to be back after an early season bout with pneumonia, as he and Tyler Parrish were right on Elerts’ heels. 30 seconds gapped 1-6 ... not bad ... but the boys came away satisfied with individual PR’s but knowing there’s another gear come CIF. Still, their 81:07 was the #4 team time in school history. For the ladies’ varsity, they never seemed to get in gear and ran a flat race. Though a few of the seven had PR’s, their 6th place finish ADVANCE: Joe Casco became the 4th was not what they expected nor what they’re fastest guy on the course in school capable of and perhaps the best moment of the history race came after they finished, when collectively they recognized there is more there. Taylar Amiot had the biggest drop from last year’s PR and Raelyn Werley moved to #7 on the all time list. So it was a bit of hot and cold for King, figuratively as well as literally. The meet started in the cool of pre-dawn, ended in the heat of mid-day and King went home with enough experiences at both ends of the spectrum and day to find both encouragement and motivation.
BIG DRAMA ON THE BIG 8 STAGE The set up for the 2011 Big 8 League Championships could not have held more drama than the following: King’s girls had an 11 year win streak at the league level. Three girls teams came into the meet in a dead heat; winner take all. The boys were tied for second and finished just five points from first in the second league meet. Throw in close to 600 athletes and an equal number of spectators, on a nice Fall day … well, that’s what makes sports so special. The girls of Santiago, Corona and King entered the meet in a dead heat. The second meet saw all three teams spread by seven points. With the title on the line, the girls did battle in valiant fashion, but it was just short of enough as they finished third with 69 points. Corona was second with 66, and Santiago won with 65. It was that close! Raeyln Werley finished in 6th, earning 1st team All League. Emma Jaramillo had a strong race to finish tenth, 10 seconds faster than she was on the course three weeks earlier. Lisa Garside was just behind her and was followed in by Katelyn Fatten. Iveth Gutierrez PR’d on the course to round out the scoring. Aimee Martinez and Taylar Amiot were sixth and seventh respectively. The girls did not win the league title, but they did qualify for the CIF Championships for the12th year in a row and are still in a position to qualify for CIF Finals with a good race next week. The boys put together their fastest collective effort not only of the season, but of school history. Their team time of 81:07 set a new school record, surpassing the previous best set in this year’s first race, the Great Cow Race. Three different variations of this year’s top seven guys have now notched the three fastest team times over three miles in school history! Given Adam Schupp was the only returner from last year’s seven at CIF Finals, this is quite an achievement! Also of note, with the fifth King runner crossing the line in 15:50, one doesn’t have to go too far back in our history to see a day in which we longed for our first runner to notch such a mark. In all, the boys top five averaged 15:37. My, how things have changed. Schupp was right there near the front of the group again, impressing with his all-out approach to competition. Humming along next to him were Nathan Torres and Joe Casco both of whom edged the Big Man at the line. The three finished, as they’ve been apt to do, just four seconds apart. Brandon Berz proved he’s all the way back from a beat down he took from pneumonia back in September and was right on their heels. Nathan Meier was the 5th man. King and Corona were closely matched throughout the race, but it was Roosevelt that had the big day and ran away with the crown. It was the JV boys who captured King’s only title and did it with a strong front grouping that scored 2, 4,5,7,8 and for good measure, put the sixth man across in 10th. A large group swarmed together through the first mile before Weston Templeton and Trevor Berney moved just off the lead and gapped the trailing pack. That pack was full of Wolves. Freshman Daltan Seckinger, who has had a tremendous year, was shoulder to shoulder with
his elders, juniors Ryan Gibeault and Robert Sanchez and senior Joey Tompkins. Tompkins certainly saved the “best for last” as the respected and liked four-year runner finished with a PR and arguably one of his best races of his career. Mitchel Cleland, another four-year guy did the same with a 14th place finish – and the last medal of the race! Briana Jacklin finished fourth in the JV race, looking strong throughout the contest. She was followed by Hannah Johnson who showed what we thought she could do last summer before injury robbed her of her season. Lauren Soholt, Savannah Saucedo and Rachel Rosales finished the scoring five to take the team to a third place finish. Mireya Ascencio and Lauren Carr were right on Rachel’s shoulder, two seconds back. Admittedly the meet’s drama ended with a closing act that was not familiar for King, especially for the girls who have made winning league titles for the last eleven years seem rather easy. There’s nothing easy about the Big 8 league however, and the competition appears to be here to stay. The outcome was not what the Wolves were hoping for, but it just may be what they need to continue to improve and advance in the seasons to come. If that’s the case, King came out winners, regardless of the scores.
ADVANCE: After losing the first league meet, the JV boys won the last two, including the league title
“There is something interesting about paradoxes in life. ...one must lose one’s life to gain it ... There are paradoxes everywhere and running is no exception. From the moment I ran through the tunnel into the Olympic stadium I knew that the Olympics wasn’t everything I wanted but it was everything I needed. I had dreamt of winning for so long but by losing I would develop a whole lot of character and my running career would have a very different direction compared to if I had won. ... There is something very healthy about not having everything we want, ... a lot of joy can come from not getting everything we want.” - Ryan Hall, American Record Holder in the marathon, on his 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon disappointment
THE THREE FASTEST 3 MILE TEAM TIMES IN SCHOOL HISTORY WERE SET THIS YEAR BY A COMBINED SEVEN RUNNERS! 1. Big 8 League Finals -- 78:01 at Andulka Park Nathan Torres, Adam Schupp, Joe Casco, Brandon Berz, Nathan Meier 2. The Great Cow Run -- 78:27 at Cerritos Regional Park NathanTorres, Tyler Parrish, Joe Casco, Adam Schupp, Nathan Meier 3. Big 8 League #2 -- 78:38 at Andulka Park NathanTorres, Joe Casco, Adam Schupp, Nathan Meier, Perry Elerts
RAELYN WERLEY ADVANCES; TEAMS MISS THE MOVE ON With the theme of the 2011 season being “Adance”, there was little question what the 2011 running of the CIF Prelims meant. At stake for both the boys and girls teams was the chance to advance to the prestigious “Sweet 16” - the CIF Finals made up of the best 16 teams in division one of the Southern Section. Racing on the “rain course” due to a storm that soaked the normal Mt.SAC layout the night before, the boys were the first to take the challenge over a two-lap, 2.9 mile circuit. The pack, which has been this year’s team forte for the whole season assembled early and looked to be in contention for one of the coveted 4 places that move on. Joe Casco and Nathan Torres were leading the charge with Adam Schupp, Perry Elerts and Brandon Berz close behind. On the second lap, while Casco and Torres were still 1-2 for King and in the top 20 places, it was Perry Elerts who made a big move to close the ranks. With a massive kick he actually slipped across the line one second ahead of Nathan to finish at 15:22. In the number-two spot, it was his highest finishing spot of the year on a squad of 7 that has exchanged finishing orders like shoppers do presents
a day after Christmas. Adam Schupp, the pillar of strength all season put together another fine race to close out his stellar high school career. Brandon Berz rounded out the top five and closed the scoring gap at a skinny 22 seconds. The group wielded their packing weapon well enough, but it wasn’t enough to counter the teams that could put a man or two in front of King’s number 1 and the team finished in fifth, a disappointing 18 points from the last advancing spot.
Raelyn Werley took the initiative in the girls race and boldly moved to the front of the field in a move that would pay dividends for her at the finish line. The lead pack of seven girls broke the rest of the field by forty meters in the second loop, and Raelyn’s seventh place finish was good enough to advance to the CIF Finals. She’ll be heading to the big race as an individual competitor as the team behind her wasn’t able to muster the emotional or physical energy to sustain the pace. The division was broken into three races with the fastest five in each heat taking an automatic spot to Finals. With Corona in the same race -- a team that these girls have beaten once and were only three points behind at league finals -- there was a familiar group to mark their paces next to. No matter how visible those red uniforms of the Panthers were, the Ladies of King just didn’t have their best day and struggled to muster together a scoring attack. They would finish 7th. Taylar Amiot, one of King’s great “improvement stories” over her four years at King had a terrific race, finishing fourth for the team in a time that was on pace for a 19:29 three mile mark -- about 10 minutes faster than the times she marked as a rookie back in 2008! Remarkable. Katy Fatten also had a fine performance, finishing 22nd overall. So Raelyn will advance to the Finals! It will be the first time in 9 years a girl from King will toe the line at CIF Finals without a team behind her. It was a quite a decade for the King girls, but despite a minor setback here in 2011, the teams - boys and girls both - will rebound and pursue again in 2012 that alluring word, “advance.”
A SEASON OF PURPOSE ENDS WITH A PR Raelyn Werley made a commitment back in June of this year that the season of 2011 would be different. She had passed the “half-way mark” of her high school career with some solid marks both in XC and in track, but she wanted her junior campaign to be different. So, to that goal, she diligently planned to work harder and follow up on her motivation with a greater degree of effort and precision in her workouts. Practically, that plan manifested itself in an extra 5 minutes of running tacked onto almost every workout from the beginning of the summer to the end of October. As she toed the line at CIF Finals on Saturday, you could say that the extra work paid off. Race day dawned cool and sunny, ideal conditions for racing. Surrounded by many of the top runners and teams in all of the Southern Section, the competition was as strong as it gets. Raelyn exectued a pre-race strategy of “taking a risk” and boldly moved out in the first mile. Her move was matched by the field in the second mile, and by the time they reached the two mile mark she found herself in the finishing place she’d ultimately achieve. Nevertheless, her race was aggressively pursued from start to finish, and she cross the line with a PR, 18:51 in 46th place overall. It was a fitting end to a season of purpose for the junior, one in which she determined herself to advance and then went out and did the things to do just that.
Mt.SAC ALL TIME LISTS