By Leonard COUTIN

Remembering the hundreds of hours spent in preparation, athletes took to the Riverside City cross-country course on Saturday for one of the toughest competitions of the year – the Southern Sectional CIF championship cross-country finals.

Southern California schools are classified by size in all five divisions of the CIF. The best of 24 seven-person teams, along with top individuals, earned a spot at the finals. Though geographically close, Crescenta Valley High School, La Cañada High School and Flintridge Prep fall into different classifications depending on the sport. In cross-country and track, each of these schools is rated in the following classifications: CV – Division 1, La Cañada – Division 4 and Flintridge Prep – Division 5. It should be noted that all of these schools are athletically competitive and this year all successfully qualified teams for the finals.

At the sound of the starting pistol, each team leader drove for position. For the first 1000m of the course it was a traffic jam as runners in each of the divisions jockeyed for position. From CV was Falcon Colin FitzGerald, who has proven repeatedly that he possesses the ability be one of the top runners in his division. He advanced quickly with teammate Zach Johnson running alongside Loyola’s top runner Shane Bissell.

Through the second mile loop, FitzGerald settled in behind the other leaders, including Burroughs’ lead runner Jagdeep Chahal, while keeping the other top runners in sight.

Coming out of the final loop, FitzGerald, having the finish line in sight, prepared himself well by getting out in front in the last 800m. Passing all but Loyola’s Bissell, the two went head-to-head right into the finish. Bissell managed to ward off FitzGerald’s final drive to win with a time of 14:39.4 to FitzGerald’s 14:39.9. Though he placed second, FitzGerald’s accomplishment is not to be slighted; he currently matches Falcon Zack Torres’ mark made in 2008.

“Mentally, for finals you just prepare like any other race,” said FitzGerald. “[I] get in the zone beforehand and get ready to just do my thing out there. I definitely learned my lesson from league finals but still had some crucial tactical errors. I believe I made my move too soon this time and couldn’t regain my footing enough to get my turnover going and catch Shane Bissell. I knew that he had a sprint. As a team, I believe we have some really good chemistry and that is what allowed us to overcome adversity and qualify for the state meet.

“For state, I’ll just be looking to do my thing once again. The main thing that is important is just to enjoy the opportunities you have and make the most of them.”

Falcon injuries plagued the success of the team’s score, but they did manage to secure seventh place team title. Performing well were Artin Allahverdian who scored 36th running 15:13.8, Manan Vats, 39th, 15:16.6, Zach Johnson, 41st, 15:17.6, Spencer Geck, 148th, 16: 33.8, Carter Walch, 161st, 16:50.6 and Dylan Wilbur, 163rd, 16:52.1. The Falcons qualified for the CIF state championship taking place on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Woodward Park in Fresno. Burroughs’ Chahal scored fifth, running a time of 14:46.8, and will be attending the state meet as well.

“We are happy to have the boys qualify. Colin had a great race,” said coach Mark Evans. “Fifteen guys still in the pack with an 800 to go. He battled, but just came up .5 short of the win. Artin, Manan and Zach all ran great.”

Evans noted that Geck had been “hurting all week” with a strained quad and Wilbur and Walch were battling colds.

Final team score: Great Oak 86, Roosevelt 145, Dana Hills 150, Loyola 175, El Toro 221, Poly (LB) 235, CV 244, Newbury Park 265, California 312, Arcadia 321

For the Falcon girls, lead runner Caitlyn Couch not only improved her time on the course, but also managed to stay in front of all of Arcadia’s girls – a high achievement.

“I knew I was doing well [because] I hadn’t seen any of the Arcadia girls. When I passed their coach and heard him yell for his lead runner to catch me, I was pleased,” Couch said.

Couch finished her season placing 16th, running a time of 17:32.4, not strong enough to make it to state competition. Was she disappointed?

“Yes, but when I looked at my time, I realized that I could not stay disappointed,” she said. “The time I ran made the disappointment fade away. [But] I did not get out quickly as I had in other races. I was jammed up. That kind of helped me to be stronger in the end of the race. I was able to be more competitive, seeing one runner at a time. It was easier to pick off individual runners.”

Couch, who transferred from Bell-Jeff, said she feels good about becoming a Falcon this year.

“Everyone welcomed me,” she said, noting that if she had stayed at Bell-Jeff Division 5, her time would have been the fastest of the day. Couch will be participating in Foot Locker Invitational in December.

Falcon team participants were Naila Ortiz, 52nd, 18:22.5, Sophia Artin, 93rd, 19:04.9, Samantha Moore, 117th, 19:19.2, McKenna Heeg, 147th, 19:54.7, Melissa Owens, 148th, 19:55.2 and Gaby Borraez, 162nd, 20:22.2. The CV girls finished the season placing 16th.

“The girls ran well. Caitlyn ran a very good race … 30 seconds faster than last week,” said Evans. “It’s tough to change divisions and move to Division 1. She competed really well. The others had tougher races but ran well and gained a lot of experience. We will be back next year stronger.”

He said that, looking ahead, CV will have a good group in Heeg, Artin, Moore, Owens and Borraez, who all will be returning, in addition to welcoming new freshman.

Final team score: Great Oak 56, Vista Murrieta 138, Arcadia 164, El Toro 207, King M.L. 230, Mira Costa 235, Dana Hills 245, Walnut 259, Redondo Valley 333, Fountain Valley 333

The Flintridge Prep girls and boys did well at the finals. The girls’ team won the first place team trophy. Over the last three years, senior Sophie Gitlin continued to score well. Gitlin placed second with a time of 17:59.0. Other Flintridge Prep notables were Sasha Codiga, who placed fourth running 18:06.5, Allen Haley, eighth, (18:19.7), Gabriela Bennett, 17th, 19:11.2, Jenna Mijares, 29th, 19:47.4, Hope Codiga, 56th, 20:23.9 and Molly Schwartz, 71st, 20:48.1.

The Flintridge boys took home the third place team trophy in Division 5. Their lead runner was senior Evan Pattinelli, who won with a time of 14:51.9 followed by teammates Carson Hasbrouch, 11th, 15:42.3, Bennett Oakes, 24th, 16:19.9, Sebastian Evans, 31st, 16:39.5, Grady Morrissey, 60th, 17:09.7, Ethan Moutes, 69th, 17:19.1 and Andrew Odom, 80th, 17:31.9.

The La Cañada girls scored a fifth place team title in Division 4. Malibu’s Claudia Lane won with record time of 16:32.5. La Cañada lead runner Kaley Bond placed third running 17:56.2, with teammates Katherine Scoville taking 16th (18:25.2), Adena Dipaolo, 40th, (19:19.8), Sarah Auther, 51st, 19:36.7, Kallie Rushing, 71st, (20.2.5), Ellaney Matarese, 73rd, (20:07.2) and Madison Pirkey, 157th, (22:36.8).

  Leonard Coutin