Announcement
CIF announced they would extend invitations to CIF Prelims to any individual that finishes in the top 8 in their league this year, up from top 6. With Andrew Tafolla finishing 9th at Bonelli Park, we knew it would take a big effort to pick up that spot. As it turned out, he would not need those extra two spots…and neither would Steven Song. Tafolla improved to #6 in the league to punch his ticket to CIF and earn All-League honors in the process. Song had finished 18th in the Bonelli Park meet, so no shot? Just after the 2 mile mark, he was closing in on the top 8 and in fact passed the pack in front of him heading to the east side of the lake. He would pick up an incredible 13 spots from league meet to league meet to take 5th and join Tafolla next Friday at CIF Prelims in Riverside. In the process, they ran the #3 and #4 best marks on this course in school history.
Without any possibility of a team qualifying, it was a matter of trying to improve from the IE Challenge and improve your standing in the league. Improving your time would be no easy task…sure, it’s later in the season, but it’s also in the afternoon. Instead of getting a good night’s sleep and coming out and racing, the athletes would spend the day in school and then come out to race in the afternoon heat. Song and Tafolla were the only varsity boys to improve their mark and while progress was certainly made this season, there was none in the standings. The good news is that the top 5 all return along with a good group of young runners that could develop into a very competitive team next year. Will they do what it takes in the off-season to progress? That is always the big question.
The girls once again defeated St. Lucy’s and did so easily. Because of the smaller division St. Lucy’s is in, they will advance to CIF despite not beating anyone in the league one time. One senior in the varsity lineup and four freshmen. Of the top 5, four improved their time from IE, but only two improved their placing in the league. Senior Nicole Gonzalez picked up a spot and Sydney Oravets gained a whopping 9 places to finish 21st and her first time as our #2 runner overall, just behind Savanna Arruda. The girls moved up a spot this season and have a world of potential, especially if they can get back the girls that didn’t return this season.
Others experiencing big improvements from IE included Luke Jennings, who in his last race as a Grizzly, knocked off 48 seconds. Hats off to Chase White, who works hard everyday, for dropping 1:25 and running a fantastic race.
CIF Prelims will be held next Friday in Riverside, details coming over the weekend, when heats are finalized. Great job to Steven and Andrew, who now have the benefit to train together too.
Complete Results (improvement noted from IE earlier this season):
Boys Varsity: 1. Rancho Cucamonga – 63; 2. Etiwanda – 65; 3. Upland – 72; 4. Chino Hills – 78; 5. Damien – 96; 6. LOS OSOS – 114; Individual Results: 5. Steven Song – 16:10 (-:31; #3 mark all-time); 6. Andrew Tafolla – 16:11 (-:28; #4 mark all-time); 24. Devon Cadogan – 17:00; 39. Dominic Vasquez – 18:30; 40. AIden Iklady – 19:01; 41. Daniel Amaya – 20:14
Girls Varsity: 1. Chino Hills – 30; 2. Etiwanda – 62; 3. Upland – 71; 4. Rancho Cucamonga – 96; 5. LOS OSOS – 113; 6. St. Lucy’s – 154; Individual Results: 19. Savanna Arruda – 20:34 (-:10); 21. Sydney Oravets – 20:41 (-:46); 23. Trinity Poe – 20:48; 24. Haley Jenson – 20:54 (-:15); 26. Nicole Gonzalez – 21:01 (-:23); 31. Fiona Peltier – 21:57; 37. Evelyn Simon – 22:50
Boys JV: 20. Max Melton – 19:07 (-:09); 23. Luke Jennings – 19:40 (-:48); 29. Jason Bailey – 20:40
Girls JV: 1. Chino Hills – 24; 2. Etiwanda – 43; 3. Rancho Cucamonga – 72; 4. LOS OSOS – 103; 5. Upland – 135; Individual Results: 13. Yuke Chen – 22:28; 20. Zoe Andersen – 23:31; 23. Reese Garcia – 23:46; 24. Nora Ismael – 23:54; 27. Brooklyn Bentley – 24:07; 44. Natalie Kamper – 25:05
Boys FS: 1. Chino Hills – 44; 2. Rancho Cucamonga – 59; 3. Etiwanda – 65; 4. Upland – 69; 5. LOS OSOS – 137; 6. Damien – 162; Individual Results: 19. Noah Chairez – 18:26; 24. Noah Kleist – 18:58; 35. Chase White – 19:29 (-1:25); 39. Gauge DeMond – 19:42; 40. Dylan Porter – 19:42; 43. Justin Studebaker – 20:04; 48. Joshua Johnson – 20:33 (-:16); 62. Evan Rodriguez – 22:22; 64. Peter Wang – 22:42 (-:14)
