Spreadsheet of 2009 Season's Times

League Meets: 
Cluster #1     JV BOYS    JV GIRLS   VARSITY BOYS   VARSITY GIRLS
Cluster #2    Varsity Boys   Varsity Girls    JV Boys   JV Girls (JV girls went off course, running approximately 2.4 miles)
League Finals   Varsity Boys   Varsity Girls   JV Boys    JV Girls

Invitationals:  Bronco   Mt.Carmel    Clovis   Mt.SAC  

CIF:  
Prelims:  Girls Individual   Girls Team   Boys Individual   Boys Team
Finals: Girls: Team Results   Individual Results    Boys: Individual Results   Team Results
State

The girls of King Cross Country have represented the school at the CIF Finals for each of the last 8 seasons, an accomplishment all by itself. In a few of those years, they were happy to just be there among the Section's elites and harbored few illusions about moving on to the State Finals. For the last few seasons, the teams have been tantalizingly close, missing only due to teams that out raced them, or stricken by having "off days" on "the day." Last year, the group finished 10th in the Southern Section Division One, the highest-ever finish in our ten years of racing up to that day. But they cried that day, knowing an opportunity had eluded them ... again.

Well, if "the day" ever arrived, it was today. The girls of King were racing like they never have before, putting down a spectacular team effort to finish inside the qualifying top seven teams.  They were sixth overall out of the 16 teams that went to the line and broke the school record for team time by over 30 seconds!

Without doubt, it was a total team effort, as each of the prerace strategies for all five scorers were executed precisiely and with a refreshing sense of poise on the part of everyone.

The race unfolded very fast which left a bit of scramble on the menu for the first mile, not just our two front runners, Hanna Peterson and Kelsi Tippets, but for the pack as well. The two leaders came by the mile in the high 20's place-wise and would have some serious ground to make up over the next mile to resume their expected places near the front. Hanna, who has been simply on fire and racing incredibly fast over the last month led the charge and started seriously closing the gap with the leaders by the top of the Switchback Hill. Kelsi was about 10 meters back and also closing on those who started more aggressively. The twosome, now moving into position, were followed by the expected large gap to third.  But the gap was filled with expected teams and Rebecca Asplund was ably holding down the three-spot while running the best race of her career. Aubrey Bowman and Carrie Soholt were a few ticks behind her, also making up ground from the start.

It was Carrie's effort over the next 1.8 miles that really made a difference. After volunteering to race JV at league finals so a teammate could go varsity, she promptly contracted a groin pull two days later and it cost her a spot on the line last week at Prelims. In fact, it cost her most of two weeks of training, as she rested and tried not to worry.  Implementing a pre-race plan to perfection to "stay back" to the top of the Switchbacks and start her race there, she steadily moved up through the field, ultimatley finishing 4 seconds off of her PR on the course and scoring third for King in 54th place overall.  She was followed closely by Rebecca Asplund and Aubrey Bowman, both of whom ran lifetime bests for the course and helped the team to a 182 point total, ahead of several teams previously ranked above them. Both picked up admirably for Raelyn Werley, our normal #4 runner who hurt her leg in the first 800 and spent a good deal of the race limping.

For Hanna and Kelsi, their game of catchup couldn't have gone better. At least a couple-dozen talented runners were between them and the leader in the first 800 meters of the race, but the two ran like the seasoned veterans that they are and ended up 6th and 9th in the scoring, with both notching "All CIF" awards. Hanna continued her "ownership" of the Mt.SAC course.  Last October, she ran 18:30 at the invitational, then 18:17 last week to win the prelim heat, then 17:53 today, setting the school record and finishing 6th in CIF!  Words can't describe the month it's been for the talented and driven junior! For Kelsi the 9th place finish gives her three All CIF honors in her four trips to CIF Finals, a distinction no one at King has ever earned.  These two talented girls truly helped make the difference for the entire squad, with just 15 points between them!

The team heads now to State, having earned the right to go by virtue of that sixth place finish. It is the first time in school history and an achievement all nine girls can rightly be quite proud of, excited about and grateful for!

Photo Gallery   Team Results   Individual Results   MSAC Records

Lane Werley's breakout year has been one for the record books. The talented junior enjoyed what most would call a "good year" as a sophomore, with a 15:58 Mt.SAC best and a 9:34 3200 on the track.

It was no surprise then that he had a whole lot of folks back in September asking, "Lane who?" as he bolted from the ranks of the good to the lofty altitude of one of the State's best with some stunning races and huge improvements. His name is quite recognizable now after putting together a truly magical season. His times are over a minute faster than they were a year ago on virtually every course he duplicated. He challenged several of the state's and nation's elite runners and put himself squarely onto the diminutive list of "the nation's best", all while maintaining a training regime that was significantly increased over last year.

It was also no surprise then, that he made the goal for today's CIF SS D1 Finals simply, "to win." Running as an individual after his teammate gracefully and ferociously bowed out last week at Prelims, his "buds" were along the sidelines of the course cheering on his every step.

Confidently placing himself in the lead pack before 200 meters had elapsed, he held position there looking comfortably going by the mile split south of 4:50. By the time the Poop Out hill loomed, a crack to the leader from Arcadia, Amar Moussa, had opened up and Lane hit the hill in third. By two miles he was breathing down the neck of Royal's leader, who valiantly tried to hold Lane off but couldn't heading into "the gauntlet" that spans the course's final 100 meters. Lane made a move on that final turn and sprinted in to a second place finish at 14:55. The winner was 20 seconds ahead of him and busy writing his name into the All Time Ever List, so no shame in that finish!

Lane's amazing race makes him the first male King runner to make the State Finals in Fresno, but also places his name firmly as the best King has ever had. He's the first to finish among the All CIF ranks, first to "runner up" and the school record holder on every significant course we've covered.

Couldn't happen to a better young man, full of talent, humility and run.

Individual Results    Team Results

When a season begins, all that a coaching staff can ask or hope for is that the athletes work hard, bond together, and run their best when it counts ... at the end. All of that happened this year and though the race results at the CIF Prelims were a bit mixed between the boys and girls teams, the way in which the teams ran could only be described as "mission accomplished" .

The boys were the first off the line at 7:45 AM and had a tough heat in which to try and finish at least fourth, the final spot for qualification to the Finals. Lane Werley eased to the victory in the race while the pack was busy forming well in the upper half of the field, exactly as they should have. Marc Jimenez put a spark in the group going into King's number-two spot up to Poop Out hill before he relinquished the role to Austin McKell who had Derek Nelson and Nick Rini right on his heels. The four guys competed well over the last mile but it wasn't enough to counter Long Beach Poly's group who ran exceptionally well to snag the fourth spot, putting the Wolves in that unenviable spot of fifth, just as they were last year. Disappointment was felt, but when the times were recorded, the sting eased a bit as the guys ran 20 seconds in team time faster than they did at the Mt.SAC Invite a month ago, setting a new school record for the course at 80:20.  This, despite Lane cruising easily in the lead some 20 seconds off his PR. So it was with heads held high that the guys finished the best season the school has ever recorded. Lane Werley will advance as an individual with a goal and a shot at winning the individual CIF title next week. He'll be the first male King runner to advance to Finals since 2002.

King's girls have had a different history than the boys, qualifying for the Finals in each of the last seven seasons. On paper, the heat they drew looked good for the ladies, but once the race went off, the seven ran even better. It was the kind of performance across the board that the team has been capable of but hasn't yet put together. Kelsi Tippets and Hanna Peterson ran assertively and were leading the lead pack by the top of the Switchbacks. Rebecca Asplund was humming along in third and Raelyn Werly, Aubrey Bowman, Kasey Tippets and Katrina Graham were all within a second of each other -- well up in the field -- throughout the first half of the race. The team was solidly in second place for most of the race and notched the #2 all time team time in school history in the process. They finished second and advanced to Finals for the 8th time in 8 seasons.

CIF Finals ... eight years in a row, and 9 times in our 11 seasons. Senior Kelsi Tippets was in 4th grade when the streak started, and Freshman Raelyn Werley was in 1st!  Quite an impressive run, and it will be fun to watch how this year's Finals shapes up for the talented group.

Results:  Girls Individual   Girls Team   Boys Individual   Boys Team

Photo Gallery   MtSAC Course Records

King XC past, present and future had a good time repesenting our program at the annual Mission Inn Run in Riverside. Several alums were in the field, and kudos to four guys who ran really well in the inaugural Half Marathon race! 

In the second running of the Big 8 League Championships, the girls from King wore the crown once again. Their convincing win stretched their league titles out to nine in a row, a streak that started when freshman Raelyn Werley was five!

The race was an exciting one as Kelsi Tippets and Hanna Peterson got into a side-by-side duel for the individual crown that lasted for most of the race. For Kelsi who eventually won the race, it was her second league title in cross country and the 8th individual title for King in our 11 years of competition. A King girl has won the league title now every season since 2003.  For Hanna, it was a superb race and another step forward in the right direction.  This from a girl who was 6th in the frosh-soph level of league finals just two years ago. A tremendous improvement!  Behind her was a strong-running Rebecca Asplund who ran strong and finished First-Team All League in her final league race ever. A pack of Aubrey Bowman, Kasey Tippets and Katrina Graham crossed the line together, placing all seven runners in the top 14. King won 29-53 over second-place Corona, and Eleanor Roosevelt finished in third. The team time for King was the third-fastest in our history.

The varsity boys had split the first two league meets with Corona and were hoping for a bit of an upset over the talented Panthers in the Final. It wasn't to be, but not for a lack of effort as the guys put together a super team effort. Lane Werley won the race easily up front, the first individual league title for a King boy in our history!  He ran 15:20, exactly to the second his stated goal. Behind him was a pack of Austin McKell, Jarod Nocella and Derek Nelson who were gamely challenging Corona's pack step for step before relinquishing the critical scoring spots in the final half mile. Nick Rini was a bit back of that group as the fifth and final scorer. Corona took home their 7th straight title with a 21 point advantage over King.  Santiago finished in third.

The boys' team time (combined times of the first five finishers) was the #2 mark in school history, second only to the super fast, concrete and flat Seaside Invitational in Ventura, run in 2008.

Devin Becerra ran a wire-to-wire for the victory in the JV boys race and looked good doing it. Freshman Brandon Berz gave chase before relinquishing a spot to Brad Sheets who finished in third overall. Sheets, Berz, Brandon Rogers and Ben Huscher made a solid scoring pack to seal the deal for the victory. Adam Schupp, Rafi Perez and Sean Lee formed another group to snag the final medals on the day and represent a strong and deep JV squad. Craig Aguilar completed his four years of running with a sub-18 race, not a bad way at all to go out!

In the girls JV race, Carrie Soholt completed a special day for her and for King with a solo run at the front of the race, winning by a comfortable margin over the exciting Emma Jaramillo who snagged second in her first season of running. Danielle Fillmore concluded successfully her four years of XC with a fourth place finish, followed by Noelle Abboud and Lisa Garside who wrapped up the overwhelming scoring victory for the Lady Wolves. It was an impressive showing!  Rebecca Trupp followed a small Corona pack across the line and led another King pack in. Taylar Amiot, Lauren Soholt and Samantha Enriquez were all there together, closely followed by freshmen Bayleigh Porter and Breanna Guardado.

It was an exciting day for King, with three victories in four races and a second-place finish in the fourth. A King runner won the individual race title in all four races, something the program has never achieved before. Those finishing the season here found good reason to go home satisfied, for the varsity teams heading to CIF, it was a strong enough day to bode well for things to come.

Big 8 League Finals Results

Varsity Boys   Varsity Girls   JV Boys    JV Girls   King Team Time all-time list

Photo Album

The 62nd annual running of the Mt.SAC Invitational didn't fail to offer it's traditional glitz and attraction. From the big screen showing live views from across the course, to an Olympic Bronze Medalist on hand, the traditional t-shirt and some 5,000 athletes racing the course from 7:00 to 1:00 in the afternoon, the meet was the spectacle it's been for some time.

The racing for King wouldn't quite meet the standard of "spectacle" but it was strong enough to bring encouragement with League Finals in 10 days and CIF action on the same course in 3 weeks.

Headlines and a bit of history was written by the Freshmen girls who took home the victory in a classic winning formula: Put a couple up front, seal the win with a pack. Emma Jaramillo ran great to finish second and 8th fastest for King overall on the day. Greatly improved Lisa Garside was just behind her in 7th, but it was the pack of Bayleigh Porter, Kaelyn Manning and Breanna Guardado that finished it off. Quite exciting! The other headline belonged to the boys varsity who took down the four year old school record for team time (combined time of the first five finishers of a team). Their time of 80:40 was over two minutes ahead of last year's best, and broke the previous school best by :55 seconds! Lane Werley was scintilating again, despite heavy legs due to some heavy training. He broke 15:00 with a stunning 14:56 and finished 8th in the Individual Sweeps division. The pack of Derek Nelson, Austin McKell, Nick Rini and Jarod Nocella were well back of Lane, but only 16 seconds apart from each other.

Nathan Torres and Brandon Berz led the way for the third-place-plaqueing Freshmen Boys squad. Torres ran the 4th-fastest freshman time for King ever on the course at 17:12. Cobi Hopkins was impressive at 18:31, while Trevor Berney and Ryan Gibeault rounded out the scoring five.

The JV team ran in the mythical "JV National Championships" yet ran in such a way that made one think a National Championship was on the line. Marc Jimenez rebounded from an off day last week to run a very impressive 16:46 effort and was followed by Ben Huscher who ran well and PR'd, while Brandon Rogers and Sean Lee saved their best-ever at Mt.SAC for their senior years, running 17:15 and 17:17. Rafi Perez finished off the scoring.

Devin Becerra had a PR day, winning the sophomore race by leading the whole way. It was fun to watch!  Ryan Esterberg ran 2 minutes faster than he did last year, going 18:03 while Ethan McAbee was right behind him. Tyler Parrish continued his much improved season and Jordan Goldie and Jacob Rosales were the final scorers.

The girls were just as successful. The varsity team is no rookie to Mt.SAC sweeps races and so took the line again and put together a solid if not great race. With a couple of sicknesses plaguing the team, they ran well as a group while finishing lower than hoped. Their team time was still the third-fastest mark in school history and just 21 seconds slower than the group ran last year at CIF Finals. Kelsi Tippets led despite the lingering effects of the flu. Hanna Peterson continued her emergence as one of King's all time best, notching King's #3 time in our 11 seasons. Carrie Soholt made another push away from injury with a fine 19:00 PR. Aubrey Bowman and Raelyn Werley were solid in scoring. Of the 395 schools in the meet that fielded a full team, King's girls finished 19th overall.

Katrina Graham took an aggressive approach to the JV race, leading for the first mile and finishing with a 19:46 mark and what would be the #4 time of the day for King. Danielle Fillmore finished 52nd, while Noelle Abboud, Taylar Amio and Rebecca Trupp all scored.

Courtney Girard and Courtney Mort were the leaders for the sophomore squad and ran in the mid 23:00's.

62 years ago, the Mt.SAC meet was born. Today, thousands of runners traversed it's storied lanes among which was King who made a little of their own history as well.

King Results   Photo Gallery     MtSAC Records     

CHECK OUT DYESTATCAL.COM'S GREAT COVERAGE 

In a long season, patience is a virtue. What happens in September isn't always an omen of what is to come. Turn arounds can happen, momentum can shift.

After a September that was solid if it wasn't stellar, the King harriers entered October competition with a "non-race" at Yucaipa when the bus didn't show. Anxious to see where their training had them, the Clovis Invitational the second weekend served up a big heaping of success. The test this week would be to see if any momentum begun in Clovis could be carried over into the second Big 8 League meet. 

Consider the test passed and momentum on the move.

For the boys teams, the two squads simply looked strong. The JV squad was led by Devin Becerra who ran superbly to win, followed by a fine pack of scorers Brandon Berz and Chris Miller (2nd and 3rd) and Rafael Perez and Marc Jimenez. A lone Corona runner separated the group, and that group was followed by a string of Wolves taking spots 8-12. It was a consuming victory.

Lane Werley had little company at the front of the varsity race and ran a seemingly easy 15:21 for the victory despite claiming "dead legs" when it was over. But the real story was happening with the increasingly impressive pack of Wolves behind him who are apparently beginning to find their stride.  Nick Rini looked strong after a lengthy recovery from the flu to run #2 for King, with Derek Nelson, Austin McKell and Jarod Nocella forming a solid scoring pack just a slim seven seconds apart.  After  what could well have been a disaster in the first league meet and the subsequent loss to Corona by 33 points, the tide was reversed as the boys took home a victory over the Panthers, winning 48-62. Santiago was third with 69 points.

The girls saw their leader Kelsi Tippets head home to nurse the flu and so started with the instructions to "take care of each other" and "take care of business." They did just that and did so without missing a beat. Hanna Peterson ran a patient first half to slowly work into the lead and took it to the line for her first ever varsity win. The pack of Carrie Soholt, Rebecca Asplund, Kasey Tippets, Raelyn Werley and Katrina Graham sealed up the victory by a larger margin over Corona than the first meet three weeks ago.

Danielle Fillmore and Emma Jaramillo shared leading duties in the JV race until the very end when a missed turn by Emma allowed her individual win to slip away while Danielle scampered home for the win. Emma got back on course though and finished the race still in the scoring (8th place) helping King to win over Corona by 2 points. Lisa Garside continued her good racing placing 4th, Noelle Abboud finished 5th overall but it was Lauren Soholt and Taylar Amiot who as the 5th and 6th runners for King that pushed Corona's fifth and final scorer back to add the critical two point swing. Kaitlyn Gonzalez and Courtney Girard had their best races of the season.

If a five day spread here in the middle of October can mean anything, it just may mean that King has gained a bit of mo'. If so, with Mt.SAC, League Finals and CIF out in front, its arrived just in time

Results:   Varsity Boys (corrected Friday morning)   Varsity Girls    JV Boys   JV Girls (JV girls went off course and ran approximately 2.4 miles)   Photo Gallery

Just for comparison: 2008 League Finals on the same course:  Girls JV  Girls Varsity   Boys JV   Boys Varsity

The Clovis Invitational has long been one of King XC's target meets and races. It gives the program a lot of good things; from the chance to travel, see the State Meet course, go head-to-head with many of the top programs in the state as well as serve as "the opening shot" for the championship portion of the season.  King XC has had many good experiences in this Fresno-area location.

2009 was no exception and the athletes who participated in the contest seemed to bring a "business-like" mindset to the meet.

For the guys, their task was to establish the fact that the level of their training could be matched on race day, something that thus far this season has eluded them. For the girls, they received news in the days prior to the race that they had achieved a #7 ranking in the STATE polls, the highest such nod the program has ever achieved. Their race would indicate the legitmacy of the ranking.  Both squads would come home with their objectives fulfilled.

The girls got things rolling first in a truly stacked field, with a number of the top 10 teams in the State and the Southern Section on the line. 300 meters off the line, it appeared as if King's team didn't belong in such a talented group, as their scorers were literally in the last 10 of the entire field by a quarter mile. But, they patiently worked their way through the crowded field and nursed out of themselves the strength and stamina they've built up in weeks of fine training to get back into contention by 2 miles. Kelsi Tippets was modeling the art of the chase, ultimately finishing 16th after coming by the mile in roughly 50th place. Hanna Peterson had a tremendous effort, eclipsing 19:00 with an 18:54 effort. Rebecca Asplund took 1:22 off her previous best on the course to run King's third-girl. Freshman Raelyn Werley had her best race of the season thus far finishing fourth for King at 19:27, King's #9 All Time fastest mark on the course. Converted to a three mile time of 18:48, she also set the school record for 9th graders!  Carrie Soholt rounded out the scoring group. Had all 110 schools entered over the entire day been combined into one race, King's girls would have finished 4th overall! Incredible stat, yet compelling knowing most of the girls left Fresno with a sense they "could have done more." Hopefully that chance will come in November.

"Under Achieving" could well have described the boys races to this point in 2009. Candid and honest, the group recognized that fact before the meet and made the point to right the ship and match the incredible training they've been consistently logging since July. They hit the target, straight on. Led by Lane Werley's 15:04 5th place showing (a 52 second improvement from last year and shattered his own school record by 45 seconds) that further established him as one of the State's eltie harriers, the pack did their own work in the middle of the field. Jarod Nocella emerged once again as one of King's finest with a 16:22 5K time, good for #2 on the all time list for the course. Austin McKell was right there behind him, fashioning for himself a 26 second PR for Woodward Park. Nick Rini, Derek Nelson and Chris Miller were all within 6 seconds of each other to form a nice pack of scorers and helped to bring the team a 13th (of 26 teams) place finish.  Their team time of 81:29 was over a minute ahead of the school record set here last year, and for good measure they beat handily the Corona squad who had done them the same favor two weeks ago.

King's two JV squads had the opportunity to race at the Varsity level and did not disappoint. Marc Jimenez and Daniel Balcazar both had fine races and proved the depth on the boys team this year by notching times that would have put them 4th and 6th on the team had they run in the other race. Freshmen Nathan Torres and Brandon Berz had fine days as well, with Nathan notching the 3rd fastest mark for a 9th grader All time. and Aaron Youngren put himself into the Woodward Park All Time 25 list going 16:56. The group's team time of 85:26 was good enough to be the 5th fastest team time for 5K EVER at King High. That's depth!

Katrina Graham and Danielle Fillmore led the charge for the girls, while freshman Lisa Garside showed the improvement she's been making of late with a very good race. Emma Jaramillo, fresh off a battle with the flu, did a good job as well, running King's 7th fastest freshman time in our history for any course!

So it was mission accomplished for the teams. The boys demonstrated what they and the coaches have known about themselves all along. The girls held their own in a field of truly elite teams and came away hungry for even more.

King Results      Photo Gallery     King Woodward Park All Time List   Team Times 5K All Time List  Dyestatcal.com full results and coverage   NEW! Dyestatcal's Meet Summary with King mentioned!

It was a blazing hot day. The Santa Ana's were whipping but doing little to cool a day that saw the mercury top 100 well past the start of the first race of the 2009 Big 8 Season. The heat seemed to be the story as a number of athletes were carted off to local hospitals for treatment while those more fortunate just tried to survive and make the most of a tough afternoon.

The girls wearing the King uniform added even more heat to their opponents as they swarmed to the front of the large field of combined JV and Varsity levels. Eventual race winner Kelsi Tippets ran somewhat unchallenged for the last half of the race, but the real heat was applied by the pack of Rebecca Asplund, Aubrey Bowman, Carrie Soholt, Raelyn Werley and Katrina Graham who ran as a unit and crowded out any potential scorers from the remaining seven squads.  Hanna Peterson had a tremendous run, flirting with second place until just before the final quarter-mile where she slipped back into a very respectable third. King won 25-53 over Corona, Centennial was a distant third at 107 points.

Kasey Tippets led the contingent of JV racers and was followed in order by Emma Jaramillo and Danielle Fillmore. That threesome in the top spots made Corona sweat, and though the Panthers would put up some resistance, the King team was able to win by a 21-36 margin. Taylar Amiot and Noelle Abboud were the final scorers on the day. Showing much greater depth than a year ago, the girls JV -- had they been scored in the varsity race -- would have finished third overall!

On the boys' side, it was the Corona boys who applied the pressure and raised the temperatures of any who dared to follow their torrid and relentless racing style. Packing well and being aggressive in the early miles, they separated themselves from everyone else and won easily. King finished 33 points behind them in second, led by another confident race by Lane Werley who won the individual battle without much struggle. Derek Nelson and Austin McKell ran consistent races and finished in the top 15. Chris Miller continued his consistent racing, but the boys missed the presence of Nick Rini who was home with his own fever, and Jarod Nocella who fell victim to the heat. Santiago, who had three guys in the top 7 were stung by a distant 4th and 5th, otherwise the Sharks may have taken a bite out of the Wolves day as well.

In 2008, King's JV boys were the class of the league, but Corona has made great strides and showed there's a new King wearing the crown at this point in the season. They put the first three racers across the line before Brad Sheets came through, this despite a great race by the senior.  Freshman Nathan Torres had a tremendous race, going second for King and notching the 8th fastest time overall for King.  He finished 5th in the race. The pack of Marc Jimenez, Brandon Rogers, and Aaron Youngren all came through from 7-9, but Corona already had the powerful three up front and a fourth in before King's third and it was too much as King finished second, 33-22. Sean Lee had a great non-scoring race, his best of the year thus far.

It has been said that "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."  Competition provides it's own heat source, and the Big 8 league is not lacking fot that. But throw into the day a triple-digit-temperature, one is tempted to consider leaving the kitchen. Or Corona. 

photo album

Results  JV BOYS    JV GIRLS   VARSITY BOYS   VARSITY GIRLS

The 29th annual running of the Mt. Carmel Invitational brought some 70 teams to the site of the Footlocker National Championships (held each December) for what is always a spirited and competitive early-season set of races. King has competed in this classic meet a number of times, and here in 2009, found themselves leaving the field with our best-ever showing and a needed bump in momentum as the Wolves head into the Big 8 league meet which begins next week.

The moment that literally had the attention of just about everyone in attendance was the duel that Lane Werley threw down against Elias Geydon of Loyola.  For context, Elias is the reigning Division 2 State Champion in cross country and the state champion in the 800 meters last June. He's ranked the #4 individual runner in the country by Dyestat.com.  The guy is good ... very good. Last year, he won the sophomore race by 45 seconds over Lane, who finished a very distant second. Little did he know that Lane had become a new runner over the summer and brought a big bag of guts to Morley Field, willing to patiently execute his goal to not only get close to Elias, but actually beat him.

In a race that saw Elias easily sprint out to a 30 meter lead by 1200 meters, Lane patiently stayed on pace and by 2 miles the two were side by side, challenging the tempo up and over the last tough hill and back down again. Elias has lightening speed, leaving many to wonder when he'd drop a gear and go, but Lane would make it tough on him, only in the final forty meters would the State Champ break free, besting Lane by 3 seconds. The two were a full minute ahead of third place, and less than 10 seconds from the course record for juniors.  No runner bested 15 minutes last year (run in the cooler morning hours), on a warm afternoon today, Lane and Elias were both sub-15.  Incredible.  If many had never heard of Lane Werley before, he appears ready to make a showing.

As exciting as that race was, Lane was merely the poster boy for what many of the King harriers would do on the day. Though the meet is not held in "team format", preferring instead to go grade level  with the races, the managers do use the computers to crunch all combined races and make a listing. With Lane's #2 time on the day, the boys put together great collective races and finished 6th overall among D1 teams. Nick Rini, Derek Nelson, Jarod Nocella and Austin McKell all dropped big-time seconds off their previous bests to help in that scoring, while Chris Miller continued good racing in 6th for King. Daniel Balcazar, trying to get fit again, showed his mettle running 7th man, and 9th grader Brandon Berz challenged for his race win (he finished 2nd) ran 8th for King.  Last year our top 5 averaged 16:51, this year, it was 16:26. Ben Huscher also had one of his finest races ever.  Coming off a flat performance one week ago in Chino, the meet today provide a big bump of enthusiasm and momentum for the crew.  Great stuff!

Joey Tompkins showed what a difference a year can make, improving close to 6 full minutes on the course!  Ryan Esterberg was also much improved, with a minute-and-a-half drop.  Mitchel Cleland was 50 seconds ahead of last year.

The girls were equally tough, running great collective efforts, ultimately finishing 3rd overall, had the races been combined!  The only two teams in front of them were Torrey Pines and Rancho Bernardo, two of the best programs in the entire state!

Kelsi Tippets once again set the pace for the ladies, with a 3rd place finish in her senior race. Hanna Peterson, pursuing one of the coveted sports bags reserved for the top 5 finishers became a "bag lady" herself with a great race! She PR'd by a bunch from last year. Rebecca Asplund continues her triumphant running, looking great over the course.  Aubrey Bowman ran well for the second week in a row, while Raelyn Werley stole some of her big-brother's mojo with a super effort to notch the 9th fastest time for King ever on the course.  Carrie Soholt and Katrina Graham rounded out the top seven. 

Emma Jaramillo had her second good race of her young career, and 9th grader Lisa Garside looked like she's about ready to "get it" with a super race, finishing at 19:00 for the 2.75 mile race and making the alltime list for King.  Noelle Abboud did as well, finishing just a tick under 19:00. Kaelyn Manning put her first race ever into her treasure box of memories with a fine effort, as did Breanna Guardado.

Following the successful races, the team spent some of their fundraising on a fun pizza and pool party right there in the park at the city pool.  It was a great way to finish off a great day.

King Results     King all time list    Overall Results   A big ol' Photo Gallery

After a two-year hiatus, the Cal Poly Pomona Bronco Invite lost many of it's usual participants, but the smaller fields still gave the King Wolves a decent chance to kick off their season. With about 15 total teams competing, King found itself at the front of each race, with three individual race winners and a runner in the top 4 of all five contests.

The conditions created the challenge. A 5K, undulating course, was carpeted in 5 inches of grass and some softer spots muddied by the sprinklers. Deep into our toughest training phase and with many wearing training shoes on the course, the times would not be stellar.  Though in some cases they weren't, King was still able to kick off it's season in a good way, and there was a good group of King Harriers who were able to manage quality marks nonetheless.

The boys varsity has high goals for this season, but looked flat and a bit displaced in the field and would ultimately finish third overall. Lane Werley, who stated two months ago that his initial goal for the season was to open with a victory, achieved it with a comfortable effort shadowing his two nearest rivals before skirting away at the second mile. He set the fastest 11th grade time in school history while calling it "easy."  Not a bad start to 2009!  Nick Rini moved up well through the field to finish second and Chris Miller made his first-ever varsity race a memorable one with a solid effort and PR.

The girls varsity team debuted a couple of freshmen and a different lineup than they finished last year's season off -- despite graduating only one.  The group raced well, with an evenly paced effort behind Kelsi Tippets' 4th place finish. Hanna Peterson looked great along with Rebecca Asplund. Raelyn Werley, one of the two frosh, held on for fourth on the team, while Katrina Graham rounded out the scoring set, helping the team to finish in 3rd, just 10 points from the win.

Where the varsity boys seemed to be missing a specific purpose on the morning, the boys frosh soph team ran with a sence of determination, with Devin Becerra throwing down a great race, leading the whole way and going 17:03. Brandon Berz and Nathan Torres, both lacing on the flats for the first time did tremendously well, finishing third and fifth overall and notching some very encouraging rookie marks!  Brandon's 5K time of 17:44 converted to the #6 fastest 9th grade time in school history.   Mr. Consistency, Adam Schupp, ran fourth for the team, while Ethan McAbee finished the scorers and sealed the easy win for the Wolves. Further back, Tyler Parrish showed the results of a good summer of training,  while Jordan Goldie got his rookie season off well with a 19:04 5K mark.

Danielle Fillmore entered her fourth and final season with a great race, leading almost the entire way and winning the JV level at 20:26 for 5K. Aubrey Bowman gave chase throughout and took second, and Kasey Tippets was third. In a dual meet, that would be a mathmatical shutout, but in an invitational, it's not a bad way to start things off!  They were ably supported by Noelle Abboud in 4th for King and Rebecca Trupp in 5th. The five-some ran away with an easy victory. Taylar Amiot had one of her best ever races and times at 22:55, while Lauren Soholt, Lisa Garside, Kim Graham, Aubrey Kent, Bayleigh Porter and Farrah Curtner all got their XC careers off on the right foot.

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