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Tuesday, November 22
2005 SEASON TIMES
FIFTH FINALS FINDS GIRLS FINISHING FOURTEENTH
 | |  | | Carissa Bowman finished 18th overall -- the highest King finish at Finals ever! |
Summer-like conditions warmed up the November skies to temperatures more commonly felt in July, and for the last race of the season it was like it had started ... hot. The low 80's temps under a bright sun melted the hopes of super-fast times, and so the teams of Division One were left to gut it out and make the best of less than ideal conditions.
For the King girls, making their fourth consecutive trip to the Southern Section Championship race, and fifth in seven years of racing, the race never really took flight as the Seven struggled throughout and ended up finishing 14th in the field. Carissa Bowman lurked in the top 10 for over a mile before slipping back to 18th by the finish line. It was the highest finish by a King runner at CIF Finals in our history and a wonderful step of progress for the talented sophomore. A large gap of nearly 60 places formed to the rest of the scorers Larissa Davis, Bridget Gonzalez, Addy Odekirk and Mary Griesinger. Amber Mooney and Carly Sjogren completed the team.
With King's top three runners from the season returning in 2006, and a large contingent of underclassmen who show great potential, the future once again looks hopeful as the 2005 season comes to a close much like it started: HOT!
Results
18. Carissa Bowman 18:51
81. Larissa Davis 20:35
90. Bridget Gonzalez 21:07
94. Mary Griesinger 21:18
96. Addy Odekirk 21:27
102. Carly Sjogren 22:06
103. Amber Mooney 22:16
1 Fountain Valley 68 1:32:53
2 Thousand Oaks 81 1:34:16
3 Saugus 134 1:35:10
4 Royal 147 1:36:43
5 Murrieta Valley 149 1:36:39
6 Crescenta Valley 162 1:37:00
7 Dana Hills 201 1:38:10
8 Corona 227 1:39:18
9 Canyon (Canyon Country) 234 1:38:45
10 Sultana 247 1:39:04
11 Glendora 247 1:38:45
12 Trabuco Hills 250 1:39:32
13 Redlands 308 1:41:07
14 King (M.L.) 346 1:43:18
Saturday, November 12
SWEET SIXTEEN TAKES GIRLS TO FINALS
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16 seconds. It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to get the King girls into the CIF Finals for the fifth time in seven years (and the fourth in a row!) Saturday at the Southern Section CIF Division One Championships. With fourteen teams qualifing out of four heats, the top three finishing places in each race were guaranteed a ticket to the Big Dance, with the next two "fastest fourth place teams" based on team time getting the last two coveted spots. In a race that takes nearly 100 minutes collectively for a team to run, 16 seconds isn't much. Not until today. Today it was the difference between going home and going on.
A nail biting waiting game commenced as results from the final heat would dictate the outcome. Finishing fourth in the third heat, and faster than one of the two previous fourth place team, King had to wait for the final race to finish before punching their ticket. When it came, only 16 seconds separated Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos at 99:07 and King at 98:51. King is going on!
The automatic spot of third was out of reach by the top of the switchbacks, as Murrietta Valley, Sultana and Trabuco Hills all ran solid team efforts and put the race for fourth into the hands of those who dared. Highland, King and Long Beach Poly all battled for that lone spot. Carissa Bowman played a big role in the advancing effort of the girls, as she won the race, but more importantly won it in a fast 18:24. That time (17th fastest overall of all five divisions combined) ultimately give King a 50 second advantage over Los Osos by the time the Bears' first runner crossed the line in the subsequent race. Contributing to the successful team effort behind Carissa, were Addy Odekirk, Larissa Davis and Bridget Gonzalez who formed a nice pack and Carly Sjogren who finished fifth for the team and scored. Shawna Brierly and Mary Griesinger rounded out the team.
After a string of wonderful efforts and victories throughout October and early November, the boys' hopes for Finals were like tarnished coins in a wishing well as the group couldn't muster the required performances on a warm afternoon to advance. With a 1:30pm race time, the warmer temps kept all teams from headlining great times, so it quickly became a race for the top three spots. Despite Matt Cummins putting together perhaps his finest race of the year to finish 10th overall, the remaining six racers struggled on what would be the last race of a great season. John Ashley finished second for the team with Nick Ehret right on his heels, but the normal 30 second gap between the five scorers ballooned to almost a minute and it sounded the alarm that not all was right. The team finished fifth overall, a disappointment after the accolades earned over the previous six weeks.
The race did not take away from the efforts of the team that put together school record team times for both three miles and 5K and set the Mt.SAC team time school record and won the first outright League title for King since 1999. But the day belonged to the ladies who exulted in their sixteen seconds of glory.
Results:
Girls
1. Murrieta Valley 45
2. Sultana 80
3. Trabuco Hills 83
4. King 117
5. Highland 134
6. Poly Long Beach 156
17 total teams
1. Carissa Bowman 18:24
24. Addy Odekirk 19:57
25. Bridget Gonzalez 19:58
27. Larissa Davis 20:01
44. Carly Sjogren 20:31
56. Shawna Brierly 20:58
68. Mary Griesinger 21:30
Boys
1. Royal 62
2. Arcadia 86
3. Los Alamitos 131
4. Santa Ana Valley 134
5. King 161
17 total teams
10. Matt Cummins 16:09
23. John Ashley 16:35
26. Nick Ehret 16:41
50. Jeremy Baugus 17:08
57. Ivan Guevara 17:18
67. Patrick Gonzalez 17:30
74. Alec Fillmore 17:42
Thursday, November 3
KING WEARS FOUR CROWNS
The Ivy League Finals gave King an opportunity to put together the collective efforts of over 30,900 miles run and 62 athletes doing their best to make a healthy team. With six races on tap - the two frosh soph races were exhibitions of sort - the chances to shine were multiplied six-fold. The teams came away with a girls frosh-soph race win and four league titles!
The girls frosh soph race turned into a nail-biter as King and Poly consumed 8 of the 9 top spots, and did it in streaks of Blue and Orange. With Amber Mooney running a truly fine wire-to-wire effort and leading by over 200 meters, Rebekah Fairley was second and running her finest effort of the season. Kloey Glass was in third, but not without having to put together a great last 100 meters to snag the spot from the first of four Poly Bears. Robyn Wroblewski was King's fourth scorer with a great 22:34 race and then it was all eyes on which squad would bring in their fifth and final scorer. True to form, the two teams emerged in the final straight side by side, as Tatianna Balcazar finishing just four seconds behind Poly's last scorer. But the trio up front was enough to seal the deal and win the race by six points. Haley Hammar PR'd on the course. Jenna Kordic, who finished 28th overall, displayed her character and tenacity, overcoming injury all season to finish valiantly. Stacy Yarbrough dropped her course PR, as did Holly Huss and Este Arias. A great finish for our young girls and future stars.
Charlie Alvarez gave chase in hopes of the individual win in the boys frosh soph race, but ultimately settled for 4th overall. The team was never close to La Sierra who put together a throng of underclassmen to win the event 26 to King's 67. However, there were some good performances by the Wolfpack on their final day. Nick Hernandez ran in the top 10, and David Avina showed what he is capable of doing by dropping over 30 seconds in the week and crossing in 13th. Brian Luna and Jason Schupp both scored while Ethan Park, Hayden Traver and Chris Salas all PR'd on the course. Chris Power came off the flu to run well in 42nd.
Undefeated streaks were on the line for the two JV squads and they didn't disappoint with a commanding win by the ladies and another close win (it's been that way for the last month!) for the boys. Brittany Schuette capped off her season that was plagued mid-way with illness with a great second-place showing and time of 20:31. Kailtin Traver and Allison Mills were 3 and 4 respectively with Tifinnie Baumann PR'ing on the course in 7th and Monika Valenzuela rounding out the scoring group in 8th. Kristen Beal and Lauren Antrim, both four-year runners for King, concluded their careers by running very well in 12th and 17th.
That habit of racing close scores the JV boys have had the last month reared it's pretty head again this day, despite having Chris Norris win the race and Colton Underwood go third. Matt Sheppard and Brett Meier finished next to each other in 5 and 6, but Canyon Springs put five in before Spencer Brady kicked furiously in at 13th to finish off the scoring and keep the Cougars at bay and off the victory stand. Brad Yarbrough dropped his course time from last week 45 seconds, and Nash Gill, sidelined for most of the season with illness, ran a wonderful closer at 19:20. Derric Devine and Jacoub Hanna also dropped their course marks significantly to finish on a high note.
One has to go back to 1999 to find the last time a King boys varsity squad ran away with the outright league title (It was the Arrowhead league and the first crown of any sport at King High) and also run this fast. Running a school record team time of 80:56, gapping 1-5 at only 24 seconds - and only 32 seconds 1-7! - the team has been clicking on all cylanders for the last six weeks. Sharing leading responsibilites and keeping the pack tight, the Seven followed Jeremy Baugus' lead through half-way when Matt Cummins and John Ashley moved to the fore with a surging Patrick Gonzalez, Nick Ehret, Ivan Guevara and Alec Fillmore all almost an arms reach from each other. La Sierra, a legitmate threat to repeat 2004 and earn the victory (and a share of the title) behind their talented twins up front were not as strong this time around and were not able to put even four runners in front of King's seventh. It was again a great display of team effort and team racing that brought home King's third league title in seven years.
Rebounding from an sub-par performance last week on the same course, the varsity girls put to rest by midway any doubts of the ability or their will to win. Carissa Bowman lead the way and waged a great dual with Canyon's Courtney DiNicola before going solo over the last half mile to win her first league title and MVP honors. Addy Odekirk and Larissa Davis were busy breaking up the trio of Cougars that nearly upset the Lady Wolves' undefeated season a week ago. The two sophs would ultimately finish 3 and 4, while Bridget Gonzalez was putting an exclamation mark on her league season with an outstanding race to finish 7th. Carly Sjogren eclipsed 20 minutes to finish in 12th and Shawna Brierly and Mary Griesinger rounded out the championship team, King's fifth straight!
Winning isn't easy and all four crowned squads had to battle throughout the season for the accolades they've achieved. On this one triumphant day, the King kid's effort, attitude and will were on display and they went home wearing four Ivy League crowns.
Results:
Girls Frosh Soph
1. King 28
2. Poly 34
3. La Sierra 75
4. North 121
1. Amber Mooney 20:30
2. Rebekah Fairley 21:15
3. Kloey Glass 21:19
9. Robyn Wroblewski 22:34
13. Tatiana Balcazar 22:54
14. Kirsti Correa 22:58
18. Jamie Steffin 23:17
19. Holly Huss 23:18
20. Haley Hammar 23:29
23. Brittani CIupek 23:53
28. Jenna Kordic 24:05
29. Este Arias 24:05
32. Briana Whetstone 24:24
33. Zoe Odien 25:07
34. Sara Strasbaugh 25:29
35. Megan Malcuit 25:35
37. Stacy Yarbrough 25:53
F/S Boys
1.La S-26
2.King-67
3.CSHS-121
4.Poly-133
4. Charlie Alvarez 17:52
9. Nick Hernandez 18:47
13. David Avina 19:06
18. Brian Luna 19:22
23. Jason Schupp 19:46
25. Ethan Park 19:54
27. Hayden Traver 20:05
29. Chris Salas 20:22
42. Chris Power 21:57
JV Girls
1.King-24
2.Poly-50
3.CSHS-69
4.ARL-136
5.La S-173
2. Brittany Schutte 20:31
3. Kaitlin Traver 20:44
4. Allison Mills 20:47
7. Tiffine Baumann 21:03
8. Monika Valenzuela 21:24
12. Lauren Antrim 21:53
17. Kristen Beal 23:01
JV Boys
1.King-28
2.CSHS-35
3.Poly-89
4.La S-109
5.North-172
6.ARL-188
1. Chris Norris 17:09
3. Colton Underwood 17:17
5. Matt Sheppard 17:38
6. Brett Meier 17:38
13. Spencer Brady 18:30
14. Brad Yarbough 18:31
19. Ed Willits 19:00
23. Nash Gill 19:20
27. Derrick Devine 19:48
29. Jacoub Hanna 19:56
41. Markus Rabbitt 20:56
Varsity Girls
1. King-27
2. CSHS-49
3. POLY-65
4. North-97
La s-127
1. Carissa Bowman 18:33
3. Larissa Davis 19:25
4. Addy Odekirk 19:30
7. Bridget Gonzalez 19:36
12. Carly Sjogren 19:52
15. Shawna Brierly 19:59
17. Bary Griesinger 20:30
Varsity Boys
1. King 36
2. La S 51
3. CSHS 68
4. POLY 96
North ns
5. Matt Cummins 16:01
6. John Ashley 16:13
7. Jeremy Baugus 16:17
8. Patrick Gonzalez 16:23
10. Nick Ehret 16:25
11. Ivan Guevara 16:28
13. Alec Fillmore 16:36
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Thursday, October 27
RESURGENT CANYON SPRINGS JUST MISSES UPSET
In the last dual meet of the season, King met up with Canyon Springs and Arlington. The Cougars of Canyon Springs weren't about to let King go into Finals with an undefeated season at all levels, and in two of the four races at least, made the Wolf pack work for every last point and narrow victories.
The JV boys found themselves locked up early-on with three Cougars who would ultimately crowd from 2nd through 4th by the finish line. Patrick Gonzalez cruised to the victory and Charlie Alvarez ran well in 5th, but it was collective depth that kept King from losing. Matt Sheppard, Nick Hernandez, Chris Norris and Brett Meier combined to finish ahead of the remaining CS scorers and seal a narrow, 27-30 victory. For three weeks in a row, the Wolves have had to go to the mat at the JV level to come out victorious, winning by 1, 3 and 3 points in the last trio of league meets. Some good marks were recorded in this second-to-last race of 2005, with Chris Power slipping under 20:00 along with David Avina. Ethan Park finished at 20:01 and Kyle Coggins had his PR set at 20:23.
The JV girls were not challenged and once again finished in the first 8 places and 14 of the first 16 places. Such was not the case however with the varsity girls as Canyon Springs put it to the Lady Wolves with a ferocious top-three attack that gave King their slimmest margin of victory in several years, 29-30! Jessi Jaech and Courtney DiNicola of CS drove the third mile in commanding fashion, passing Carissa Bowman to take 1-2 at the line. Carissa was able to hold off their third runner, and spoil CS's hopes of the mathmatical "can't lose" scenario of the top three finishers. It was King's depth that saved the day, as the remaining six Wolves were able to finish ahead of Canyon's fourth girl. As the two squads look to next week's League Finals, this close race, coupled with the possiblity of Canyon returning their injured star Tiffany Rojas, makes the last matchup next week very intriguing and anyone's guess who will come out on top!
With confidence coming in spades, the varsity boys took their jobs seriously and got busy winning their race by the first mile, with Jeremy Baugus chasing Jose Blanco of CS (they would finish 2nd and 1st respectively) and the pack forming nicely 10 seconds back. The pack held together in their now very typical 30-second spread, and never looked back, winning comfortably. The boys varsity heads into League Finals undefeated for the second year in a row.
Results
Saturday, October 22
RECORD BOOKS REWRITTEN ON HILLS OF MT.SAC
A measuring stick of any cross country team or program is their performance on the famed and storied trails of MtSAC. Legendary for it's tradition, it's championship-calibre course layout and it's famous (or infamous) three hills, the site beckons runners from across the nation to come and find out how strong, how tough, and how determined they really are. For King, the day brought a slew of huge performances and record changing efforts. Sloughing off the demons of 2004, in which the Wolfpack ran below themselves, the '05 squads came away with medals, plaques and PR's. It was a very good day.
The JV boys got the early gun, with a 7:05 race start, the first of the day. Colton Underwood cut through the early morning haze like a beam of sunshine, finishing 4th overall at 17:05. Matt Sheppard, Chris Norris -- who had a 1:50 drop in his course PR -- Brett Meier and Bradley Yarbrough combined to score 112 points to finish 4th, just 8 points away from a plaque. Derric Devine took two minutes off his course PR, racing well in 158th place. Ed Willits also PR'd in a big way, dropping his course-best from 22:42 to 19:08!
With no official team in the girls JV race, Brittany Schuette, Lauren Antrim and Monika Valenzuela worked together to finish in the top 25 of the 80 runner field.
The boys varsity continued on the rampage they've been making of late through the school records and their opponents. Throwing caution to the wind, the team has raced unlike any squad at King in several years, winning the Clovis Invitational two weeks ago and defeating La Sierra on Thursday. Today, the team was poised to again go out and see what could be accomplished with the propelant of a "can-do" attitude.
Turning their 1-5 gap into something more like a sliver, the pack formed a 30 second spread for the third race in a row and notched the second ever varsity victory at Mt.SAC (the first was the 2002 team), and broke the three-year old team time SR in the process! Matt Cummins led a bunch of six teammates through the mile, then John Ashley joined him for the final two mile jaunt. The two finished in the top 10 and ran the #1 and #2 times ever for King on the course. Jeremy Baugus (:58 PR), Patrick Gonzalez (1:53 PR) and Nick Ehret also put their names in the Top 15 All time to finish out the scoring five. 6th-man Alec Fillmore had an almost full 2 minute PR to run 16:43! Their score of 84 points distanced themselves from 1000 Oaks (118) and Rubidoux (128). The victory over the Falcons of Rubidoux would be the first ever for King, after doing battle with the well-coached and talented program while in the Sunkist League from 2000-2003
Carissa Bowman ...... oh my. Racing as she did in Clovis, the sophomore ran like a seasoned senior, gently biding her time in the opening mile, just off the leaders, only to consume 11 opponents in the last two miles, ultimately finishing in 4th. Her time was 18:22, a full 30 second drop from 2004. It was the second-fastest time of all Riverside County runners on the day, and in the top 10 of all Southern Section Division One runners! Incredible! Her low score helped move her team to 8th place in their race. Larissa Davis was King's second runner overall with a PR at 19:55 Bridget Gonzalez ran a terrific second-half to cross the line in 19:58, while Carly Sjogren, Shawna Brierly and Kaitlin Traver all had signficant improvements in their personal records for the course. Collectively, the team ran the fourth fastest team time at Mt.SAC (including CIF competition).
Freshmen and Sophomores filled out the remainder of the race schedule and the girls of both groups brought home plaques and the coveted medals. The sophomore girls got into a spirited battle with Royal, as Addy Odekirk dueled through 2 miles then broke away for a commanding victory. Allison Mills ran exceptionally for her first time on the course, as did Tifinnie Baumann who dropped over 3 minutes off of her time from 2004!! Amber Mooney and Rebekah Fairley finished out the scoring, while Tatianna Balcazar was running a 2:45 pr from one year ago. The freshmen girls also got into the action with a second-place effort, paced by Kloey Glass who ran her best race of the season and afterward pronounced, "that was fun!" Sara Strasbaugh ran under 22:00 despite nursing a bum knee, and Robyn Wroblewski and Zoe Odien put together truly fine efforts to score along with Kirsti Correa. Haley Hammar ran 23:35 and looked good doing it, while Megan Malcuit finished with a flourish at 23:40.
The ninth grade boys saw Charlie Alvarez notch his name in the top two 9th grade all-time marks. Unfortunately, his high finish place wasn't able to pull King out of tenth place overall. Brian Luna continued his good racing of late, with a sub-19:00 effort. Hayden Traver broke 20:00. The soph boys lacked a full-scoring team, but Ethan Park was still able to drop 2 minutes from his course-best. Nick Hernandez clocked 18:13, a fine time for his first go of the course.
So what began in the early morning dark, ended in the light of victory and success. It was three years ago that King was able to run as well over the hill and dale of Mt.SAC, and hopefully a sign of the prominence to come on the course that defines the sport.
King All Time MSAC List Official Results (Division one)
Results:
Boys Varsity
1. King 84
2. Thousand Oaks 118
3. Rubidoux 128
4. Canyon (CC) 160
18 more teams
7. John Ashley 16:01 (School Course Record)
10. Matt Cummins 16:03
18. Jeremy Baugus 16:25
24. Patrick Gonzalez 16:32
25. Nick Ehret 16:34
37. Alec Fllmore 16:43
58. Ivan Guevara 17:01
Girls Varsity
1. Fountain Valley 74
2. Cardinal Gibbons 129
8. King 238
9. Ventura 241
17 total teams
4. Carissa Bowman 18:22 (school course record)
48. Larissa Davis 19:55
52. Bridget Gonzalez 19:58
69. Carly SJogren 20:15
73. Shawna Brierly 20:24
81. Kaitlin Traver 20:33
95. Mary Griesinger 21:04
Boys JV
1. Dana Hills 64
2. Madera 92
3. Los Alamitos 104
4. King 112
5. Royal 134
20 total teams
4. Colton Underwood 17:06
16. Matt Sheppard 17:30
18. Chris Norris 17:33
33. Brett Meier 17:56
48. Bradley Yarbrough 18:25
78. Ed Willits 19:08
85. Spencer Brady 19:15
115. Nash Gill 19:49
136. Jacoub Hanna 20:11
155. Jon Clem 20:44
158. Derric Devine 20:49
159. Matt Cook 21:02
161. Kyle Coggins 21:06
Girls JV
No team to score
17. Brittany Schuette 21:46
21. Lauren Antrim 22:01
22. Monika Valenzuela 22:02
Boys Sophomore
No team to score
64. Nick Hernandez 18:13
134. David Avina 19:30
141. Ethan Park 19:37
186. Chris Salas 20:33
Girls Sophomore
1. King 53
2. Royal 60
3. Aliso Niguel 64
4. Buena 81
5. Esperanza 127
13 total teams
1. Addy Odekirk 19:39
11. Allison Mills 20:43
13. Tifinnie Baumann 20:55
14. Amber Mooney 20:59
26. Rebekah Fairley 21:33
46. Jamie Steffin 22:27
67. Tatiana Balcazar 23:01
100. Brittani Ciupek 24:04
Boys Freshmen
1. Buchanan 31
2. Dana Hills 113
3. Marina 116
10. King
19 total teams
20. Charlie Alvarez 17:51
46. Brian Luna 18:58
73. Hayden Traver 19:47
77. Jason Schupp 19:51
99.. Chris Power 20:26
Girls Freshmen
1. Fountain Valley 23
2. King 98
3. El Rancho 120
4. Canyon CC 137
5. Alta Loma 156
13 total teams
13. Kloey Glass 21:13
27. Sara Strasbaugh 21:53
30. Robyn Wroblewski 22:02
33. Zoe Odien 22:06
40. Kirsti Correa 22:39
57. Haley Hammar 23:25
65. Holly Huss 23:39
67. Megan Malcuit 23:40
Thursday, October 20
BIG WINS KEEP UNDEFEATED SEASON GOING
La Sierra's large and well-established program came to town and one couldn't help but think of the titanic clash the two varsity boys teams staged last season in the first ever meeting between the schools. The two newest members of the Ivy League shared the league title by the close of the 2004 campaign, so the Press Enterprise perhaps rightly billed today's contest as a "rematch".
But the JV girls got things rolling King's way with a commanding and easy win, notching the first eight spots in the race, with Lauren Antrim doing leading duties up front and winning in a mark of 22:11. Intermittent Eagles behind that initial Wolf Pack split up some mini-packs of Kristen Beal, Robyn Wroblewski and Tatiana Balcazar (10th-12th) and Brittani Ciupek, Kirsti Correa, and Megan Malcuit (16th-18th). Zoe Odien ran much improved over her first race on the course two weeks ago.
With two key scorers missing from the JV boys lineup, the race was extremely tight for the Wolves for a second week in a row. Matt Sheppard led from the gun, but was forced to work for the win as Matt Davis of La Sierra pressed the closing mile to move from third to only 2 seconds off the win by the line. Charlie Alvarez hung on for third with Brett Meier in fourth, but the Eagles packed the next five spots coming by the two mile marker. Bradley Yarbrough made a strong move in the closing 1000 meters to pass two, then a third opponent with a lean at the tape to snag 8th place from the clutches of the Eagle runner. With Spencer Brady, King's fifth and final scorer, finishing behind La Sierra's seventh man, little did Brad realize that the lean was enough to flip-flop two critical points in King's favor and grab victory from the jaws of defeat, 28-29. Off the scoring, but still running well were Chris Salas who improved on the course by well over a minute-thirty, Hayden Traver who PR'd by thirty seconds, and Matt Cook who was over two full minutes off the time run here two weeks ago.
The girls varsity was unpushed and cruised to a complete shutout, with all seven in front of the Lady Eagles' first.
In 2004, the boys varsity race exploded in fireworks, as King came with a powerful attack that caught some by surprise. Though the finishing places this season were identical to last season (King going 3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9) some of the euphoria of victory was dissipated as this year's squad races with a confidence in their preparation and potential that's been unseen in several seasons at King. Holding tightly together for the first mile before stretching into their typical 30 second spread from 1-5 by midway, the team raced well and in command throughout winning by a score of 25-36.
And so the teams head into the final stretch of the season with undefeated records and a feeling of momentum.
Results:
Varsity Girls: King 15, LS 50
1. Carissa Bowman 20:03
2. Larissa Davis 21:08
3. Shawna Brierly 21:18
4. Bridget Gonzalez 21:44
5. Kaitlin Traver 21:47
6. Amber Mooney 21:58
7. Allison Mills 21:58
Varsity Boys: King 25, LS 36
3. Matt Cummins 17:01
4. Jeremy Baugus 17:03
5. Patrick Gonzalez 17:11
6. Nick Ehret 17:19
7. John Ashley 17:31
8. Alec Fillmore 17:32
9. Ivan Guevara 17:42
Girls JV: King 15, LS 50
1. Lauren Antrim 22:11
2. Monika Valenzuela 22:19
3. Brittany Schuette 22:27
4. Tiffinnie Baumann 22:29
5. Sara Strasbaugh 22:44
6. Rebekah Fairley 22:56
7. Kloey Glass 23:00
8. Jamie Steffin 23:02
10. Kristen Beal 23:40
11. Robyn Wroblewski 23:53
12. Tatiana Balcazar 24:22
14. Haley Hammar 24:50
16. Brittani Ciupek 24:56
17. Kirsti Correa 25:13
18. Megan Malcuit 25:15
21. Holly Huss 26:00
22. Zoe Odien 26:20
32. Stacy Yarbrough 29:07
Boys JV: King 28, LS 29
1. Matt Sheppard 18:07
3. Charlie Alvarez 18:20
4. Brett Meier 18:51
8. Brad Yarbrough 19:17
12. Spencer Brady 19:45
14. David Avina 19:54
16. Ed Willits 20:18
18. NAsh Gill 20:33
19. Brian Luna 20:36
21. Jon Clem 20:42
23. Ethan Park 20:49
24. Nick Hernandez 20:59
26. Chris Salas 21:04
27. Jason Schupp 21:12
31. Joe Chen 21:34
35. Hayden Traver 21:49
36. Matt Cook 22:02
37. Derric Devin 22:11
38. Kyle Coggins 22:14
41. Markus Rabbitt 23:11
Thursday, October 13
JV BOYS CAPTURE SPOTLIGHT AGAINST NORTH
| |  | | Monika speeds in for the win |
Running perimeters is what keeps some from the Spring sport of track, but the cross country teams found themselves doing just that against North High at the AB Brown soccer complex in Riverside. Three of the four races lacked in strong competition, but the JV boys race became the one to watch.
With North moving several varsity runners down to the JV level and King moving several JV runners up to the varsity level, the two teams met in the middle for what proved to be an exciting affair. Nick Hernandez took an early lead with Spencer Brady in tow. They were challenged by North's top two harriers who by two miles had moved into the 1-2 spots. Spread out through King's top five were the Huskies' remaining three scorers. In the final mile, Brad Yarbrough took over the top spot for King and courageously tried to split the leading couple, but settled for third. Ed Willits finished in sixth, but only after a 100 meter dash to close out North's #3. With both teams having finished their top four through 8 places, the score was deadlocked 18-all. Jason Schupp, Nash Gill and Brian Luna all gutted out the last 800, with Luna outkicking North's #5 to seal the victory, 27-30.
Monika Valenzuela was the individual winner in the JV girls' contest, holding off a quick-closing North challenger in the final quarter-mile. Tifinnie Baumann had her highest finish ever in fourth. Tatianna Balcazar ran with purpose to finish 7th overall. Jenna Kordic completed her first race of the season despite injuries, as did Kristen Beal. The girls won easily, 19-39.
The varsities won by wide margins as well, doing it with split squads. For the boys, Charlie Alvarez and Brett Meier enjoyed their first-ever varsity races, and for the girls, Rebekah Fairley, Amber Mooney and Lauren Antrim all toed their inaugural varsity line and competed well. The girls won 21-37, while the boys won 17-42.
Results:
Boys Varsity: King 17, North 42
1. Matt Cummins 17:01
2. Patrick Gonzalez 17:30
3. Chris Norris 17:33
4. Nick Ehret 17:46
7. Charlie Alvarez 18:16
9. Coltin Uderwood 18:37
10. Brett Meier 18:45
Girls Varsity: King 21, North 37
1. Carissa Bowman 20:12
2. Amber Mooney 21:08
5. Addie Odekirk 21:44
6. Alison Mills 22:21
7. Lauren Antrim 22:28
8. Shawna Brierly 22:32
12. Bekah Fairley 23:35
Girls JV: King 19, North 39
1. Monica Valenzuela 22:35
3. Sarah Strasbaugh 22:45
4. Tifinnie Baumann 22:53
5. Brittany Schuett 23:08
6. Jamie Steffin 23:34
7. Tatianna Balcazar 24:12
8. Robyn Wroblewiski 24:36
9. Kloey Glass 24:44
10. Kristen Beal 24:53
11. Haley Hammar 25:12
12. Kirsti Correa 25:20
16. Megan Malcuit 26:32
19. Brittani Ciupek 26:44
21. Jena Kordic 27:36
Boys JV: King 27, North 30
3. Brad Yarbrough 19:19
4. Nick Hernadez 19:20
5. Spencer Brady 19:44
6. Ed Willits 20:13
9. Jason Schupp 20:36
10. Nashatar Gill 20:40
11. Brian Luna 20:44
14. Ethan Park 21:15
15. David Avina 21:25
17. Chris Salas 21:40
19. Jonnathan Clem 21:56
20. Dereik Devine 22:09
21. Hayden Traver 22:29
22. Chris Power 22 :36
23. Joe Chen 22:45
24. Kyle Coggins 22:46
25. Markess Rabbitt 22:55
27. Matt Cook 23:17
28. Kyle Wright 23:18
Sunday, October 9
TEAM RACING CLICKING IN BIG WAY AT CLOVIS
|  | | Boys win varsity large school division. First major invite win in King history | |
Oh my, what a day. The teams traveled to the Clovis Invitational in Fresno to traverse the soil of the hallowed State Meet course and gain a great, competitive experience. For the first time this season, the teams came away with a clear picture of the progress they’ve made and the poise and performances they are capable of. Throughout the meet, King was firing on all cylinders with incredible individual and team efforts. From new team-time records for both the boys and girls, to a new school record set by the precocious Carissa Bowman, and a freshman school record by Charlie Alvarez, the day culminated with a team victory in the large-school varsity race by the boys. It was indeed, quite a day.
The frosh-soph girls got the early start time of 7:30 and made the most of the cooler temps to set the stage for the day it would become. Amber Mooney moved out quickly and was able to hold it together in the top group for most of the 3.1 miles as the ever-improving Allison Mills made up big ground in the last half to finish second for King. Rebekah Fairley and Kloey Glass were 1 and 2 seconds behind Allison to form the nucleus of the pack that would score 6th place in the large field of quality teams. Sara Strasbaugh, Tifinnie Baumann and Robyn Wroblewski rounded out the team and the curtain was raised.
Though minus the requisite five runners to score a team, Charlie Alvarez, Nick Hernandez, Jason Schupp and Brian Luna ran very well in their race, with Charlie finishing strong at 17:27, to set a King 9th grade Woodward Park record and when converted to a 3.0 mile distance, set a new 9th grade school record all-time.
The girls Championship race quickly became one of the spectacles of the day with four nationally ranked teams and enough State ranked teams to heighten the anticipation to extreme levels for a mid-season affair. Footlocker Nationalist Marie Lawrence of Reno, Nevada set the early pace and never relinquished it, towing along behind her 2004 Nike National qualifiers South Lake Tahoe and the girls of Corona Del Mar who last Spring set a national record for the 4 x mile relay in track. On this day, CdM would go on to break the all-time course record for Woodward Park, running an 18:16 average for five finishers and clocking 91:13! In their wake were a string of above-average mortals, trying to run their own races. In that mix were the Lady Wolves, who with poise unseen to date, settled into the pace by 1000 meters and then fought tenaciously to ultimately finish 8th overall and set a new team time 5K school record. Carissa Bowman ran one of the best races of her three-season career, moving from 20th at the half-mile to 11th by the finish line and shatter the school mark for the course.
In front of her were 10 All-State, Nike and Footlocker Nationalists and four members of CdM’s national record team. Behind her, a true Wolf Pack of teammates was forming as Addy Odekirk, Mary Griesinger, Larissa Davis, Carly Sjogren and Kaitlin Traver were motoring along and fighting for every spot they could gain. The 2nd-5th scorers finished just 10 seconds apart, and only 7 points behind 7th place. Bridget Gonzalez was 84th and 7th for the team. Collectively, the team set a new 5K school record of 99:31.
Shawna Brierly and Lauren Antrim competed in the large-school varsity contest and had good performances. Shawna was a minute ahead of her 2004 time at 21:18 and Lauren ran 22:44.
Early in the week, the boys varsity team predicted they’d win their race. To do so, would be to notch the first major invitational victory in team history. With a bold early move to the lead pack by Jeremy Baugus, Matt Cummins and John Ashley, the effort to make the prediction a reality was on. Ivan Guevara, Patrick Gonzalez and Alec Fillmore filled in the remaining scoring slots for the first two miles. Fillmore had an incredible last 1.1 miles, moving with Gonzalez steadily forward and running perhaps the best race of his career. His bold move, and a PR by 1:00 on the course, was one of the deciding factors in the 7 point margin over second-place Hart High of Newhall. The last time King's boys won an invitational was in 2002 (Huntington Beach; a one point victory over Estancia), but this is the first major invitational of deep quality that the program has ever won.
To finish the great day, the boys JV finished third, with Chris Norris and Nick Ehret in charge, at 3rd and 4th overall. Brett Meier closed on 10 opponents in the last mile to finish 11th and Matt Sheppard and Bradley Yarbrough combined to score 96 points.
There have been many very good days in the seven seasons of King XC, and this one will rank as one of the best. Records, PR’s, but more than anything, TEAM efforts that could well be the start of even better days ahead.
Results/photos King All Time Woodward Park List King All Time Team Times 5K course
Frosh Soph Girls
1. Oak Park 80
2. Ventura 98
3. Clovis East 98
4. Quartz Hill 145
5. Orange Lutheran 146
6. King 151
11 other teams
1. Courtney Lightfoot, Oak Park, 18:43
17. Amber Mooney 21:01
31. Allison Mills 21:30
32. Rebekah Fairley 21:31
33. Kloey Glass 21:32
52. Sara Strasbaugh 22:22
61. Tifinnie Baumann 22:41
74. Robyn Wroblewski 22:57
Championship Girls
1. Corona Del Mar 36, 91:21 (Course team time record)
2. Buchanan 66, 93:58
3. South Tahoe, 157, 96:58
4. Royal, 158, 97:59
5. Fairfield, 169, 98:08
6. Reno High, 180, 97:18
7. Ayala 201, 99:15
8. King, 208, 99:30 (School Record)
19 schools
1. Mel Lawrence, Reno, 17:19
11. Carissa Bowman 18:46
44. Addy Odekirk 20:05
51. Mary Griesinger 20:10
53. Larissa Davis 20:14
54. Carly Sjogren 20:15
63. Kaitlin Traver 20:23
84. Bridget Gonzalez 20:55
Varsity Girls
77. Shawna Brierly 21:18
133. Lauren Antrim 22:44
Frosh Soph Boys
22. Charlie Alvarez 17:27
85. Nick Hernandez 19:00
104. Jason Schupp 19:32
111. Brian Luna 19:36
Varsity Boys
1. King, 70, 83:41
2. Hart, 77, 83:43
3. Mater Dei 147, 85:09
20 other schools
1. Alfedo Coronado, Hart 16:01
9. Jeremy Baugus 16:28
11. John Ashley 16:39
12. Matt Cummins 16:40
20. Patrick Gonzalez 16:56
22. Alec Fillmore 16:58
41. Ivan Guevara 17:18
97. Colton Underwood 18:00
JV Boys
1. Madera High, 53
2. Royal 91
3. King 96
1. Julio Moreno, Madera 16:41
3. Chris Norris, 17:33
4. Nick Ehret 17:38
12. Brett Meier 18:02
32. Matt Sheppard 18:41
63. Bradley Yarbrough 19:12
Thursday, October 6
LEAGUE OPENS IN WINNING FASHION
King's second year in the Ivy league opened at home against the Poly Bears and got off in winning fashion. The Wolves were able to win all four races on a hot, dry day at the Ben Clark Sheriff's Training Center.
Amber Mooney led right away in the JV girls, but a supporting cast of scorers Rebekah Fairley, Lauren Antrim, Monika Valenzuela and Tifinnie Baumann combined to take five of the first seven finishing places. Jamie Steffin, coming back from injury raced well in 11th place while Haley Hammar and Megan Malcuit had good days on a tough running day.
The JV boys were not pushed collectively, so Matt Sheppard, Brett Meier and Charlie Alvarez ran side by side for the final mile, crossing the line together. Nick Hernandez ran well in fourth and Bradley Yarbrough cruised in 5th to complete the sweep. Chris Power had a good day finishing 17th overall, while Matt Cook and Kyle Wright both came back from injury-plagued days to run good races. Ed Willits, in only his second race of the year finished in the top 10.
The varsity girls saw Allison Mills and Sara Strasbaugh get their first-ever varsity race under their belts. The threesome of Mary Griesinger, Carly Sjogren and Bridget Gonzalez flipped the dual meet "safety switch" by finishing in the first three places, mathmatically garuanteeing the win. The team did, 23-32. The boys varsity also won in a closer score of 25-32.
Saturday, September 24
THE SPEEDY GONZALEZ SHOW SETS STAGE FOR SUCCESS
King returned once again to the favored confines of Huntington Beach's Central Park East for the newly-named Fall Classic. Competing in the meet in all but one of it's five years of history, the setting has been a place in which the Wolfpack has achieved great success. The 2005 running - albeit on a new and faster course layout - proved to be no different.
Patrick and Bridget Gonzalez were a true highlight of the day, a day in which there were many. The brother and sister combo skirted out in their respective races to capture the victories -- a first for any set of King siblings. Both racers commanded dominating leads by the midway point and continued to pull away in the closing mile. Bridget's effort was special in that she was a last-minute addition to the JV squad, pulled from the varsity lineup to fill out the foursome (and therefore unable to score) of Shawna Brierly, Brittany Schuette, Lauren Antrim and Monika Valenzuela. With Bridget's addition and the team completed, they went on to all run outstanding races and win by 20 points over Esperanza.
Another killer combo played out in the boys JV race, as Colton Underwood and Nick Ehret pulled even in the lead at just before two miles then were able to hold on to the spots in the remaining third to go 1-2 and run personal bests in the process. Matt Sheppard, Brett Meier and Bradley Yarbrough rounded out the scoring for the closest race of the day. King was second, but just six points behind Valencai and two points ahead of Esperanza.
The girls frosh-soph team went out fast and paid for the quick first mile abit in the remaining miles, as a strong Buena/Ventura squad moved up and dominated. The scoring group of Sara Strasbaugh, Allison Mills, Rebekah Fairley, Amber Mooney and Kloey Glass -- bunched nicely together between the 10th and 24th spots was not able to hold off Westlake's team who snuck into second over King by a mere six points. Out of the scoring, yet still running well were Kirsti Correa who ran a good 22:38, Tiffinnie Baumann who went 22:55 and Zoe Odien who put together her best race of the year at 23:24.
The varsities both ran team times that were a record for the boys and second all-time for the girls. Carissa Bowman led the way again for the girls, placing 5th overall. Mary Griesinger had a strong performance, as did Addy Odekirk and Kaitlin Traver, all of whom broke 20:00.
Jeremy Baugus ran with authority and found the breakthrough day a year and a half of strong mileage accumulation will bring. The once self-described "slow" freshman and lower JV runner three years ago seemed to barely hit the ground with his training flats as he shattered the long-held school record (Jon MacLaughlin, '02)with a 15:37, 12th place finish. Behind him, Matt Cummins was busy claiming the 11th grade record and John Ashley, Ivan Guevara and Alec Fillmore were cleaning up the points for a sixth place team finish.
Full Results King Results
Saturday, September 17
MT. CARMEL ASCENDED
In the great ascents up the world's tallest peaks, many of the mountaineers use "Sherpas" as helpmates who carry gear and burden much of the weight necessary to get to the top. In cross country, there are no helpers in sight, and as the Wolf Pack competed in the 25th running of the Mt. Carmel Invitational in San Diego on Saturday, they carried their own burdens as they victoriously ascended the challenging course and competition.
The grade level races saw the 9th graders lead off, and lead off they did! Sara Strasbaugh played a great game of catch up, moving steadily through the field to finish in the top group and earn the first of King's medals for the day. Kloey Glass wasn't far behind her, with Robyn Wroblewski running and awesome first race of her life! Zoe Odien got her career off well with a good 20:40 mark. Kirsti Correa put her best foot forward as well, running to a first race effort of 20:28. On the boys side, Charlie Alvarez showed everyone he has talent to spare, cruising to a top-10 finish and ultimately posting the 7th fastest time for King throughout the day at 17:26. His time is a 9th grade King record all-time on the course. Brian Luna and Jason Schupp were close by each other throughout, and Hayden Traver and Chris Power concluded the team.
Patrick Gonzalez hammered the sophomore heat, running a truly remarkable effort and 3rd fastest Wolf on the day. Ethan Park had a strong outing about a minute off of Nick Hernandez's 19:29 mark.
Many of the varsity runners of the girls team are members of the sophomore class, so it was no surprise to see them purring along near the front. Carissa Bowman moved from 10th after 800 meters to 5th by the finish line, eclipsing her PR from last year by 27 seconds! Larissa Davis and Addy Odekirk ran strong in the top 25 of the large field. Jamie Steffin ran her first race of the year after struggling with injury in the early weeks. Brittany Schuette had a splendid effort in the junior race to run assertively all 2.7 miles. Kaitlin Traver was there too, running King's fifth fastest time of the day. By the time the seniors came along, the sun was high and warm, but the conditions didn't keep the vets from following in the success of their predecessors. Mary Griesinger seemed to cruise to a full minute PR from last year, Carly Sjogren also improved at 17:24, Bridget Gonzalez capped off a family celebration with a fine effort that mimicked her brother's and Shawna Brierly and Lauren Antrim finished out what was truly a great senior race with all six girls improving on their Mt. Carmel bests!
The upper classmen were also climbing the mountain. Matt Cummins and Alec Fillmore did the catch-up thing, picking off literally dozens of oppenents between them in the final two miles of the race, Cummins finishing 7th overall. Ed Willits kicked off his season in fine fashion, and Derrick Devine and Spencer Brady both ran in tandem to 20:24 and 20:26 finishes. Jeremy Baugus led the charge for the senior boys and finished in the top twelve. Ivan Guevara, Chris Norris and Matt Sheppard all got their seasons rolling with 17:28, 17:42 and 18:49 marks. In all it was another good day in San Diego, climbing the mountain of success and improvement known as Mt. Carmel. No Sherpas were anywhere, but most of the Pack did all right by themselves!
Official Results Link
King's Mt Carmel Top 40 All Time
King's results, 2005
Sunday, September 11
BEACH BOYS (AND GIRLS) KICK OFF FALL TOUR
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