In combining part of the old Ivy League with the preexisting Mountain View League, the Big VIII has come together to become one of the toughest leagues in the Inland Empire! Held at Mountain Gate Park, home course of Santiago High, it was hosted by Norco. Coming into the action, ML King and Corona had either shared or owned the 1st and 2nd place spots on all four levels. On an beautiful autumn day with an occasional breeze, it was a great day for racing. Most athletes improved by good margins compared to when they raced on this same course three weeks earlier!
In the varsity girls race, ML King's girls emerged as league champions - their 8th straight league title! Corona continued to improve, but it was not enough to cover King's depth - as all seven ML King girls earned 1st or 2nd team all-league distinctions. Speaking of improvement, Centennial's girls finished with a strong 3rd place finish, just ahead of Roosevelt. Riverside Poly's girls took 5th, but go onto CIF due to finishing 3rd the previous two meets. Individually, after a very aggressive start by Centennial freshman Adriana Olivas, King's Kelsi Tippets ran her down over the last 500 meters to secure the victory. Olivas held on with an impressive runner-up as both eclipsed the 18 minute barrier! Meanwhile, Corona's Haley Bryzcki and Ashley Evans finished 3rd and 4th. This was Evans' 4th time earning 1st-Team All-League honors. But, King than closed the door for good with Casey Candeleria, Carrie Soholt (coming back from injury) and Kasey Tippets all finishing 5-6-7 to earn 1st team All-League honors.
Corona's boys came out firing and ran away to secure their 6th straight league title. With a more aggressive first mile than usual, Corona sophomore Michael Gauger took the lead early on and drove the pace. But, he was unable to shake Roosevelt's Jonathan Lopez. Lopez took the lead halfway through the race and never relinguished! One of the big surprises was Corona's Patrick Mynes with his 3rd place finish (he had not been in the top five the previous two meets.) ML King sophomore Lane Werley came back strong for a 4th place finish, just ahead of Santiago's Josh Massey. Rounding the 1st team all-league squad was Centennial's Omar Gonzalez and Roosevelt's Julian Lopez. With Alan Cuevas coming off of injury taking 8th and Chase Williams right behind him, it secured the solid win for Corona, 38 to 61 over Roosevelt. ML King had come in tied for 1st place but finished with 67 points, but still securing 2nd place for the league. The 4th place squad moving onto CIF is Santiago.
On the JV level, both races were carbon copies of one another but switched. ML King's boys owned the action with an easy victory, placing seven in the top nine! In the girls' JV action, after King's top girls took 1-2, Corona's girls put eight in the next nine spots.
VARSITY BOYS TEAM SCORES
Corona - 35
Roosevelt - 61 (3rd overall)
ML King - 67 (2nd overall)
Santiago - 109
Centennial - 120
Riverside Poly - 160
Norco - 201
JW North - 210
BOYS VARSITY TOP INDIVIDUALS
1 -Lopez, Jonathon Roosevelt 15:12.00 1
2 **Gauger, Michael Corona 15:18.00 2
3 -Mynes, Patrick Corona 15:19.00 3
4 **Werley, Lane King HS 15:22.00 4
5 *Massey, Josh Santiago 15:25.00 5
6 -Gonzalez, Omar Centennial 15:26.00 6
7 -Lopez, Julian Roosevelt 15:38.00 7
8 *Cuevas, Alan Corona 15:40.00 8
9 -Williams, Chase Corona 15:52.00 9
10 *Benidict, Ryan Santiago 15:57.00 10
11 *Potts, Caleb Roosevelt 16:08.00 11
12 ***Becerra, Devin King HS 16:11.00 12
13 -Sloat, Franklin Corona 16:12.00 13
14 *Drevdahl, Frankie Roosevelt 16:15.00 14
15 **Yates, Sean Centennial 16:18.00 15
16 -Alvarez, Charlie King HS 16:24.00 16
17 *Nocella, Jarod King HS 16:27.00 17
18 *McKell, Austin King HS 16:29.00 18
19 *Nelson, Derek King HS 16:34.00 19
20 **Balcazar, Daniel King HS 16:38.00 20
21 ***Gauger, Jimmy Corona 16:39.00 21
22 *Cerda, Fernando Corona 16:41.00 22
23 -Trujillo, Albert Poly HS 16:49.00 23
24 -Moser, David Norco 16:57.00 24
25 *Flores, Lucas Centennial 16:57.00 25
26 Murphy, Kaleb Poly HS 16:59.00 26
27 Buckley, Rian Santiago 17:01.00 27
28 Potts, Aaron Roosevelt 17:08.00 28
29 Serge, Dane Norco 17:12.00 29
30 Herrera, Jason Poly HS 17:14.00 30
TOP JUNIOR VARSITY INDIVIDUALS
1 Rini, Nicholas King HS 16:43.00 1
2 Schupp, Jason King HS 16:49.00 2
3 Jimenez, Mark King HS 16:54.00 3
4 Williams, Garrett Corona 17:07.00 4
5 Miller, Chris King HS 17:11.00 5
6 Marquez, Lorenzo Corona 17:14.00 6
7 Sheets, Bradley King HS 17:16.00 7
8 Rogers, Brandon King HS 17:22.00 8
9 Huscher, Andrew King HS 17:23.00 9
10 Semaan, Julian Corona 17:25.00 10
GIRLS VARSITY TEAM SCORES
ML King - 28
Corona - 42
Centennial - 109
Roosevelt - 115 (5th overall)
Riverside Poly - 119 (4th overall)
Santiago - 162
Norco - 170
TOP GIRLS VARSITY INDIVIDUALS
1 Tippets, Kelsi King HS 17:54.00 1
2 Olivas, Adriana Centennial 17:56.00 2
3 Brzycki, Haley Corona 18:31.00 3
4 Evans, Ashley Corona 18:35.00 4
5 Candelaria, Casey King HS 18:47.00 5
6 Soholt, Carrie King HS 18:58.00 6
7 Tippets, Kasey King HS 19:02.00 7
8 Alexander, Malaysia Corona 19:05.00 8
9 Peterson, Hanna King HS 19:06.00 9
10 Miranda, Doraliz Roosevelt 19:07.00 10
11 Graham, Katrina King HS 19:17.00 11
12 Pantele, Brieanna Corona 19:32.00 12
13 Asplund, Rebecca King HS 19:34.00 13
14 Ustariz, Kristin Poly HS 19:41.00 14
15 Santana, Desirae Corona 19:42.00 15
16 Martin, Alexxis Corona 19:43.00 16
17 Cochran, Lauren Corona 19:44.00 17
18 Parsons, Annastasia Centennial 20:06.00 18
19 Hartley, Emily Norco 20:26.00 19
20 Bracamontes, Natalia Roosevelt 20:32.00 20
21 Estes, Kenzie Poly HS 20:33.00 21
22 Fowler, Alicia Centennial 20:41.00 22
23 Tressler, Alexandra Santiago 20:44.00 23
24 Gamble, Cierra Santiago 20:45.00 24
25 Blankenship, Jocelyn Roosevelt 20:52.00 25
26 Martinez, Marisol Poly HS 20:58.00 26
27 Wise, Jessica Norco 21:04.00 27
28 Westfall, Morgan Poly HS 21:10.00 28
29 Karimi, Harmony Roosevelt 21:11.00 29
30 Ausman, Yvonna Poly HS 21:11.00 30
TOP JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS INDIVIDUALS
1 Filmore, Danielle King HS 19:41.00 1
2 Bowman, Aubrey King HS 19:59.00 2
3 Gutierrez, Reyna Corona 19:59.00 3
4 Lawson, April Corona 20:42.00 4
5 Ledesma, Christina Corona 20:44.00 5
6 Aguilar, Nathalie Corona 20:49.00 6
7 LeAnce, Aubrey Corona 20:52.00 7
8 Strasbaugh, Sara King HS 20:55.00 8
9 Merida, Tania Corona 20:57.00 9
10 Gutierrez, Corinna Corona 21:25.00 10
