Madera South boys, Capistrano Valley girls beat the heat, competition at 31st Laguna Hills Invitational

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

With temperatures elevating as the meet progressed Saturday at the 31^st Laguna Hills Invitational, Madera South’s boys team and Capistrano Valley’s girls squad turned up the heat on their opponents in their dress rehearsal for next week’s Woodbridge Classic in nearby Irvine.

Madera South had three runners place in the top 10 overall, highlighted by junior Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera posting the fastest time of the day by clocking 15 minutes, 19 seconds on the 3-mile course.

Juniors were responsible for the top three times of the meet, with Herrera’s effort in the Division I race nearly matched by JSerra’s Andrew Burkhardt (15:21) and Bishop Amat’s Robbie Santoyo (15:22) in the Division III race.

Tesoro’s Sander Kushen (pictured above) led all seniors and was No. 4 overall by winning the Division II race in 15:35, a 29-second improvement from his sophomore victory at Laguna Hills.

The Stallions also had the two fastest sophomores in Miguel Villar (15:37) – fifth overall – and Michael Ochoa (15:52), who tied with Los Alamitos junior Thomas Heib and Hemet senior Jayden Emerson for the No. 10 mark.

Madera South eniors Juan Macias (16:15) and Luis Becerra (16:27) were both among the top 50 performers, regardless of grade, helping the Stallions produce a team time of 79:30, more than a minute ahead of runner-up Rubidoux (80:37).

Capistrano Valley, despite not having three of its potential top seven runners, weren’t slowed by the absences and led all girls teams with a combined mark of 95:51, well in front of Bishop Amat (97:22), which competed without senior standout Emily Hubert.

Despite not having an athlete place in the top 10 overall, Warren relied on a 19-minute effort from senior Lisa Vasquez to finish third as a team at 97:23, with Vista Murrieta having Michaela Reynolds also run 19-flat to contribute to a fourth-place performance in 97:24.

Ashley Licata (18:25) was the fastest junior and second overall for the Capistrano Valley, which raced without Grace Schafer (sore back), Rebecca Deitch (ACT testing) and Kayla Tresser (illness).

Senior Mikaela Mulhall (18:55) was eighth overall for the Cougars, who had freshmen Allysa Bautista and Haley Herberg clock 19:30 and 19:31, to go along with senior Sydney Muller finishing in 19:30.

Bishop Amat sophomore Ally Palomino stepped up in Hubert’s absence to produce the fastest girls time of the meet at 18:19.

Although there were slight modifications made to the course used last year to adjust for construction on the Laguna Hills campus, the heat was the biggest factor in the slower times in comparison to last season.

Northwood’s Bethan Knights led all girls by clocking 17:36 last year, with San Pedro’s Steve Correa posting the top boys time of 14:51. Both athletes are now competing at Cal.

San Clemente’s Kelsey Carroll led all senior girls by winning the Division I race in 18:35, the No. 3 time overall. Briar Brumley excelled for Tesoro in junior Amanda Gehrich’s absence, winning the Division II senior race and placing seventh overall in 18:50. Gehrich is expected to race next Saturday at the Mount Carmel Invitational.

Chino Hills’ Grace Staton was the fastest freshman at 18:49 and sixth overall, with sophomores Kathryn Kaloroumakis of Dana Hills (18:41) and Samantha Murphy of Northwood (18:43) rounding out the top five.

Corona, third overall as a team with a mark of 80:49, received strong efforts from seniors Liam Brooks (15:40) and Josh Silva (15:41) in the Division I race. Costa Mesa’s Anuare Magana (15:45) won his Division III race.

Mira Costa’s Xavier Court was the top freshman in 16:14, good for 28^th overall.

TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS

Madera South 79:30

Rubidoux 80:37

Corona 80:49

Vista Murrieta 81:26

Mira Costa 81:47

Santa Ana 81:50

El Toro 81:58

Tesoro 81:58

JSerra 82:50

San Clemente 82:54

TOP 10 BOYS INDIVIDUALS

Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera (Madera South) 15:19

Andrew Burkhardt (JSerra) 15:21

Robbie Santoyo (Bishop Amat) 15:22

Sander Kushen (Tesoro) 15:35

Miguel Villar (Madera South) 15:37

Liam Brooks (Corona) 15:40

Josh Silva (Corona) 15:41

Anuare Magana (Costa Mesa) 15:45

Eric Nunez (Vista Murrieta) 15:49

Michael Ochoa (Madera South) 15:52

Thomas Heib (Los Alamitos) 15:52

Jayden Emerson (Hemet) 15:52

TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS

Capistrano Valley 95:51

Bishop Amat 97:22

Warren 97:23

Vista Murrieta 97:24

Corona del Mar 98:03

San Clemente 98:38

JSerra 98:39

Tesoro 98:42

Los Alamitos 98:59

Northwood 99:05

TOP 10 GIRLS INDIVIDUALS

Ally Palomino (Bishop Amat) 18:19

Ashley Licata (Capistrano Valley) 18:25

Kelsey Carroll (San Clemente) 18:35

Kathryn Kaloroumakis (Dana Hills) 18:41

Samantha Murphy (Northwood) 18:43

Grace Staton (Chino Hills) 18:49

Briar Brumley (Tesoro) 18:50

Mikaela Mulhall (Capistrano Valley) 18:55

Kirsten Hansen (Corona del Mar) 18:56

Alex Calegari (Poway) 18:59