2002 PREVIEW CROSS COUNTRY: CANYON GIRLS SEEKING THEIR OWN STATE TITLE.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer For the runners on the Canyon High girls' cross country team, the disappointment that followed last year's 11th-place finish at the state championships quickly turned into determination as they watched the Canyon boys claim their first state crown only minutes later. In the muddy celebration that followed, the Canyon girls set the goal of joining in on the jubilation at the end of this season. And with each team returning five runners from last year, the spoken goal since the start of this season has been dual state championships come November. ``It gave us some motivation,'' junior Alysia Johnson said of the boys' victory. ``Last year we were in the guys' shadow all season, and we didn't really like that. We were proud of our guys, but we want to be the ones to win state also. We want it to be the guys and the girls.'' Only two schools have ever won both boys' and girls' state cross country championships in the same year - and none in Division I, home to Canyon and California's largest schools. San Pasqual was the first to do it in Division II in 1990. And Nordhoff of Ojai has done it three times since, mostly recently in 1998 in Division IV. ``The potential's there to be a very good team again,'' Canyon coach Dave DeLong said. ``We can say what our goals are and we can talk about it, but it won't happen unless we walk the walk.'' The memory of last year's state championship remains fresh in the minds of the Canyon boys. They set it as a goal after losing the 2000 Division II title by three points to Jesuit of Carmichael. A year later, they crushed the field in Division I, winning 65-112 over second-place Royal of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . Canyon went on to finish the year ranked No. 2 in the country. ``It was just unbelievable,'' senior Ryan Morgan said. ``It was the best feeling in the world because we accomplished so much and worked so hard for it. It was like a reward to us for all the crazy workouts and everything else we do.'' The key for Canyon this year is to replace its top two boys from last season, seniors Luke Llamas and Jameson Mora MORA, In civil law. This term, in mora, is used to denote that a party to a contract, who is obliged to do anything, has neglected to perform it, and is in default. Story on Bailm. Sec. 123, 259; Jones on Bailm. 70; Poth. Pret a Usage, c. 2, Sec. 2, art. 2, n. , both now running for Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
 `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. . Llamas finished second at the state championship, six seconds behind the winner, and Mora came home 10 seconds later in eighth place. ``The whole rest of California thinks that they were our team,'' junior Alex Harris said. ``We want to show them up and prove to them there's more to this team.'' The hope is Canyon's superior depth can help fill the void left by Llamas and Mora. The Canyon boys will be led by Morgan, who took 11th in the state as a junior, and fellow seniors Mark Bingham Mark Kendall Bingham (May 22, 1970 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA– September 11, 2001 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, USA) was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. and Troy Werner. The Cowboys cowboys, in American history. 1 Tory marauders, adherents to the British cause in the American Revolution, who fought in the contested area of Westchester co., N.Y. also return juniors Jace Getskow and Harris. Meanwhile, the Canyon girls expect to benefit from the year's worth of experience they gained last season. The team's top two girls, Johnson and senior Brenda Stevens, lead a strong group of returning runners. Canyon's girls last won the state championship in 1995. In addition, DeLong will look to a talented group of five freshman runners - among them Brenda Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , Courtney Granger and Kalynn English - to help fill the final two spots on varsity. DeLong added he is expecting big things out of the freshmen in the future. As he enters his 16th season at Canyon, DeLong has attempted to downplay down·play tr.v. down·played, down·play·ing, down·plays To minimize the significance of; play down: downplayed the bad news. Verb 1. much of the expectations surrounding his team. Still, during Canyon's nine-day training session at Mammoth mammoth, name for several large prehistoric elephants of the extinct genus Mammuthus, which ranged over Eurasia and North America in the Pleistocene epoch. in July, state championships - both past and future - were a common topic of conversation. ``I think we have a chance of both boys and girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. winning,'' junior Leanne Riggin said. ``If there's going to be a year we're going to do it, it's going to be this year.'' AT A GLANCE Team: Canyon cross country Coach: Dave DeLong (16th year) League finish: First State championships: Boys won first state title in school history. Girls finished 11th. Key returnees: Ryan Morgan (Sr.); Troy Werner (Sr.); Alex Harris (Jr.); Mark Bingham (Sr.); Jace Getskow (Sr.); Alysia Johnson (Jr.); Brenda Stevens (Sr.); Leanne Riggin (Jr.) Key newcomers: Brenda Cohen (Fr.); Courtney Granger (Fr.); Kalynn English (Fr.); Amanda Mockenhaupt (Fr.); Tia Blythe (Fr.) 2002 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time Sept. 13 Seaside Seaside. 1 City (1990 pop. 38,901), Monterey co., W Calif., on Monterey Bay, in a fruit region; founded 1887, inc. 1954. Its economy is based largely upon tourism. California State Univ. Monterey Bay is there, on the former site of Fort Ord. Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. 3 p.m. Sept. 21 Mt. Carmel Invitational 6 a.m. *Sept. 26 Foothill League Meet 1 3:15 p.m. Oct. 5 Kenny Staub Invitational 8:30 a.m. Oct. 12 Clovis Invitational 8:30 a.m. *Oct. 17 Foothill League Meet 2 3:15 p.m. Oct. 26 Mt. SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. Invitational 8 a.m. *Nov. 7 Foothill League Finals 1 p.m. *-League meet CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Junior Alysia Johnson and the Canyon High girls' cross country team look to build on their 11th-place finish at state last season. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion