CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK: NEW STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer The moment could ultimately define the 2004 season for Highland of Palmdale's Alyssa Craft, and not a single soul, it appeared, had it on camera. Craft nudged, quite literally, Buchanan of Clovis' Lauren Saylor at the finish line for first place Saturday in the girls' team sweepstakes sweepstakes, contest or race, usually a horse race, on which a lottery is run. Prizes are awarded to the holders of winning tickets. In the case of a horse race, the draw is made from the names of all the horses entered in the race and vast numbers of blanks. race at Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. - ``I kind of crashed into her,'' Craft said - but there wasn't a photo to be found after the race, at least not by coach John Johnston
Other coaches and photographers from prep track and field Web site DyeStat and various newspapers all came up empty, although two days later DyeStat had tracked down a shot and posted it on its Web site (dyestat.com). Craft has won other races this season - she hasn't finished worse than third. But this one was big. Typically a frontrunner, Craft said after the victory at the 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 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. (in 17:41, her personal record at Mt. SAC) she had never previously won on a late push. ``Never,'' Craft said. ``I've never, ever done that in my life.'' Craft took the early lead, ran third up the hills, then finally pulled it out at the last possible second. It was the first experience for Craft, a junior who started running cross country last season, with race-day strategy. Usually, she gets to the front early and stays there. ``I don't really go into races with plans,'' Craft said. ``Automatically, I just go out fast.'' Said Johnston: ``We've been working on her kick. She wasn't real happy with the finishes.'' Craft shaved shave v. shaved, shaved or shav·en , shav·ing, shaves v.tr. 1. a. To remove the beard or other body hair from, with a razor or shaver: nearly a minute off her former Mt. SAC-course best of 18:38. She likely will run the 2.91-mile course again Nov. 13 at the Southern Section preliminaries. --Running on all cylinders: The girls' team at Flintridge Prep of La Canada goes at its competition from all sides. The Rebels' No. 1 runner is Lauren Van Der Ahe, a sophomore who played volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. before switching to cross country this season. Van Der Ahe is followed by senior captains Melody melody, succession of single tones of varying pitch. Melody is the linear aspect of music, in contrast to harmony, the chordal aspect, which results from the simultaneous sounding of tones. Aaron and Hannah Vaughan, two speedy sophomores and two juniors. ``We have a very strong team this year, with lots of different ages represented,'' coach Mike Roffina said. There are nearly 40 girls in the program, which is ranked No. 2 in Div. V and finished third at the state meet in 2003. The number of runners is average for a larger school but impressive considering Flintridge Prep's enrollment. ``That's pretty good for a school that's got only 305 kids total,'' Roffina said. The Rebels finished second in the Div. V team sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC, and their Nos. 2-4 runners finished within 10 seconds of each other. With seven of its top nine runners back from last season, Flintridge Prep should again make a mark in the postseason, although Roffina knows the team will need to finish strong in the Prep League. ``Prep League may be one of the best in the state (in Div. V),'' Roffina said. ``We take it very seriously. It's never a cakewalk.'' League finals will be staged Friday at Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. at 4 p.m. --Big three: Much has been made of the depth on the 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. boys' team. A look at the top seven shows the Highlanders' sophomore class is more than pulling its weight. Sophomores Hudson Andrews and Mike Cybulski finished within a second of each other at the Mt. SAC Invitational (15:32 and 15:33), and Danny Benson was 20 seconds behind Andrews. The trio helped top-ranked Royal unseat defending Divs. I and II sweepstakes champion Don Lugo of Chino Chino (chē`nō), city (1990 pop. 59,682), San Bernardino co., S Calif.; founded 1887, inc. 1910. It is the business and processing center of a diversified farming (notably dairying) area. , which also won the state title in 2003. --Faster than last? Three local girls broke or equaled 18 minutes, and 17 finished in 19 minutes or better, at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Saugus sophomore Shannon Murakami had the area's best time of the day, 17:38. Only 13 runners finished under 19:00 at the 2003 Southern Section championships, held at the same course. With peak time still weeks away, it's likely more than 20 area girls could break the 19-minute barrier. Lauren Gustus, (818) 713-3607 lauren.gustus(at)dailynews.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion