GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY DAILY NEWS ALL-AREA GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY.Byline: Sean Martin Sean Martin may refer to:
Runner of the Year SHANNON MURAKAMI Saugus, Jr. When Shannon Murakami saw Saugus coach Rene Paragas standing by himself with less than a mile to run in the Div. I state meet, he reminded her of all the work, and all the people, that had brought her to the brink of her first state title. Paragas' words kept Murakami in front and spurred her to a strong finish for the biggest victory of her career. She'd had a solid cross country career - she was among the Southern Section's best talents - but had little in the way of titles to show for it. She hadn't even won a league championship before this season and didn't qualify for last year's state finals after finishing 10th as a freshman in 2003. But Murakami had become a national-caliber runner during last spring's track and field season, winning at 1,600 and 3,200 meters at the Southern Section Div. I finals and 3,200 at the Masters Meet. She headed into the fall season as the state's No. 2 Div. I cross country runner. Murakami compiled plenty of strong finishes this season - fourth at Woodbridge of Irvine, eighth at Stanford, third in the Div. I/II individual sweepstakes at the 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. 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. and third in Southern Section Div. I - but few titles. Then she won the biggest of them all. ``You can win a big race, and people can say you got lucky,'' Murakami said after the victory. ``You can't say that about state. All the best runners are here. It comes down to how hard I've trained in the past six months.'' Coach of the Year KEVIN SMITH Oak Park It's no secret Oak Park lays low much of the season, staying out of sweepstakes races and sitting runners to peak for the postseason. The Eagles saved their best race for the Div. III state meet, posting the second-best team time of the day, all divisions. The performance gave Oak Park, out of the state rankings most of the season, a berth in the Nike Team Nationals NTN emblem Nike Team Nationals (NTN) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. It was designed to heighten competition between high school cross country teams nationwide. , in which it finished 12th. It prompted one running Web site to call Smith's Eagles ``one of state history's greatest small-school teams.'' Newcomer of the Year ALLIE LOPEZ Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , Fr. Thousand Oaks coach Robert Radnoti knew he had a strong freshman class featuring several varsity-ready runners. Lopez led that group, finishing fifth in the Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. , 25th at the Southern Section Div. I final and 24th at the state meet. She was one of two freshmen to run for Thousand Oaks in its state-title victory. First Team KATIE DUNN Saugus, Soph. Dunn ran in Shannon Murakami's shadow, except at the second Foothill meet, in which she beat the state Div. I champ by eight seconds. Dunn finished 15th at the Div. I state race, 11th at the Southern Section finals and won the sophomore race at the Seaside Invitational, matching Murakami's winning time last year. CAITLIN FITZGERALD Highland, Jr. Fitzgerald won the first Golden League meet by 30 seconds over Quartz Hill's Brienna Morris, the two-time defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre . She didn't win the Golden title, but she peaked during the postseason, finishing 10th in the Southern Section Div. I final and 18th at the state meet. LYNNE FLETCHER Thousand Oaks, Sr. Fletcher led Thousand Oaks to its first girls' state team title with a sixth-place finish at the Div. I state meet. She finished eighth at the Southern Section final and fourth as the Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. dominated the Marmonte League finals. EMMALINE HARTEL Birmingham, Sr. Hartel again demonstrated she can peak at the right time, making history in the process. She became the first runner in City Section history to win three section cross country titles. It was her seventh City title in cross country and track and field. COURTNEY LIGHTFOOT Oak Park, Soph. Lightfoot led Oak Park's late-season charge that culminated in a 12th-place finish at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore. She won the Tri-Valley League title, placed third in the Div. III Southern Section final and state meet, and finished 37th at the nationals. ANNA SPERRY 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. , Jr. Sperry, last year's Daily News Runner of the Year, enjoyed another remarkable season. She defended her Ventura County and Marmonte League titles, winning the league championship in record time. Then she finished fourth at the Southern Section Div. II finals and the state meet and 14th at the Foot Locker Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) is a major American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in New York City, and operating in approximately 20 countries worldwide. It is the successor corporation to the F.W. Woolworth Company (“Woolworth’s”). West Regionals. KAITLYN SULLIVAN Thousand Oaks, Soph. Big things were forecast after Sullivan finished 19th at a freshman at the 2004 state meet, and she might have exceeded expectations. She placed third in the Marmonte League finals, ninth at the Southern Section Div. I final and 10th at the state meet. Second Team Marissa Diehl, Soph., Oak Park Jasmine jasmine (jăs`mĭn, jăz–) or jessamine (jĕs`əmĭn), any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). Hayes, Soph., Westlake Jennifer Hernandez, Sr., Birmingham Rachel Lange, Soph., Crescenta Valley The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California. Its name derives from its crescent-like shape, with the convex portion facing roughly northeast and the concave portion southwest. Brienna Morris, Jr., Quartz Hill Breanne Strenkowski, Jr., Oak Park Kelcie Wiemann, Sr., Royal Honorable Mention Kelly Adamski, Jr., Westlake Erin Baird, Soph., Agoura Bridget Ballard, Sr., Harvard-Westlake 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. , Sr., Canyon Kelsey Connor, Sr., Oak Park Roseanne Fleming, Soph., Oaks Christian Kirsten Jackson, Soph., Oak Park Chelsea Johnstone, Sr., Saugus Shelby Pock pock (pok) a pustule, especially of smallpox. pock n. 1. The characteristic pustular cutaneous lesion of smallpox. 2. A pockmark. , Jr., Crescenta Valley Sarah Roth, Jr., El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Champions STATE Div. I: Thousand Oaks Div. I individual: Shannon Murakami, Saugus SECTION City: Birmingham Southern Div. V: Flintridge Prep LEAGUE Alpha: Paraclete; Individual - Kaitlin Huerta, Paraclete Foothill: Canyon; Individual - Shannon Murakami, Saugus Frontier: Oaks Christian; Individual - Roseanne Fleming, Oaks Christian Golden: Highland; Individual - Brienna Morris, Quartz Hill Liberty: Buckley; Individual - Krysti Schwarz, Buckley Marmonte: Thousand Oaks; Individual - Anna Sperry, Simi Valley Northern: Belmont; Daibelis Bermudez, Franklin Pacific: Crescenta Valley; Individual - Shelby Pock, Crescenta Valley Pacific View: Rio Mesa; Individual - Kelsey Gasner, Rio Mesa Prep: Chadwick; Individual - Lauren Von Der Ahe, Flintridge Prep Rio Hondo Rio Hondo may refer to:
Sunset Six: Poly; Individual - Megan Cowie, Verdugo Hills Tri-Valley: Oak Park; Individual - Courtney Lightfoot, Oak Park Valley Mission: Kennedy; Individual - Valerie Sanchez, San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. West Valley: Birmingham; Individual - Emmaline Hartel, Birmingham Top 10 1. Oak Park 2. Thousand Oaks 3. Saugus 4. Royal 5. Crescenta Valley 6. Westlake 7. Birmingham 8. Canyon 9. Highland 10. Paraclete Race of the Year Southern Section Div. V final, Nov. 19. Even the video replay couldn't determine who crossed the finish line first. That's how close Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge's Kathryn Iwata and Chadwick of Rancho ran·cho n. pl. ran·chos Southwestern U.S. 1. A hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers. 2. A ranch. Palos Verdes' Kelly Owen finished as they battled for fifth place in the Div. V final at Mt. SAC. The unofficial results, posted minutes after the race, showed Owen finishing one second ahead of Iwata, giving Chadwick a 69-70 victory over its Prep League rival. It took more than an hour for officials to study the video and rule that Iwata and Owens tied for fifth, leaving the teams sharing the championship. 5 to watch in 2006 --Shannon Murakami, Saugus: She admires former Canyon star Lauren Fleshman, one of the nation's elite distance runners distance runner n. A runner who competes in distance races. . Murakami already has a better Mt. SAC personal record; can she exceed Fleshman's state title tally (one, 1998), too? --Anna Sperry, Simi Valley: She's been a consistently high finisher at postseason meets, but Div. II will be full of talented returning runners. --Sarah Roth, El Camino Real: She'll be favored to become the first new City Section champion since 2002, even if Hamilton of West Los Angeles' Katja Goldring shows up for next year's prelims. --Brienna Morris, Quartz Hill: This former freshman phenom phe·nom n. Slang A phenomenon, especially a remarkable or outstanding person. won her third consecutive Golden League title, but she struggled in the postseason. How will she respond? --Courtney Lightfoot, Oak Park: She'll be the top Div. III returning runner in the state next year. CAPTION(S): 10 photos, 6 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) SHANNON MURAKAMI (2 -- color) KEVIN SMITH (3 -- color) ALLIE LOPEZ (4 -- color) KATIE DUNN (5 -- color) CAITLIN FITZGERALD (6 -- color) LYNNE FLETCHER (7 -- color) EMMALINE HARTEL (8 -- color) COURTNEY LIGHTFOOT (9 -- color) ANNA SPERRY (10 -- color) KAITLYN SULLIVAN Box: (1) Second Team (see text) (2) Honorable Mention (see text) (3) Champions (see text) (4) Top 10 (see text) (5) Race of the Year (see text) (6) 5 to watch in 2006 (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion