ROYAL'S WAVE RUNNERS SURFING MATES HEARST, JAEDTKE LEAD STRONG TEAM TO MT. SAC MEET.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - The way Royal High senior Tim Hearst looks at it, the faster he can run in Saturday's Mt. San Antonio College Invitational, the faster he can return to the water at Nicholas Canyon Beach outside Malibu, surfing with friends as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean.

This is how Hearst has spent his time for more than a year, ever since he and sophomore teammate Dylan Jaedtke set out in search of big waves. They traveled to Baja California, Mexico, to surf together this summer and make a point of hitting a beach every weekend and as many weekdays as possible.

``There's just that feeling you get when you're riding a wave and you look up and it's over your head,'' said Hearst, the top runner on Royal's second-ranked boys' cross country team. ``You get the feeling of the wave pushing you and you're cutting back and forth.''

Even with the largest cross country meet of the season scheduled for Saturday, Hearst has plans to go surfing later in the afternoon. His plan is to hang with the lead pack for as long as possible in Mt. SAC's Division I race, then be in the water hanging 10 some three hours later.

``Usually that's what we do, we'll go out after a meet,'' said Jaedtke, a surfer himself since age 10. ``You get out in the water and catch a few first waves and you don't feel tired anymore."

For Jaedtke, the correlation between surfing and running is obvious. He and Hearst have spent hours in the past year at Nicholas Canyon and County Line Beach near Ventura, watching the miles of cross country training pay off on their boards in the ocean.

``You can last a lot longer when you're in the water, paddling and everything,'' Jaedtke said. ``Your stamina is so much better. You don't get tired as easily.''

But Hearst and Jaedtke, the Highlanders' No. 2 runner, maintain they are runners first, surfers second. And Hearst has some unfinished business on the Mt. SAC course, which features a flat first mile followed by three grueling hills in the final two miles.

Despite finishing second among senior boys at the season-opening Seaside Invitational in September and finishing 21st at last year's Division I state championship, Hearst has never liked the Mt. SAC course, where he has failed to post a solid result. But Royal coach Ryan Luce can see a difference in his senior leading up to Saturday's race.

``I think he really wants to do well. That course has been a challenge to him,'' Luce said. ``When he gets in a race, he's got a big heart that keeps on going till the end. He truly never gives up. It's not in his vocabulary.''

That determination should serve Hearst well this weekend. He is in his 12th season of running - having started as a grade-schooler with the Running Rebels youth program in Simi Valley - and hopes to run in college next season. The biggest change during that time came after sophomore year, when Hearst gave up soccer to concentrate on running.

He had always played the sport, and it gave Hearst a break from running. But it was about that time he also took up surfing. Hearst's father, Terry, is a lifeguard in Santa Monica and taught his son to surf. Now Hearst is looking at running next season for UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, among several schools.

And Luce thinks he knows where his senior standout will end up.

``It'll probably be somewhere by the ocean,'' he said with a laugh.

Luce added that although he doesn't talk much about surfing with Hearst and Jaedtke, he doesn't have a problem with it. Asked whether he believes Hearst would be heading to the beach after racing at Mt. SAC, Luce said he didn't doubt it. Instead, the coach tries to focus on the positives.

``The only plus is that he gets to ice his legs every day he surfs,'' Luce said. ``As long as he doesn't hit himself in the head with the board, he'll be fine.''

That would be one of the few ways for opponents to have a chance against a Royal team that won its first Ventura County championship last year and took second in the state behind Canyon. With Hearst and Jaedtke returning - and freshman Jason Pedersen running a strong No. 3 - there doesn't figure to be much of a drop-off come November.

Even though Royal lost seniors Charlie Serrano and Travis Patterson, Luce said his team is stronger at Nos. 4-7 than a year ago. The junior varsity team also is undefeated, a fact that bodes well for the future, and Hearst said the Highlanders have their sights set just as high as last season.

``I think our team is better than it was last year because everybody has stepped up more,'' Hearst said. ``But the other teams have gotten better and also not lost anybody. ... So I think we might not do as well, even though our team has gotten better. But we're still looking for top five at state.''

That race will be Nov. 30 in Fresno, a rare Saturday when Hearst probably won't get a chance to surf. But the senior has every reason to be philosophical. There will be plenty of time for him and Jaedtke to surf before that, starting right after Mt. SAC.

MT. SAC INVITATIONAL

Where: Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut

When: Friday and Saturday.

Time: Division III, IV and V teams will run 1-6 p.m. Friday. Division I and II teams will run from 7:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Who: More than 400 teams are expected to compete in Mt. SAC's 88 high school races. Several top Division I and II teams have entered the boys' and girls' team and individual sweepstakes races beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Division III, IV and V sweepstakes races will be Friday at 4:45 p.m.

--For more information: Go to events.mtsac.edu/ccinvite.

- Ross Siler

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Photo:

Royal of Simi Valley's Tim Hearst, pictured, and Dylan Jaedtke say they're runners first, surfers second, and as they often do on Saturdays, they plan to surf after the Mt. SAC Invitational.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

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MT. SAC INVITATIONAL (see text)