SAUGUS RUNS BACK TO SUCCESS.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News The Saugus High boys' cross country team hasn't won a Southern Section championship since 1985. The Centurions, though, will have history on their side with coaches Mike and Pam Thompson in the Southern Section Division II finals Saturday 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. . Mike Thompson For other persons named Mike Thompson, see Mike Thompson (disambiguation). C. Michael Thompson (born January 24, 1951), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing California's At-large , 29, who serves as an assistant, was a member of Saugus teams which won the school's only division championships in 1984 and 1985. Sister Pam, 31, the head coach, captured the 1984 Southern Section 3-A Division 3,200-meter title in track at Saugus. The siblings and second-year coaches have helped transform their alma mater ma·ter n. Chiefly British Mother. [Latin m  ter; see m into a title contender again this fall.
``We were fortunate we grew up in a program where we were expected to win league and make it to CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). ,'' said Pam Thompson, a 1984 Saugus graduate who was a part of the Centurion girls' 10-year league winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" from 1981-89. ``Last year was a transition year. It was culture shock. It's been a number of years since Saugus has had this kind of excitement.'' A top-four finish Saturday will guarantee the Centurions their first state-meet berth in school history. In the Southern Section preliminaries last Saturday, Saugus, buoyed by sixth- and ninth-place finishes by Daniel Klawer and John Getskow, held off Katella 73-76. The triumph over Katella avenged a·venge tr.v. a·venged, a·veng·ing, a·veng·es 1. To inflict a punishment or penalty in return for; revenge: avenge a murder. 2. a defeat to the Knights in the team sweepstakes race of the Mt. SAC 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 October. In the Saturday's finals, the Centurions also figure to be challenged by Righetti and Mission Viejo Mission Vi·e·jo A community of southern California southeast of Irvine. It is mainly residential. Population: 96,300. , winners of the other two heats, as well as Ventura and Arroyo. Saugus swept the first three places with the trio of Klawer, Getskow and Jacob Boeding and placed all seven runners among the top 12 to win their first league championship in 12 years in the Foothill League finals Nov. 6. Saugus, which placed third in league last season, also took the top three places in the first league meet and went 1-2-4 in the second. ``There is a lot of competition on this team to run better to push each other along,'' said Boeding, a soccer player who was recruited by Klawer to come out for track last spring. ``It's not just seven of us who deserve to run.'' It's been a team effort for the Thompsons as well. ``Our talents complement and it's a combination that has worked,'' said Pam Thompson, who also served as an assistant coach at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX from 1989-92 before coming to Saugus. ``I am comfortable as the front person. I am really vocal and Mike is so good one to one and getting the kids to believe in themselves.'' This season's breakthroughs might just be the start for Saugus, the State's fifth-ranked team, with Getskow as the team's lone senior. Klawer, Boeding, Steve Wade Steve Wade (died 22nd December 1956) was one of the United Kingdom's executioners from 1940 to 1955. He died in Doncaster Royal Infirmary from carcinoma of the stomach. and Brian McBride For other people of the same name, see . Brian McBride (born June 19, 1972) is a football striker who has appeared in three World Cups for the United States national team and is currently captain of Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League. are juniors. Jon Mahar is a sophomore and Nick Zoetewey is a freshman. In addition to the varsity, the frosh-soph team went undefeated in league this season. ``It's satisfying to be continuing part of a solid program,'' said Mike Thompson, a 1986 Saugus graduate. ``It takes time to buy into a program. The kids know us better and one person's success is contagious throughout the team.'' So has attitude - good and bad. ``Last year a lot of people who were on the team thought we had league wrapped up and went out like it didn't matter,'' Klawer said. ``It destroyed us.'' A weeklong training camp in Catalina helped bring the team together this season. That was followed by a season-opening victory over State Division IV champion McFarland at the Seaside Invitational in September. ``We all bonded and it cemented everything,'' Getskow said. ``We've basically had the same guys as last year, but this year we've put it all together at the end. It feels like we've climbed a mountain.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Pam Thompson, a Saugus alumna, has helped coach the boys' cross country team back to prominence. Her brother Mike serves as her assistant. Hans Gutknecht / Daily News |
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