Eastlake’s Williams, muddied but unbowed, makes it a fourth trip to state

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night are supposed to stop postal workers from delivering the mail.

The same can be said of high school cross country runners who took on the brunt of a howling Pacific atmospheric river at Saturday’s San Diego Section championship meet to complete their designation mission. At stake for the 1,168 participants were division team titles, individual accolades and a chance to qualify for the upcoming state championship meet Nov. 29 in Fresno.

The rain came down in a deluge just prior to the start of the first race and continued to pelt runners and onlookers alike in seemingly unending sheets until just before the start of the last race. It was wet but the worst was likely the mud created by all the pooled water.

By the look of black smears on the legs, arms and even necks of runners, it was evident that many fell and slid on the muddy course, which was shortened slightly to 2.9 miles prevent even more severe injuries from occurring.

“It was hard with the rain,” said Foothills Christian junior Daniel Brannon, liberally smeared with mud, front and back, who finished 89th of out 139 runners in the Division V boys race, fourth on the Knights. “It was muddy. It was cold. But it was fun.”
It was decidedly different, to be sure.

Golden girl
A total of 10 races — five in both gender fields — were contested at Balboa Park’s celebrated Morley Field.

Leading the charge was Eastlake High School senior Jaelyn Williams, who cruised to her third consecutive Division I section title in a time of 16:42.40. She finished 43.8 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger, Westview freshman Sophie Sagi.

Williams’ winning time was the fastest among the five division winners on the day, though Christian junior Elliana Patterson mowed down the Division V girls competition with a fast time of 16:46.10.

Williams, who has comepeted at the national level over the past two seasons, was likely prepared more than others to compete in the muck after running in elite post-season races in Oregon.

“I kind of went out,” she explained. “I was confident. I had done it before. I knew how to run in those conditions. The conditions made it fun.”

Williams is making her fourth trip to the state meet with two prior fourth place finishes. She’d like to make the fourth time the charm in a bid to win the state title, which could very well be within her reach as a senior.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve been there every year since my freshman year. I’ll give it everything I can do.

“This year I’ve been feeling a lot better. After I race, I don’t feel completely dead. It’s a confidence builder.”

The Lady Titans finished sixth in the division’s team standings with 198 pionts behind team champion Canyon Crest Academy (58 points), runner-up Del Norte (75 points) and third place finisher Poway (80 points), the top three state-qualifying teams.

Metro-Mesa League co-champion Olympian placed fourth in the Division I boys race, just missing making the cut to the state meet as a team qualifier. The Eagles totaled 154 points behind team champion Poway (49 points), team runner-up San Marcos (106 points) and third place Del Norte (120 points). Only the top three teams advanced with all their runners.

Conference individual champion Jack Degenhardt and junior teammate Micah Schenko both earned All-CIF honors with top 20 individual place-finishes. Schenko placed 10th in 15:49.60 while Degenhardt, who bested Schenko by two seconds the prior week at the league finals, finished 16 seconds behind him on Saturday in 19th place while battling excruciating circumstances.

Degenhardt fell while trying to battle for position in narrow quarters and was trampled on by other runners at the start of the 143-deep race.

“The funnel that everyone had to go in was tight,” Olympian coach Brandon Velasquez said. “He fell and people stepped on him. He got up and saw his teammates ahead of him and made an effort to try to catch up to them, Everyone was fighting for spots. He had to fight his way basically from last place to 19th place.”

It was altogether an heroic effort.

Degenhardt’s teammates responded in kind.

“We had two in the top 20,” Velasquez said. “They fought hard for it. This is the highest they’ve ever gotten. I’m proud of these guys.”

There were other heroics as Metro-South Bay League boys champion Southwest had two runners make the cut to the state meet as individual qualifiers in the Division III field. Junior Carlos Martinez finished fourth with a time of 15:33.80 while junior Esteban Aguilera finished in sixth place in 15:41.90.

The top three teams in the race qualified as teams. Southwest finished seventh. Aguilera won the league title at the Metro finals while Martinez was next on the Raiders.

Metro-Pacific League champion Mar Vista finished seventh in the Division IV team standings.

“Our goal was to finish in the top 10 teams and we got seventh,” MV coach Alton Colter said. “We beat 14 really good teams. The most inspirational part was that from the two-mile mark to the finish line, we passed 60 runners.”

Senior Helio Lozano, the league champion, led the Mariners across the finish line in 21st place in 16:28.40.

Bonita’s Everett Szeles was a part of Francis Parker’s Division V boys championship team. This is his third year in the program but first year on varsity. He finished 14th in the race (17:39.20), fourth on the team.

“It feels amazing, it’s a crazy experience,” said Szeles, who will be heading to Fresno with his teammates. “I’ve never done anything like this before. All the work I’ve put in is paying off.”

Other Metro front-runners:

Otay Ranch junior Santiago Blanco (16:06.80) was 20th in the Division I boys race.

•Eastlake sophomore Kareli Rascon was 23rd in the Division I girls race in 19:41.40.

•Bonita Vista senior Renee Khuong, the Metro-Mesa runner-up, finished 24th in the Division II girs race in 19:10.90 while San Ysidro junior Miah Bermudez, the Metro-South Bay League runner of the year, was 26th in the same race in 19:32.10.

The Division V girls race, taking place in the middle of the day’s schedule. may have suffered the worse wear and tear with another drenching.

“The girls ran in the worst conditions I have ever seen in California — slipping and sliding through every corner while battling for traction and position,” Liberty Charter head coach Daniel Sanchez said.

Runners’ singlets were soaked after the races — both by natural sweat and the rain.

A pair of Helix runners notched individual state qualifying berths by each placing fourth in their respective races.Senior Tyus Joseph finished the Division I boys race in 15:17.90 while junior Kate Weaver finished the Division I girls race in 18:38.10
Both harriers had run in the rain before but only on concrete. Running in the mud was something new.

Both are returning state qualifiers.

“The harsh mud was the worst,” said Weaver, a three-time state qualifier and runner-up to Diaz at this year’s Grossmont Conference championships meet. “You had to stay on the outside edge where it was drier and follow the other runners.”

“I had never run on a grass course like this,” said Joseph, a state qualifier last year, who won this year’s Grossmont Conference championship by 20 seconds. “My strategy was to give it everything I had, and I did that. I wound up wearing the wrong type of shoes. That made it difficult, but I persevered through it. More than anything I relied on my faith to get through the race.

“I’m excited to go back to state.”

Photo Gallery by Ron Becijos