O’Doherty a Real Kick : Senior Leads Thousand Oaks to Victory

OJAI —  Eleazar Hernandez’s reign as the premier cross-country runner in the state lasted for all of six days, thanks to Keith O’Doherty of Thousand Oaks.

Hernandez, a senior at Camarillo High, had defeated a talent-laden field to win the team sweepstakes race of the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on Oct. 22. But O’Doherty outkicked him to win the Ventura County championship at Lake Casitas on Friday.

O’Doherty timed 15 minutes 4 seconds over the three-mile distance to edge Hernandez by two seconds and lower the course record by four seconds.

Javier Ramirez of Nordhoff, who had set the course record in last month’s Ojai Invitational, placed third in 15:25. Jeff Fischer of Thousand Oaks and Francisco Sandoval of Channel Islands finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in 15:30 and 15:31.

Thousand Oaks, the No. 5-ranked team in The Harrier magazine’s national poll, placed five runners among the top nine finishers to win its third consecutive title. The Lancers totaled 28 points, followed by Camarillo (61), Nordhoff (110), Channel Islands (140) and Agoura (155).

Agoura was without No. 1 runner John Greene, who did not compete because of a sore knee.

O’Doherty entered Friday’s race with an 0-3 record against Hernandez this season, and with a half-mile remaining, it looked as though he would be 0-4.

Hernandez opened a small lead on his rival as they ascended the final hill and even O’Doherty envisioned Hernandez putting him away.

His thoughts quickly changed, however, as he reeled Hernandez in near the top of the hill.

“I hit the hill and just popped up it and it was then that I realized that I was a lot closer to him than I expected,” O’Doherty said.

O’Doherty took the lead as he made the turn into the final straightaway and held it to end Hernandez’s six-race winning streak.

“I don’t really have much of a kick, but I guess a lot of your kick is in your head,” O’Doherty said. “It’s all psychological. If you’re willing to push it at the end of a race, you’ve got a chance.”

The manner in which O’Doherty won was a pleasant surprise to Thousand Oaks Coach Jack Farrell, who said earlier this week that O’Doherty had to break away from Hernandez before the final half-mile if he wanted to beat him.

“Shows you what I know,” Farrell said. “Keith told me afterward that he felt like he could have shifted to another gear if he had had to. We didn’t know Keith had gears until today.”

Amy Skieresz of Agoura and Thousand Oaks’ team were predictable winners in the girls’ race, but the early battle for the individual title produced a surprise.

Nordhoff freshman Elaine Canchola had a 20-meter lead on Skieresz after the first half-mile and did not surrender the lead until after the pair had passed the one-mile mark in 5:49.

“I didn’t worry about her at the start,” Skieresz said. “I didn’t know who she was, but when she still had a big lead heading to the mile, I figured I’d better catch her.”

Once Skieresz did that, the race for first was over.

She had a 30-second lead on Canchola and Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks at the two-mile mark before winning her third consecutive county title.

Her time of 17:48 lowered her course record by five seconds and helped ease the disappointment of the “worst race” of her career in last week’s Mt. SAC Invitational.

Skieresz was undefeated entering Mt. SAC, but finished third (18:15) in the individual sweepstakes race, 77 seconds behind Santa Rosa sophomore Julia Stamps, who set a course record of 16:58.

“My total focus was on (Stamps) and when I fell behind her, I just lost it mentally,” Skieresz said. “I just gave up. . . . I wasn’t worried about (my time) today. I just wanted to run a good, hard race.”

Mortensen (18:23) and Canchola (18:32) finished second and third behind Skieresz. Amy Van Atta (19:23) of Buena and Bridget Roy (19:25) of Thousand Oaks rounded out the top five.

Thousand Oaks, the 15th-ranked team in the nation, placed five runners among the top 11 finishers to total 34 points and win its first title since 1986.

Agoura, the seven-time defending champion, was second with 92, followed by Nordhoff (93), Simi Valley (106) and Buena (115).