Girls cross country: CdM cruises to Division IV title

Tony Altobelli

WALNUT - The CIF Division IV finals in girls cross country had all

the makings of a good-versus-evil novel for the Corona del Mar High

squad.

The times weren’t up to the Sea Kings’ satisfaction, complaints about

the heat, dust and dryness came flowing out of the runners and some coach

from an opposing school was proclaiming, “CdM’s going down! CdM’s going

down!”

By the way, despite all the hardships and excuses, CdM’s girls

repeated as Division IV champions by a whopping 78 points over the rest

of the pack!

“It doesn’t sound like a group that just won a CIF title, does it?”

CdM Coach Bill Sumner said with a smile. “We had our runners grabbing

their throat and making all sorts of funny faces out there and I told

them to just RUN!”

And run they did, to the tune of five top-25 finishes, including four

runners placing in the top 15.

Senior Katie Quinlan led the Sea Kings’ charge with a fourth-place

time of 19:08.3. Jenny Cummins came in 11th with a 19:32.1, with Season

Meservey (13th, 19:39.4) and Diana Hossfeld (15th, 19:42.1) close behind.

Sophomore Lindsay Yourman completed CdM’s top five with a 20:01.7, good

for 24th.

“It really was dry and hot out there today,” Quinlan said. “When that

dust starts flying in your eyes and mouth, it’s hard to run.”

Quinlan was in ninth place after the “switchback” hill, but used the

final two miles to gain ground on the opposition and finish fifth.

CdM’s 54 points was just a tad off the team’s goal of 20 points (five

points shy of a perfect race), but the 54 was still the second-lowest

team total among all schools competing in all divisions. Only Peninsula’s

Division I score of 51 was better.

“The good news out of all of this was that we won the CIF title, which

is very exciting,” Sumner said. “Hopefully, we’ll use this as a stepping

stone for the state championships in Fresno next weekend. We’ll just keep

taking one race at a time.”

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 1 in the state, have successfully defended

their Division IV title and will now look to defend their state crown

next weekend.

Estancia senior Liz Huipe qualified as an individual with a

third-place time of 19:00.3, less than a second off her personal-best

time on the course and bettering her fourth-place standing from a year

ago.

Huipe started off slowly and was in ninth place at the halfway point.

“All I want to know is why she starts out so slow,” Estancia Coach

Joan Carlisle said with a laugh. “She always starts near the middle of

the pack, then turns it on late.”

But the senior powered through the infamous “poop-out” and “reservoir”

hills to gain six spots on the competition in the final mile and a half.

Sophomore Diana Rosette missed qualifying for the state finals, but

still ran a solid time of 20:07.2 for the Eagles.

The state finals are at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday.

Corona del Mar girls

4. Katie Quinlan, 19:08.3; 11. Jenny Cummins, 19:32.1; 13. Season

Meservey, 19:39.4); 15. Diana Hossfeld, 19:42.1; 24. Lindsay Yourman,

20:01.7.

Estancia girls

3. Liz Huipe, 19:00.3; 26. Diana Rosette, 20:07.2; 81. Judy Hernandez,

22:34.9; 89. Stephanie Melendez, 22:54.3; 91. Janet Cahvantzi, 22:58.8.