Sage’s Rose, a highlight among locals

WALNUT — Connor Rose was happy his Sage Hill School boys’ cross country team was running in the Division IV and V sweepstakes race at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.

Not only did it give the Lightning junior the opportunity to compete against the top schools in the race for that division, but it also added a little motivation on Friday.

With all of the other Division IV and V races kicking off before the sweepstakes, Rose took advantage of being able to check how his competition in the Academy League and Southern Section did.

“I beat them pretty handily,” Rose said.

Rose finished fourth in 16 minutes, four seconds, leading Sage Hill to a seventh-place finish.

Rose said the team put in heavy duty workouts all week to keep from peaking at this point of the year.

“It’s not the right time,” Rose said. “So we trained right through.”

The Mt. SAC course, which is known for its hills, was a good measuring stick on how far Rose has come in running hills.

“Last year I was struggling on hills,” Rose said. “I put in a lot of strength training and I really excel on hills now. Even when I’m not picking up speed I’m passing people. On the downhill when people are resting I’m gaining and picking up the pace.”

Lightning sophomore Aiyana Bobrownicki led the Lightning girls team to a sixth-place finish in the Division IV and V girls sweepstakes race with a ninth-place finish and a time of 20:07.

“It was fun,” Bobrownicki said. “Thank God it cooled off. I did better than I expected. The whole team has come a long way. It’s a hard course, but the downhill was awesome.”

The Corona del Mar boys’ team continued to excel, finishing fourth in the Division III sweepstakes race ahead of powers Barstow and Santa Margarita.

Senior Tom Hutchison, who was 25th at the race last year, led the way finishing 13th in 16:21.

“I felt good the whole time, I was never totally done,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison said that was a positive because he can push harder next time for the CIF Southern Section meet.

Estancia sophomore Fernando Orozco had a little help from above for his eighth-place finish in 16:58 in the boys’ Division III red race, which the Eagles finished second in.

The speakers above the course began playing Queen’s “We are the champions” as Orozco lined up to start the race.

“The song was in my head the entire race,” Orozco said. “I wasn’t thinking about the other runners.”

Eagles’ senior Sydney Barloon, with a 17th-place finish in 20:41 helped Estancia to fourth in the girls’ Division III blue race.

“I think I did pretty good,” Barloon said. “This course is where the CIF section finals will be. It’s good to be out here and learn about the course. This is my ninth time and every time I learn something new. This time, I learned that the half-mile straightaway at the end is more difficult than I thought.”

The Costa Mesa girls’ team finished 13th in the Division IV and V yellow race. Senior Emily Cotton was the fastest, taking 12th place in 21:01.

“We’re pretty young this year,” Cotton said. “I don’t have the competition so I have to run with the guys.”

The Mesa boys’ team finished 26th in the Division IV and V blue race. Mitch Friedmann was 26th in 17:34. Friedmann said he was anxious to run because the team arrived four hours before its race.

Mt. SAC Invitational

Boys’ Division III sweepstakes

Top 10

1. Khan (Palos Verde), 15:41; 2. Boyte (Del Oro), 15:49; 3. Torres (Cabrillo), 15:55; 4. Brown (Laguna Hills), 16:04; 5. De Glymes (Del Oro), 16:08; 6. Zentmyer (La Canada), 16:09; 7. Lloyd (Burroughs), 16:10; 8. Perez (Barstow), 16:11; 9. Spangler (Del Oro), 16:11; 10. Solis (Barstow), 16:12.

Others

13. Hutchison (CdM), 16:21; 19. Scott (CdM), 16:25; 20. Dialynas (CdM), 16:30; 33. Nguyen (CdM), 16:59; 43. Licorish (CdM), 17:08; 48. Leonard (CdM), 17:21.

Boys Division III (red)

Top 10

1. Riley (San Luis Obispo), 16:14; 2. (Rancho Alamitos), 16:17; 3. Swanson (Alhambra), 16:29; 4. Gonzalez (Bishop Amat), 6:34; 5. Jones (SLO), 16:36; 6. Olivarrias (Tustin), 16:39; 7. Harrison (Bonita), 16:50; 8. Orozco (Estancia), 16:58; 9. Wicklund (Sacred Heart Cath.) 16:59; 10. Ruiz (San Marino), 17:00.

Others

26. Casillas (E), 17:37; 39. Robles (E), 17:53; 45. Barloon (E), 17:58; 59, Navarrete (E), 18:10; 79. Rodriquez (E), 18:29; 137. Vivar (E), 19:43.

Girls Division III (blue)

Top 10

1. Pelayo (Bolsa Grande), 18:51; 2. Tsao (Miramonte), 19:36; Mitchell (Tustin), 19:40; 4. Uytetewaal (San Luis Obispo), 19:46; 5. Hedlin (La Jolla), 19:47; 6. Ponce (Bolsa Grande), 19:54; 7. Heuring (Bonita), 19:55; 8. Asrat (Bolsa Grande), 19:57; 9. Wingerning (Palos Verde), 20:11; 10. Roth (Bishop Amat), 20:12.

Others

17. Barloon (E), 20:41; 24. Aguilar (E), 20:57; 28. Rodriguez (E), 21:03; 36. Negrete (E), 21:35; 42. Onofre (E), 21:45; 44. Ramirez (E), 21:46; 55. Rios (E), 22:04.

Boys’ Division IV and V sweepstakes

Top 10

1. Knorr (Valley Christian), 15:27; 2. Peterson (Woodcrest Christian), 15:33; 3. Van Halen (Oakwood), 15:44; 4. Rose (Sage Hill), 16:04; 5. Jeanson (WC), 16:08; 6. Carl (South Fork), 16:21; 7. Calandra (International), 16:28; 8. Branch (WC), 16:37; 9. Coppin (Mt. Shasta), 16:42; 10. Mcelroy (SH), 16:42.

Others

52. Whitaker (SH), 18:25; 63. Simon (SH), 18:50; 65. Wintemute (SH), 18:55; 72. Lee (SH), 19:42; 74. Jimenez (SH), 19:56.

Girls’ Division IV and V sweepstakes

Top 10

1. Fritzke (Mt. Shasta), 19:00; 2. A. Collier (Woodcrest Christian), 19:12; 3. B. Collier (Woodcrest Christian), 19:12; 4. Laiacona (Mt. Shasta), 19:35; 5. Kelly Owen (Chadwick), 19:36; 6. Mooney (Mission Col. Prep), 19:39; 7. Beem (MS), 19:47; 8. Strong (MS), 20:04; 9. Bobrownicki (Sage Hill), 20:07; 10. Courtney (Tri-Valley), 20:19.

Others

32. McKeon (SH), 21:55; 33. Percival (SH), 21:56; 37. Faris (SH), 22:18; 38. Muhonen (SH), 22:24; 42. Dion (SH), 22:34; 53. Xiao (SH), 23:43.

Boys Division IV and V (blue)

Top 10

1. Shirk (Nordhoff), 16:02; 2. Okano (Harvard-Westlake), 16:10; 3. Maguiness (Notre Dame), 16:24; 4. Airola (Bret Harte), 16:43; 5. Flores (Paraclete), 16:44; 6. Pavlovich (St. Margarets), 16:54; 7. McMahon (Carpintria), 16:55; 8. Almasri (Rio Rico), 16:59; 9. Munoz (RR), 16:59; 10. Gomez (Nordoff), 17:02.

Others

26. Freidmann (CM), 17:34; 125. Rosello (CM), 19:34; 135, Burnette (CM), 19:44; 163. Zapata (CM), 20:34; 174. Sudbeck (CM), 20:49; 195. Diaz (CM), 21:29.

Girls Division IV and V (yellow)

Top 10

1. Henson (Rio Rico), 19:23; 2. Privett (Coronado), 19:33; 3. Hasbrouck (Nordhoff), 19:42; 4. Lawrence (Bret Harte), 19:48; 5. Hamilton (Half Moon Bay), 19:59; 6. Jensen (Desert Christian), 20:03; 7. Huerta (Paraclete), 20:11; 8. Kennedy (P), 20:15; 9. Honanie (Hopi), 20:23; 10. Rose (St. Bonaventure), 20:31.

Others

12. Cotton (CM), 21:01; 67. Green (CM), 22:56; 99. W. Way (CM), 24:01; 110. B. Way (CM), 24:25; 114. Lopez (CM), 24:40.