Breakers show they belong among elite

Invited to participate in the team sweepstakes race at Saturday’s Orange County Championships, the Laguna Beach High boys’ cross-country team wasn’t nervous.

Competing against mostly Division I and Division II programs wasn’t a problem for the Breakers, the top-ranked Division IV team in the state. They proved it by finishing fifth in the sweepstakes race with a team time of 79 minutes, 54 seconds.

And the Breakers weren’t even happy with their times.

“We came in and kids were pretty pissed off, actually,” Coach Dave Brobeck said. “Legs were tired, legs were heavy. We’ve been giving them a lot of big workouts.”

Still, fifth place was fifth place, especially with only top schools like Dana Hills, El Toro, Trabuco Hills and Marina ahead of Laguna Beach.

Individually, senior Blake Hofmeister was 17th in 15 minutes, 33 seconds. Tommy Newton-Neal placed 29th in 15:48 and Matt Neev was 33rd in 15:52.

Also placing for the Breakers were Andrew Shapero (16:17), Sean Pigden (16:24), Jake Johnson (16:51) and Richard Mattingly (17:22).

“We did really well,” Brobeck said. “Fifth place in the county for a small school is pretty unheard of. That’s where we belong, though.”

Laguna Beach is running at the Mt. San Antonio College meet today, although Brobeck said he plans to hold Hofmeister, Newton-Neal, Neev and Shapero out of that Division IV sweepstakes race.

“I’m going to run mostly JV kids in that race,” Brobeck said. “The big guys, I’m going to give them the race off.”

The Breakers girls, meanwhile, ran just two runners in the Division II girls’ race. Senior McKenna Nokes finished 32nd on the three-mile course with a time of 19:24 and Gerry Artman took 124th with a time of 21:56.

The Laguna Beach girls are ranked No. 10 in Division IV.

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GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Laguna Beach knew it would be tough at the Torrey Pines California Challenge over the weekend, with some of the top teams in the state competing. The Breakers were seeded 12th and finished tied for 13th at the two-day tournament, going 2-2.

In pool play, the Breakers topped Canyon Crest Academy, 25-7, 25-10, 25-17, before falling to Long Beach Wilson, 19-25, 21-25, 28-26, 24-26. They then fell to Cathedral Classic in Silver Division play, 24-26, 18-25, 20-25, before rebounding for a five-game victory against Huntington Beach, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 15-4.

Senior Paulette Grand Pre was the kills leader for the tournament, compiling 76 in four matches. Senior Alex Rieckhoff had 60 kills and led the team with 36 digs and nine block assists. Sophomore setter Allison Palmer had 152 assists.

Laguna then swept Costa Mesa, 25-5, 25-11, 25-9, in Orange Coast League play Tuesday behind 10 kills from Rieckhoff.

The Breakers (10-8, 4-0 in league) play at Calvary Chapel in a key Orange Coast League match Wednesday. The Eagles extended Laguna to four games the first time the teams played.

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BOYS’ WATER POLO

The Breakers, as expected, keep rolling through Orange Coast League play and look primed to defend their title. Laguna Beach, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division III coaches’ poll, blasted Godinez, 21-5, Oct. 14, behind four goals from Robert Chew and three each from David Brunner and Nolan McConnell.

Laguna then fell to Newport Harbor, 14-2, on Saturday in nonleague play. The Sailors are the top-ranked team in Division I. McConnell and Robbie Quellmalz scored the Breakers’ goals.

The Breakers have a good test at 4 p.m. today when they play host to Damien, ranked No. 3 in the Division III. They then conclude Orange Coast League play at Costa Mesa on Wednesday.

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GIRLS’ TENNIS

Laguna Beach earned a 14-4 nonleague win over Mater Dei Wednesday at Los Caballeros Racquet Club in Fountain Valley. Maddie Jaeger and Taylor Nederlander swept at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, as did the top two Laguna doubles teams of Haley Moss and Claire Jaeger, as well as Bianca Sganga and Alison Azera.

Previously, the Breakers topped Calvary Chapel on Tuesday, 15-3, to improve to a 5-0 Orange Coast League mark. Nederlander and Sganga swept in singles, as did the sister doubles team of Maddie and Claire Jaeger, as well as Moss and Azera.

Over the weekend, the Breakers (9-5) finished 11th at the prestigious Corona del Mar All-American Tournament, winning the team sportsmanship award. The format was four singles players competing in an eight-game pro set, followed by four doubles teams competing in a pro set.

Laguna Beach played all its matches at CdM, falling in its first match to Palos Verdes, 6-2, then topping Sage Hill, 8-0, in the second round. Both results were an improvement from when the Breakers played those two schools in nonleague play. The Breakers then fell to Providence Day of North Carolina, 5-3, before topping Menlo, 7-1.

Dana Hills won the championship, beating Palm Desert in the finals.