Daily Pilot Boys’ Cross-Country Dream Team: CdM’s Max Douglass willed dreams into reality
Max Douglass is undeniably a late bloomer, but since getting his feet wet on the distance running circuit as a junior, a budding star has blossomed at Corona del Mar.
A mutual admiration has also grown between athlete and coach. Bill Sumner, the revered mentor after whom the CdM track is named, is grateful to have had the Sea Kings’ breakout star serve as an example to his teammates.
“Most of the top kids that I work with will say they’re going to do 100%,” Sumner said. “They don’t even know what 100% is, but I’ll try to teach them. Less than 1% of the kids actually know what 100% is. Max happens to be one of those kids. He gets it. He knows what 100% is. He does one to two hours more than anybody else every day.
“Some of the kids are starting to copy him, which will be great for our program. Max is a great person for somebody to aspire to be like. He is a great role model.”
Douglass’ work has transformed into an impressive resume over the past 16 months. A two-time league champion, he became CdM’s first male athlete to win a CIF Southern Section individual championship in crossing first in 15 minutes 2.9 seconds in the Division 4 final this year.
The performance propelled him into another state meet, where he earned his second consecutive top-10 finish, placing third in 14:58 in the Division IV final.
The Corona del Mar boys’ cross-country team finished sixth in the Section 1 varsity race of the Central Park Invitational on Saturday in Huntington Beach.
Part of the preparation: research and self-care. Douglass said he knew who the top competition in the race would be. He has also tried to address his aches and pains, especially as his season stretched into December.
“I think I’m starting to show that I can run with these top guys,” said Douglass, the Daily Pilot Boys’ Cross-Country Athlete of the Year. “Once my fitness starts coming through, after I get some years under my belt of running, I think people will see the work I put in, the level of dedication with my sleep, my diet, every aspect of my life that I dedicate to my physical health, I think they’ll start to see that I can hang with these top guys.”
The famed hills of Mt. San Antonio College served as the backdrop for Douglass’ display of belief in himself. The rising star had just come off the course after a sixth-place finish in 15:39 at the Foot Locker West Regional, which earned him a spot in the Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.
Douglass’ junior season had ended at the regional meet, and he remembered the mental and physical battle with oneself to push through at the end of a long season.
“I remember ... the back before Reservoir Hill was when I hit a wall during that race, and I started feeling that similar feeling again this year, but I was in third this time,” Douglass said. “I was like, ‘This is all mental. I need to just overcome this and keep pushing. Once I get up Reservoir Hill, it’s all downhill, and I’m just going to take off.’ Once I made it onto the top of Reservoir [Hill], I knew I was going to make it.”
A trip to the Foot Locker national championship meet in hand, Douglass did not let up, placing 18th in 15:52.6 at Balboa Park. It was his third 5K race in three weeks.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bill Sumner
Corona del Mar
The longtime coach of the Sea Kings received a lot of the credit from current program standout Max Douglass, who called Sumner a “genius” that helps runners elevate their performance “at the right time.” Douglass made those comments at the CIF finals, where he became the first boy in program history to win an individual section title. Sumner also guided the Sea Kings to the Sunset League title — behind a scoring quintet of Douglass, Logan Walsh, Kevin Steinman, Aidan Algazi and Nico Harris — and to a return appearance at the CIF State cross-country championships, where CdM placed ninth in Division IV.
FIRST TEAM
Michael Appell
Huntington Beach | Jr.
Appell’s season got off to a roaring start with a new personal-best time of 15:06.9 in the Woodbridge Classic. The junior placed fourth among the competition in the Sunset League finals, extending his season as an at-large qualifier into the CIF preliminaries.
Kai Hata
Edison | Sr.
The Chargers senior lowered his lifetime-best time to 15:22.3 in the Woodbridge Classic. Hata also delivered the top showing for Edison in the Sunset League finals. He placed eighth in 16:02.3, spearheading a Chargers lineup that sported a 39-second five-man gap, tied for the second-best at the meet and the tightest among CIF-qualifying teams from the seven-school league.
Ethan Kwong
Fountain Valley | Sr.
Kwong kept a busy schedule, toeing the starting line 10 times in all, including two streaks of racing on three consecutive weeks. The senior opened as the runner-up in the Great Cow Invite at John Glenn High in 15:23.6. Down the road, he finished third in the Sunset League finals and sixth in the Barons’ heat of the CIF Division 1 preliminaries. Kwong dropped his personal record to 14:52.7 at the Woodbridge Classic.
Ulysses Rios
Fountain Valley | Jr.
While Kwong ran as an individual in the boys’ sweepstakes race of the Orange County championships, Rios proved to be a formidable figure in a strong supporting cast via his performance in the meet’s medium schools race. Rios placed fourth in the race in 15:48.4, perhaps serving as a catalyst for his sixth-place showing in the Sunset League finals, where Fountain Valley placed second as a team.
Kevin Steinman
Corona del Mar | Jr.
Steinman claimed victory in a grade-level race at the Laguna Hills Invitational to kick off the season. The junior’s importance could not be understated, as he was the second Sea King to cross the finish line throughout the CIF postseason, including a Nos. 1-2 finish with Douglass as CdM topped its heat in the Division 4 preliminaries. Steinman, who was twice the runner-up for the Wave League title in his first two seasons, placed fifth in the Sunset League finals following Laguna Beach’s departure from the conference this fall.
Logan Walsh
Corona del Mar | Sr.
A four-year varsity runner for the Sea Kings, Walsh has amassed three top-five performances in league finals. The Sunset League runner-up this fall, Walsh has also contributed to three CIF finals appearances and two state meet berths. He ran 16:02.8 at the Clovis Invitational, establishing a new personal record for 5K courses in his senior year.
Maury Young
Ocean View | Jr.
Young lived among the leaders throughout the season, never finishing outside the top 20 in any of his nine starts. He clocked in with a lifetime-best time of 15:06.9 at the Woodbridge Classic. Young announced his arrival with a second-place showing in the small schools race of the Orange County championships. The junior went on to claim the Golden West League crown — and the Seahawks did as a team. Young ultimately placed 15th in the CIF Division 4 final to advance to the state meet as an individual, where he finished 17th in 15:43.9 on the 5K course at Woodward Park in his first state run.
SECOND TEAM
Name, School, Year
Aidan Algazi, Corona del Mar, Jr.
Josiah Cowell, Pacifica Christian, Sr.
Zack Longo, Sage Hill, Fr.
Liam McRae, Laguna Beach, Jr.
Alexander Pineda Gonzalez, Los Amigos, Sr.
Brian Rakhshani, Edison, Jr.
Troy Staros, Ocean View, Sr.
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