Girls’ Cross-Country: Sailors rebuilding

Coach Eric Tweit enters his 28th year guiding the Newport Harbor High girls’ cross-country team.

This season is going to be unlike most for Tweit.

“We’re just so young,” Tweit said. “We only have two girls [sophomores Mia Matsunami and Claire Bacon] returning. This is probably the most rebuilding year we’ll have in a long time.

“We got great kids and they’ve work really hard, but it’s just going to be really difficult.”

While the Sailors are inexperienced, Tweit said Matsunami is a contender for an individual Sunset League title. She placed eighth at the league finals last season, the same year Newport Harbor senior Emily Bacon took second.

Newport Harbor finished fourth in league as a team last year, barely missing the CIF Southern Section Division 2 preliminaries. The goal is to get back to the section preliminaries, but Tweit said the Sailors are a year away from doing so.

“We do have a good sophomore class and we’ve got good senior leadership,” said Tweit, whose seniors are Estefani Gomez, Holly Halperin, Ingrid Marin and Emily Molstad. “If everything is the same as last year, we still have a chance to fight for third place.”

Newport Harbor Girls’ Cross-Country

League: Sunset

CIF Division: 2

Head Coach: Eric Tweit (28th year)

Coaching Staff: Chelsea Calkin, assistant coach　

2015 league finish: Fourth

2015 CIF results: None

Returning starters: Two

Returning with honors: None

Coach’s take: “Other [runners] will be [sophomore] Syanne Dalrymple, [senior] Estefani Gomez, [senior] Holly Halperin, [senior] Ingrid Marin, [senior] Emily Molstad and [sophomore] Anahi Villagrana. We will be very inexperienced and young. We are hoping to battle for [third] place [in league].”

One to watch: “Mia Matsunami will be our best runner,” Tweit said. “She won the 3,200 in track [and field], and is one of the favorites to win league.”

Schedule

Sept. 2: at Sea Breeze Run at Dana Hills, 6 p.m.

Sept. 10: at Laguna Hills Invitational, 8 a.m.

Sept. 24: at Dana Hills Invitational, 10 a.m.

Sept. 28: at Sunset League preview meet at Central Park in Huntington Beach, 3 p.m.

Oct. 1: at Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach, 8 a.m.

Oct. 15: at Orange County Championships at Irvine Regional Park in Orange, 8 a.m.

Oct. 22: at Riverside Invitational at Riverside Cross-Country Course, 8 a.m.

Oct. 29: at Sunset League Championships at Central Park in Huntington Beach, 9 a.m.