A course-record 40 teams and 1,181 runners from throughout San Diego County, and even as far as Arizona, competed in last Friday’s 42nd annual South Bay Invitational at Rohr Park.
With single divisions for varsity, junior varsity and the frosh/soph races, the five event meet served as a truer indicator of just where teams stand entering their league dual meet schedules.
Metro Conference harriers did well, showing why they should have an impact at November’s section championships in the quest to qualify for the state meet.
Top local boys varsity runners included Sweetwater senior Carlos Aviles-Sullivan, Mater Dei Catholic senior Salvador Rodriguez, Bonita Vista sophomore Ethan Lamprecht, Otay Ranch seniors Ryan Velasquez and Ryan Andrews and Castle Park senior Eduardo Rodriguez.
Aviles-Sullivan placed sixth in the boys varsity division as both the top Metro Conference and South Bay League finisher. He moved up from the middle of the pack over the last half of the 5K race to finish in 16:24 — 24 seconds behind race-winner Tyler Lopez of Monte Vista and 12 seconds behind San Pasqual senior Jake Thompson, the second-place finisher.
Salvador Rodriguez, a two-time state meet qualifier, placed 11th in the boys varsity field as the top Mesa League finisher. His time of 16:37 placed him 13 seconds behind Aviles-Sullivan for the overall conference lead and 12 seconds ahead of Olympian junior Diego Arriola, who finished 13th in last Friday’s field.
Overall, seven Metro runners finished among the top 10 percent of the 214-deep boys varsity race.
Lamprecht (16:56) was 15th, followed by Velasquez (16th, 16:57), Andrews (19th, 17:07) and Eduardo Rodriguez (20th, 17:11).
Bonita Vista senior Marleen Aranda was the highest Metro place-finisher in the 206-deep girls varsity race. She crossed the finish line in 11th place in 16:43 — well over a minute after race-winner Olivia Wade, a freshman from Point Loma – to finish as the top Mesa League runner.
Wade timed 15:38 on the 2.5-mile course to win by a nine-second margin over Francis Parker senior Brooke Trossen.
Castle Park junior Liliana Hakim was the only other Metro female runner to crack the top 20 in the race. She finished 15th in 16:51 as the top South Bay League runner.
The top 35 finishers in both the boys and girls varsity races received medals.
Local medalists in the boys varsity field also included Bonita Vista sophomore Toshin Agbede (23rd, 17:13), Southwest sophomore Jacob Fierro (24th, 17:13), Otay Ranch senior Rigo Baza (26th, 17:14), Bonita Vista sophomore Armando Campos (27th, 17:16), Bonita Vista freshman Jonathan Kelly (32nd, 17:33), Otay Ranch junior Cale Parise (33rd, 17:34) and Mater Dei Catholic senior Joseph Chiappe (35th, 17:36).
Rounding out the medal-winners in the girls varsity field were Hilltop junior Brianna Smith (24th, 17:14), Olympian sophomore Alexandra Martinez (29th, 17:19), Bonita Vista sophomore Milla Padilla (31st, 17:21), Olympian freshman Marianna Beltran-Picos (32nd, 17:24) and Bonita Vista senior Yazelyn Vargas (35th, 17:28).
Bonita Vista finished second as a team in the girls varsity standings while Otay Ranch placed third among boys varsity teams.
Point Loma handily won the girls varsity race with a low score of 79 points, but Bonita Vista out-pointed Francis Parker 141-146 for second place, with San Pasqual (154 points) and Grossmont (167 points) finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Bonita Vista’s top five scorers also included sophomore Sarah Suarez (37th, 17:31) and junior Natalie Medina (39th, 17:33).
“We’re in the middle of an exciting season,” an obviously elated BVHS coach Matt Seat explained. “Our girls are doing very well. I’m happy with what they’ve done so far. They’re getting more confident and reaping the benefits of their training.”
Otay Ranch (120 points) finished 10 points behind second place Valley Center (130 points) in the boys varsity division. Both teams placed well arrears of division champion San Pasqual (78 points). Bonita Vista was fourth with 152 points.
Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch square off in a high stakes league dual meet Friday at Discovery Park, starting at 3 p.m.
The Mustang boys team recorded an 18-point bulge over the Barons at the season opening Mustang/Phair Co. Invitational and finished 32 points ahead of them at last Friday’s invitational.
All five Mustang scorers placed in the top 17 percent of the field. Otay Ranch’s fifth scorer, junior Evan LeDesma, placed 36th in 17:39.
Bonita Vista’s fifth scorer, sophomore Isaiah Labra, placed 55th in 18:06. All seven Mustangs finished ahead of him.
“Our boys are very young (but competitive),” Seat noted. “We had six sophomores and one freshman run today. They’re still learning how to race and get that race experience.”
Thirty-one teams scored in the boys varsity race. Mater Dei Catholic (300 points) placed eighth, followed by Olympian (ninth, 301 points), Sweetwater (15th, 419 points), Castle Park (16th, 439 points), Chula Vista (17th, 447 points), Southwest (18th, 461 points), San Ysidro (23rd, 690 points), Montgomery (24th, 691 points), Hilltop (27th, 720 points), Mar Vista (29th, 752 points) and High Tech Chula Vista (31st, 874 points).
Thirty teams scored in the girls varsity race. Olympian (198 points) was seventh, followed by Otay Ranch (16th, 472 points), Chula Vista (18th, 528 points), Hilltop (21st, 585 points), Sweetwater (22nd, 606 points), Mater Dei Catholic (23rd, 640 points), Southwest (24th, 648 points), Mar Vista (25th, 667 points), Montgomery (27th, 710 points) and San Ysidro (30th, 877).
JV Division
Otay Ranch finished 21 points out of first place in the boys JV division. The Mustangs tallied 65 points to division champion San Pasqual’s 44 points to place second among the 16 scoring teams.
Otay Ranch junior Harold Thomas was the top individual with a time of 17:49; senior teammate Rafael Patricio placed fourth in 18:20. Thomas finished three seconds ahead of San Pasqual junior John Dufrieze to claim first place.
Olympian finished in third place with 87 points while Sweetwater was fifth with 170 points, followed by Bonita Vista (eighth, 214 points), Chula Vista (12th, 297 points), San Ysidro (15th, 391 points) and Mar Vista (16th, 401 points).
Bonita Vista junior Melina Reynoso was the top Metro runner in the girls JV race after finishing seventh in 18:44. High Tech Chula Vista freshman Anna Nicole Barreiro was eighth with the same time. Olympian senior Brittany Amador was 10th in 18:56.
Olympian finished third in the team standings with 95 points, followed by Bonita Vista (fourth, 137 points), High Tech Chula Vista (11th, 285 points), Otay Ranch (17th, 465 points), Chula Vista (19th, 575 points), Mar Vista (20th, 601 points), Hilltop (22nd, 642 points), Sweetwater (23rd, 668 points) and Southwest (24th, 752 points).
Mt Carmel Invitational
Top Metro performers at the preceding Mt. Carmel Invitational, held Sept. 19 at San Diego’s Morley Field, included Bonita Vista’s Lamprecht (sixth, large schools sophomore boys race), Olympian’s Martinez (sixth, large schools junior girls race) and Arriola (seventh, large schools junior boys race), Mater Dei Catholic’s Rodriguez (eighth, small schools senior boys race), Sweetwater’s Aviles-Sullivan (eighth, large schools senior boys race and Bonita Vista’s Aranda and Izabela Garcia-Arce, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the large schools senior girls race.
