After qualifying at Western League Finals, both the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams competed in the CIF Final meet last Saturday. Unfortunately, illnesses on both teams caused a handicap for the Islanders in qualifying for the State Meet, as this meet determines which teams will move on. “There are two ways to advance: the first is to place among the top 3 teams in our division; the second is for a runner to place among the top 5 runners, who are not on one of the three qualifying teams, as well as finishing in the top 14 overall” shares Coach George Green.
Among the girls, injuries kept many athletes from competing this season. “There wasn’t a single race we entered when our top five girls were present and all healthy,” says Coach Green. With their solid week-to-week performance, they were still able to advance to the CIF Finals as one of the top two teams in their division. Sofia Van Arsdale, one of the Islanders’ key runners, caught a chest cold before the race and was not able to finish the race. In the 2.96-mile course, Teresa Perez finished first for the Islanders and third overall, with a time of 18:26. Madden Hundley followed, placing thirteenth with a time of 19:46. Other finishers were Abigail Hundley (23rd in 20:24), Regina Czerewko (38th in 22:09), and Lauren White (58th in 23:51).
Overall, Coronado placed fifth overall and did not qualify for the State Meet as a team. However, since Perez and Hundley finished among the top five that weren’t on a team that qualified, they qualified as individual entries and will be running this Saturday in Fresno, CA.
“On paper, the boys’ race looked very close, with Coronado showing a slight advantage for the coveted third spot over several other schools,” shares Coach Green. “The top two ranked schools were Sage Creek and Crawford.” Therefore, if all their runners continued to perform as they had been all season, they were secured that third spot to qualify for the state meet. However, Casey Harris, the Islanders’ fourth runner, also fell ill and was not able to run. “Our next two runners were Landon Mullins and Grant Hawthorne, both of whom were within twenty seconds of Casey at the league finals,” comments Coach Green. “But this meant that each of our top five needed to run their best race for us to move on.”
Brad Busby was the Islanders’ top finisher, placing eighth overall with a time of 16:16 over the same course as the girls. Six seconds behind Busby, Connor Jaynes finished tenth overall, clocking 16:22, followed by Cole Mullins (11th in 16:25), Grant Hawthorne (26th in 17:12), Landon Mullins (28th in 17:13), and Cole Hutcherson (63rd in 18:19). With these outstanding results, the boys’ team placed third behind Sage Creek and Crawford, and they led Valley Center High School (4th) by a large margin.
“At the state meet we’ll have Casey back on the team, so hopefully, the boys’ will be at full strength,” shares Coach Green. “Because Teresa, Brad, and Connor placed among the top ten finishers in their races they are on the All-CIF team.”
Upcoming Meet:
Saturday, November 24 – CIF State Meet at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA
