Week 3 Highlights: Woodbridge, De La Salle/Carondelet, Movin' Shoes!

Jeff George

Woodbridge Classic


It's actually pretty hard to know where to start with this meet. With over 10,000 performances across the two days, including 13 of the top 20 boys 3 Mile times and the TOP TEN girls 3 Mile times in the state so far this season!  Despite that, we can single out some of the athletes that were the "best of the best" on Friday and Saturday night in Norco.



On the boys' side, two runners from Northern California invaded the Southern Section and took the top two spots in the Sweepstakes Race. Familiar foes Luis Grijalva (Armijo) and Cooper Teare (St. Joseph Notre Dame) battled all the way to the finish, both breaking 14 minutes in the process.  Grijalva prevailed with a time of 13:58.0, with Teare coming through in 13:59.6.  The second pack was about 10 seconds behind, led by two out-of-state runners: Reed Brown (TX) and Jaiden Melendez (AZ). Right on their heels came two up-and-coming stars, junior Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos (Cathedral Catholic) and Fresno senior Evert Silva - and it's possible that both have already arrived after Saturday's race. Colorado teams claimed the top two spots in the team scoring, with Great Oak finishing 3rd and tops among California squads.  West Ranch finished 5th overall, the only other Golden State school to make the top 7.



The Girls Sweepstakes Race was just as amazing, although it lacked an individual battle up front.  That's because Brie Oakley (CO) dominated, clocking an eye-popping 15:53.6 as she pulled steadily away, causing the rest of the lead girls to string out as well.  Claudia Lane (Malibu) continued to prove that she's a true state meet contender (and the most improved runner in the state?), finishing 2nd in 16:16.7 to stay on top of the California 3 Mile rankings. Fellow sophomore Chloe Arriaga (Walnut) finished 4th behind Texan Julia Heymach.  The race was so fast that athletes who didn't make the top 10 still ran top 10 times for the season!  This was a breakout race for Meagen Lowe (Buchanan), who posted a 16:44.9 to take 6th place, going toe-to-toe with established runners like Haley Herberg and other rising stars such as Lauren Peurifoy.  Also, the success continued for Mikaela Ramirez (Ayala) and Akemi Von Schurr (La Quinta), two future stars whose futures might arrive sooner than expected. Led by identical 16:49.8 times from Evelyn Mandel and Nicole Rice, Great Oak's girls finished 2nd in the team scores behind Desert Vista (AZ).  Buchanan was the next California team in the Sweepstakes scoring, taking 5th behind top teams from Texas and Colorado.  They held off a strong performance by Yucaipa, with Arcadia and Homestead also cracking the top 10.  



The Rated races at Woodbridge are as good as the top varsity races at most California invitationals, and it would be a mistake to overlook those performances.  Stuart Kendall (Foothill Santa Ana) held off Ethan Comeaux (Redondo Union) for the Rated Boys individual title, as El Toro took the team title by a score of 149-185 over Bloomington. El Toro's performance was good enough to rate among the top 10 CA teams overall when you combine all the races!  Allie Schadler (AZ) dominated in the Rated Girls race, but she pulled El Toro's Hannah Tobin to a big PR of 17:02.  Great Oak's 8-14 girls were strong enough to take the team title, beating Foothill Santa Ana by 5 seconds (163-168), with Esperanza another 3 seconds back.



Several other teams are worthy of recognition for outstanding performances that did not come in the Rated or Sweepstakes races.  West Torrance's boys lit up the course on Friday night in the Red Division Varsity B Race, posting the 7th-best performance of a California team from the meet overall.  Carson Bix powered his team to victory with an individual win in 14:58.1. Arcadia ran without Jasmine He in the Sweeps race, but she broke 18 while winning the Blue Division Varsity B race for her season debut, and if you plug her in the Apaches grade out a strong 4th among all the home state teams in the meet.  Finally, Great Oak's girls showed incredible depth - in addition to their 2nd place in Sweeps and 1st in Rated, they also won the Blue Varsity B race and finished 7th in the Blue Varsity A.



More Woodbridge Classic Coverage