Expect Fast Times (Again) at Dana Hills

Invitational Section Preview

This is always a tough pair of races to predict, because teams don't always stack their top 7 here (these are the only 2 races of the day that aren't divided by class year). For example, Great Oak sends their top upperclass runners to Roy Griak, going with some young "second 7" types at this meet so don't expect to see Carlos Carvajal or Tori Gaitan and their cohorts on Saturday morning. That would leave Jack Landgraf (Dana Hills) as the top senior in the race, with Marcus Milla (Santiago) and a bunch of talented juniors to push him. Josh O'Neill (Trabuco Hills) and Danny Rubin (Sage Creek) will be very competitive in this race if they don't opt for the separate junior event. Team-wise, everyone wants to see how strong Dana Hills will be this year. If we get full teams from Brea Olinda, Sage Creek, and Canyon this could be a very interesting set of team scores.

The girls' Invitational could be loaded with individual and team contenders, even if the Wolfpack holds out their top girls. Haley Herberg (Capistrano Valley) and Sara Leonard (Canyon) are both state championship caliber runners, and I'd like nothing better than to see Kelli Hines (Mission Viejo) continue racing after being out essentially for an entire year (and she may be in the junior race, anyway). Last year the La Costa Canyon duo of McKenna Brown and Kristin Fahy went 1-2, but their team isn't currently listed on the Invitational lineup, so we'll see if they return for a repeat attempt. In 2016, the host school kept their top girls in grade-level races, but the Dolphins are a team to watch this year and may decide to show it with a top 7 effort in this race. Either way, we should see a renewal of the regular battles between Capo Valley, Canyon, and Mission Viejo, all of whom are capable of winning the team competition in any given race.

Boys Invitational Section Virtual Meet (Full Report)

Girls Invitational Section Virtual Meet (Full Report)