Having been contested as a smaller meet in the past, the Central Park Invitational now has its
strongest field of teams to date. The 3 mile race is held at Huntington Beach Central Park, a
popular course that hosts several OC league meets. Let's take a look at the varsity races...
Boys Varsity Preview
Last years race was won by Jorge Suarez of Santa Ana in 15:18. This year Suarez returns as a
senior and is looking to win again, however it won't be easy as 7 other runners hold a faster
season PR. An advantage he holds over Ethan Comeaux of Redondo is that the course is used
for his league meets. This may give Suarez an edge if it comes down to a tactical race. Katella
senior Abraham CoCo Gonzales looks to be riding his wave of good racing into the meet. He
ran 14:43 last weekend at Dana Hills as well as 15:00 at Woodbridge. Team title contenders
Newport Harbor boasts a trio of runners who could steal the spotlight. Reigning Sunset League
Champion, Ben Wilson, along with teammates Alexis Garcia and Mark Field also know the
course very well, having already raced it once this year as well as twice last year. Arcadia High
School is making the trip down and does not want to leave without taking home the team title.
The Apaches are currently ranked 8th in CIF-SS Division 1 and have a 38 second split between
runners 1 and 5. Another ranked team competing is Sultana who is #4 in the Division 3
rankings. For the small schools race, Jacob Smith from Pacifica is the clear favorite, having run
14:35 this season. The real battle is that for second place, containing Jonathan Lee and Elias
Opsahl. Both runners have sub 15 PR's. South Torrance and Sunny Hills both have team splits
under 30 seconds so expect it to be a tactical race.
Girls Varsity Preview
Claire Graves and Akemii Von Scherr headline the girls race as both have run under 17 minutes
on the season. The freshman Von Scherr has dominated the loaded fields she's competed in
and has gotten the best of the big names, Claire Graves wants to change that. We know Rylee
Penn of Corona Centennial has speed on the track after she ran 2:07 last spring, but she looks
to make a case for herself in the world of cross. The junior looks primed to bounce back from a
somber 48th place finish at Woodbridge just two weeks ago. Holly Lung of Arcadia has had a
slow start as well this season after running 16:45 last season as a junior. She has the potential
to move up this race and give a much needed boost the Lady Apaches who are currently ranked
#3 in CIF-SS Division 1. Arcadia's girls team will be racing the clock as their 5th runner has a
faster PR than Fountain Valley's fastest runner. The Lady Barons are currently ranked #7 in
Division 1 and have impressed throughout the beginning of their surprise season. In the small
schools race, we should be in store for a close finish. The top 5 girls are all within 10 seconds of
each others PR's. No ranked teams or individuals are featured for the lower division race. On
the team side, Sunny Hills and El Segundo will be battling out for 1st place.
