Friday, October 4th, will mark the 15th running of the modern Palos Verdes Invitational, with the
original meet dating back to circa 1975. The PV Invite is known for a 2-mile course that tackles
the fabled Agony Hill and features one-on-one races so that the #7 runners have their own
race, the #6's, and so on, culminating with the #1 runners showcased on the big stage! The
team champion is crowned by totaling a team's best 5 positions out of the 7 varsity races. So a
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5 is a perfect score. The 2-mile course typically runs about one minute slower
than a 3200m on the track for elite runners.
We can speculate at the lineups we might see on Friday for some highly anticipated showdowns.
The varsity boys' races look to feature a great battle for the team title, which will likely come down to a pair of D2 SS powerhouses. West Torrance (D2 SS #3) and Thousand Oaks (D2 SS #7) each feature three boys who ran under 15 minutes at the Woodbridge Invitational last month. Other highly ranked squads include Cathedral Catholic (D3 SD #2), Flintridge Prep (D5 SS #5), Palos Verdes (D3 SS #6), San Pedro (D1 LA #2), and always competitive Santa Monica and Trabuco Hills programs.
The fastest individual boys could come from any of the top 3 races this year! With The West Torrance trio of Murray (14:32), Mainville (14:50), Parker (14:50) and the Thousand Oaks trio of Mireles (14:17), Cooper (14:43), and Hall (14:52) all capable of challenging the course record of 9:48 set by Palos Verdes legend Jonah Diaz in 2011. Expect strong showings from other top-end talent like Levy of Cathedral Catholic, Ladinig of Palos Verdes, The Donaldson/Amell duo from Santa Monica, and Lee from Trabuco Hills.
The varsity girls' team battle figures to come down to a three-team challenge between the host Palos Verdes (D3 SS #1), Cathedral Catholic (D3 SD #1), and Trabuco Hills (D1 SS #10). Other ranked teams include a partial squad from Harvard-Westlake (D4 SS #1), Laguna Beach (D4 SS #5), and San Pedro (D1 LA #3).
Individually, 5 girls enter this meet having run under 18 minutes for 3 miles this season! The top performer coming in is Scriven of Palos Verdes who posted an eye-popping 16:28 at Woodbridge! PV teammate Steman (17:19), Molina of Costa Mesa (17:19), and the Trabuco Hills duo of Watts (17:53) and Munoz (17:54) add exceptional strength to the girls' fields.
Teams Competing:
Archer - (girls only, no varsity)
Bishop Montgomery
Cabrillo (Long Beach) - (no girls varsity)
Cathedral Catholic
Costa Mesa
Downey
Firebaugh - (no girls varsity)
Flintridge Prep - (no girls)
Harvard-Westlake
Hawthorne - (no varsity)
Laguna Beach - (girls only, no varsity)
Long Beach Poly - (no boys varsity)
Louisville - (no varsity)
Malibu
Mira Costa - (no varsity)
Palos Verdes
San Bernadino
San Pedro
Santa Monica
Silverado
St. Joseph (Lakewood) - (girls only)
St Pius - St Matthias
Thousand Oaks
Trabuco Hills
West Torrance - (no girls varsity)
Wildwood - (no varsity)
Wiseburn - Da Vinci
All-time records for boys and girls are listed on the next two pages.