Southern Section Finals Preview

Nov 22, 2019

DIVISION 5 BOYS - 9:25 am

This should be the closest battle for a team title on the boys' side this weekend! Defending champions, St. Margaret's should have enough firepower to hold off Viewpoint for the title, but if so, it will not be by much! While St. Margaret's headlines with defending champion, Jackson Adelman (at right in photo), with the field so spread out within the top 10, Viewpoint will not fall too far behind in the initial scoring. When comparing both squads to how they competed at the Clovis and Mt. SAC Invites, it will come down to which fifth scorer crosses first. If Calvin Capelle keeps Viewpoint's Ronnie Orosky and Thomas Matthew in his sights, that could prove huge dividends for the Tartans in defending their title. Two freshmen have stepped in to make up for the graduations St. Margaret's experienced last year. With their best team in school history, Viewpoint was fifth a year ago and will easily return back to the second State Meet appearance.

You cannot preview the Division 5 boys' championship without mentioning Flintridge Prep! Led by Bennett Oakes, do not be surprised if they are not too far behind the two favorites. They were runner-up a year ago, and have qualified for the State Meet every year since the Clinton Administration of the 1990s! Meanwhile, one of the most improved squads in the division is the Ben Reasner-led Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica. They were 12th a year ago but project to easily make their way to their first State Meet appearance.

Woodcrest Christian, at full strength, could challenge the two front runners, but without Braulio Alvarez, they will be short-handed in the crusade. James Chebahtah and Steven Martinez will lead the Royals to their third straight trip to Fresno. Making one of the longest drives to compete, Midland is led by twins, Will and Ziggy Goddard. Both are primed to lead their crew to their first State Meet but like last year, the question mark will be the back of their scoring. In 2018, they tied for that last spot to the State Meet but lost on the tie-breaker to Desert Christian of Lancaster. DC and Thacher both seek their sixth trip in the past seven seasons to the State Meet with Winslow Atkeson leading the way for the Toads of Thacher.

Top Individuals

Winslow Atkeson (Thacher)

Jackson Adelman (St. Margaret's)

Calvin Capelle (St. Margaret's)

Will Goddard (Midland)

Ziggy Goddard (Midland)

Ryan Hernandez (St. Matthias/Pius X)

Aidan Jones (Sierra Canyon)

Thomas Matthew(Viewpoint)

Bennett Oakes (Flintridge Prep)

Ronnie Orosky (Viewpoint)

Xander Penaflor (Providence)

Ben Reasner (Pacifica Christian)

DIVISION 1 GIRLS - 9:45 am

One of the top-ranked squads in the United States, Great Oak seeks its unprecedented eighth consecutive Division 1 title and tenth in the past eleven years! Defending individual champ, Tori Gaitan (pictured), who is headed to Northern Arizona, will lead the way as her own (wolf)pack has shown steady improvement to close that gap as the season progressed. Arianna Griffiths had a late start to the season but has regained her previous form sooner than anticipated while Aubrie Nex has come through big in some high profile efforts this season. Veteran and UC-Davis bound Audrey Dang will also seek a top-10 finish.

Also nationally ranked, Saugus made the move to Division 1 this season and will qualify for the State Meet for the 15th year in a row! As they earned EIGHT divisional titles between 2006-2015, this squad is actually better than most of those groups. Hannah Fredericks (pictured) and Haley Rutter have stepped to the plate to lead the Centurions while they wait for Julia Pearson to rejoin this these next two weekends.

The battle for third place is an intriguing one as Vista Murrieta, with a full roster, projects to claim that spot. With Aniya Pretlow and Makayla Fick developing into top-tiered scorers, they look to replicate their peak that we witnessed a year ago (where they almost captured the State Title). This should be VM's 11th consecutive trip to the State Meet. Dalia Frias held back but looked sharp in her return a week ago, as Mira Costa has presented an interchangeable line-up like no other this season. Coached as well as any other squad, they are a lock for a fifth straight trip to Fresno (and 11th in the past 13 seasons).

One of the sleepers in the field that could surprise and move up is San Clemente. With Hana Catsimanes (pictured) garnering most of the headlines, her fellow Tritons have developed quite well, led by Kelsey Yamano. We project them for a top-five finish which would place them in the State Meet for the first time since 2013. In a battle of Orange County powers, Beckman has put all of the pieces together this season, after a 20th place finish in 2018. The Patriots have presented four different top scorers in as many meets as their lineup has been interchangeable this past month. All the while, they have maintained an admirable team scoring-gap that would secure themselves their first-ever trip to the State Meet.

Who will claim that last spot to the State Meet? It will a battle to the end between Ayala, Yucaipa, Aliso Niguel while Trabuco Hills really impressed us last week. We've been impressed by Ayala's development all season long as they return the majority of a squad from a team that finished seventh at the State Meet. With Shaina Berk leading the charge, Yucaipa counters with Danielle Gee up front. A scoring pack that should come across in a sub-15 second scoring gap may very well secure the deal for the Thunderbirds as they seek their first State Meet slot since 2016. Aliso Niguel headlines with Emily Richards, who is one of the most improved girls in the section! Looking to be the spoiler could very well be Trabuco Hills, as Bailey Watts and Anna Munoz continue to prove that they are two of the best in the division. Will their remaining scoring three be enough to leapfrog the other squads? Check in on Saturday for the answer!

Top Individuals

Hana Catsimanes (San Clemente)

Hannah Fredericks (Saugus)

Dalia Frias (Mira Costa)

Tori Gaitan (Great Oak)

Arianna Griffiths (Great Oak)

Maria Hernandez (Santa Ana)

Anna Munoz (Trabuco Hills)

Aubrie Nex (Great Oak)

Emily Richards (Aliso Niguel)

Haley Rutter (Saugus)

Akemi Von Scherr (La Quinta)

DIVISION 4 BOYS - 10:10 am

The Dragons of Foothill Technology are the favorite. This will be their sixth year in a row of qualifying for the State Meet as another title would match the one they earned in 2016. Josh Villasenor and Oliver Pick (pictured) lead the way as both seek top-five finishes. Their only weakness lies in their fifth scorer but this staff always finds a solution in November. This would be the 18th CIF-SS Divisional title for head coach, Ken Reeves, if they pull it off!

Defending champions, Laguna Beach, will be right there with Foothill Tech after two scorers. Logan Brooks and Mateo Bianchi were part of that State Championship squad from a year ago as they will lead their group back to the State Meet. Sam Clark led-South Pasadena was fourth a year ago. Despite graduating the majority of their squad, the Tigers have reloaded, to say the least. As they were not projected as a State Meet squad in August, they've developed their underclassmen as well as anybody. What that, the Tigers have already made reservations for Fresno for a second straight season.

Wilson out of Hacienda Heights has been a pleasant surprise in the Southern Section! Led by first-year athlete Jonathan Zavala, this group had not qualified for the postseason since 2015 and is now slated as a State Meet qualifier! Fillmore was tenth a year ago and headlined by Fabian Del Villar, has been consistent all season long. They, too, project to make the State Meet which would be their first trip since 2012.

Also battling to break into the top five are JSerra and Cathedral. JSerra is led by defending Division IV State Champion and Footlocker National Finalist, Anthony Grover (pictured), who is headed to Wake Forest. While they've done a great developing the talent behind him, he is the heavy favorite to capture the individual title. Cathedral has been a mystery this season and tough to project. Led by Tyriq Granillo, the Phantoms will right in the mix as well. Finally, La Canada has jumped into the State Meet conversation. Led by Sheldon Watanabe, this group has stepped it up from their 22nd place finish in 2018 and the graduation of their top scorer.

Top Individuals

Mateo Bianchi (Laguna Beach)

Logan Brooks (Laguna Beach)

Sam Clark (South Pasadena)

Fabian Del Villar (Fillmore)

Anthony Grover (JSerra)

Bryce Hill (Burroughs, Ridgecrest)

Oliver Pick (Foothill Technology)

Gianni Roberts (Big Bear)

Arend Verfaillie (El Segundo)

Josh Villasenor (Foothill Technology)

Johnathon Zavala (Hacienda Heights Wilson)

DIVISION 5 GIRLS - 10:35 am

St. Margaret's is the favorite to defend its 2018 Division 5 team championship. While this will be their fourth consecutive season of advancing to the State Meet, the freshman Liesel Blau (pictured) has stepped in to take over the lead position for the Tartars. Claire Mullen and Madeleine Arundale headline the pack that should secure another title in 2019.

Linfield Christian has been one of the more pleasant surprises this season as front-running Ryley Burns has received a great support network behind her. Deidre Gorian has been consistent this season as her squad is a lock on a State Meet spot after finishing eighth place last year.

Mia Barnett (pictured at right) seeks her third-straight Division 5 individual title! Last year, she led her Village Christian squad to the State Meet with a seventh-place finish. This season, they project to finish much higher. Right there, also seeking a top-five finish, Xavier College Prep and Molly May are back once again. They finished fifth a year ago. Mia Elliott leads a strong Chadwick squad and should qualify for the State Meet once again while Sage Hill has come on strong over this past month. Kate Miller looks to lead her Lightening back to the State Meet for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Isis Diaz leads her Sierra Canyon squad into the competition. As she qualified as an individual as a freshman in 2018, they seek one of those seven State Meet spots. Cate, led by Anna Disorbo may be the sleeper here and leapfrog several squads into one of those seven invites to Fresno. Another sleeper could very well be Pasadena Poly. Flintridge Prep is looking to defy the odds as well as they have made it a habit in qualifying for the State Meet but this season, look to be outside that bubble. The only time they have not qualified in this century was back in 2009!

Top Individuals

Mia Barnett (Village Christian)

Liesel Blau (St. Margaret's)

Ryley Burns (Linfield Christian)

Isis Diaz (Sierra Canyon)

Anna Disorbo (Cate)

Molly May (Xavier Prep)

Lily Miller (Webb)

Sophie Phinney (Polytechnic Pasadena)

Elizabeth Scott (Viewpoint)

DIVISION 1 BOYS - 11:00 am

Like their female counterparts, Great Oak is the heavy favorite, despite resting several top runners for next week. The nation's top-ranked team has a 'B' team like no other as in the preseason, we projected that their Junior Varsity squad would be ranked second in the division (behind their varsity of course). That still rings true! Austin Montez, John Worthy, the Smith trio (Parker, Carson, and Cameron) along with Leandro Candray and Josh Abrenica will carry the torch during this round!

After crunching the numbers on countless occasions for this division, we came to the same conclusion - not much will separate the squad that finishes second vs. the one that misses a State Meet berth! In a battle of 9-10 squads, Crescenta Valley, La Serna and Burbank have a more 'wiggle room' for error in claiming three of those six spots as they will be battling for runner-up honors. Dylan Wilbur leads the charge for Crescenta Valley as they continue to improve their depth while gaining confidence with every week. Fellow Pacific League foe, Burbank, has come into its own in 2019 with Victor Goli and Andres Leon upfront and is projected for a State Meet berth for the first time since 2011. Meanwhile, La Serna has been one of the more consistent squads, utilizing a tight scoring gap with Gerald Baltzer leading the pacing chores. They seek their first-ever trip to the State Meet, after narrowly finishing in that dreaded eighth-place spot in 2018.

The remaining three spots will be a battle between (and not in any order) Arcadia, California, Long Beach Poly, Mira Costa, Roosevelt, San Clemente, and Vista Murrieta! Yep, we could see any one of these seven squads punching a ticket to the State Meet! With their senior-laden squad, look for Long Beach Poly to secure a spot for the third straight season. Ronan McMahon-Staggs (pictured) will lead the Jack Rabbits in what should be a top-ten finish. We have yet to see Roosevelt's best but Michael Sahagun and Raul Chavez should finish in the top ten. At full strength, Roosevelt could very well be the sleeper in the field! Meanwhile, a healthy Billy Atkinson upgrades Mira Costa's stock as they look to peak just like did last year. San Clemente and Vista Murrieta bring their pack mentalities into the mix as their depth in that fifth scoring slot may make the difference. Lastly, Arcadia has matured as well as any squad this season and will not be overwhelmed as they competed well against Crescenta Valley and Burbank on multiple occasions. California has faded just a bit these past few weeks, but we said the same thing a year ago before they proved us wrong and earned a spot to the State Meet! They almost 'rested' too much last week in claiming the last spot in their heat.