Southern Section Division V Boys Outlook
Projecting the boys, especially in regard to the teams projected to qualify to the State Meet, is even more challenging! But, in viewing the top individuals, some new faces will emerge from the crowd, especially with the vast development that we will witness with boys from the 2019 Cross Country season. Let's glance back at some of the top talents in Division 5 from this past track season.
Jackson Adelman of St. Margaret's the CIF-SS Division 5 title back in 2019 - who will take his place in 2021?
Junior Alex Alvarez of La Salle comes in with the fastest 3200-meter time from this past spring, as he peaked with a 9:41.00 at the Division 4 CIF Finals. Alvarez also came through with a 4:30.82 for the 1600 meters.
At the Division 4 CIF Prelims St. Margaret's Everett Capelle shined with his 9:45.51 seasonal best. Along with his 4:36.92 this past May, Capelle finished the season ranked amongst the top 10 in the Southern Section for all freshmen in both events!
Keep your eyes and up and coming junior from Chadwick in Joshua Thomas. The No. 2 returner from the 2019 CIF-SS XC Finals, he left the 2021 track season with an impressive runner-up 4:20.71 finish at the Division 4 CIF Finals. He also possesses sub-1:59 speed -- unmatched by anybody else coming into the 2021 Cross Country scene for Division 5.
Burbank's Providence High is led by Xander Penaflor. The senior comes in from a solid track season with 4:41/9:55 credentials. Reflecting back to the 2019 Finals, Penaflor is the fourth-fastest returner. Also, keep your eyes out for Brent Roetcisoender of Desert Christian (Lancaster). Two weeks ago, he rolled to a huge personal best of 9:49 for 3200 meters in a time trial against one of the top squads in the Southern Section.
In regard to the top teams in Division 5, Flintridge Prep ran to a 100-116 victory over St. Margaret's at the 2019 Finals. Despite taking third with 131 points, Viewpoint came back to capture the State title a week later in Fresno!
St. Margaret's will be there once again for a State Meet berth. Led by the aforementioned Capelle, we are looking to also see the return of junior Kevin Shen. He shined as the top freshman with his 17th place finish from the 2019 finals and would be the top returner from that race. Even more impressive was his 23rd place finish at the State Meet in a stellar 16:26.
With Thomas leading Chadwick, longtime coach George Ramos is welcoming the return back to Mt. SAC as the section championship course. Four seniors with postseason experience from 2019 will back up Thomas and make the Dolphins a definite threat for a State Meet berth.
Also watch for Windward, located in Santa Monica. Senior Ben Weitz (4:42/10:25) and Luke Zanuck (4:37/10:24) bring in success from the 2019 finals and if they find those back-end scorers, the team will be in the mix for their first-ever State Meet berth.
Led by Penaflor, Providence is the other team (along with Windward) that return three boys coming in with sub-5:00 efforts this past spring for the 1600 meters. Junior Aidan Urbina impressed with a lifetime best of 10:00.11 this past spring. Like all squads in Division 5, those qualifying for the State Meet will be the ones that find those crucial fourth and fifth scorers!
Make no mistake, Flintridge Prep will be in the mix for another top-five spot as they have qualified for the State Meet every year ... this century and even as far back as 1997! The lack of stats from this past year put aside, they have only finished outside the top three in ONE of those seasons and have the strongest run over the past 25 years of any team in any division!
Viewpoint will also be back in the hunt after qualifying for the State Meet in 2018 and 2019. Thacher has been a mainstay on the Division 5 landscape in qualifying to Fresno in November in 11 of the past 13 postseasons.
Also, watch for Pacifica Christian from Newport Beach along with the likes of Xavier College Prep from Palm Desert to be in the hunt for those seven spots to the 2021 California State Championships! Xavier Prep looks to begin a new run that saw them qualify for the State Meet from 2010 to 2018.
