* Great Oak's Gabriel Rodriguez was fourth in the boys Division 1-2-3 team sweepstakes race on Saturday at the Mt. SAC Invitational
Photo Credit: Raymond Tran/MileSplit
By Tomoki Chien - California MileSplit
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This past weekend's Mt. SAC Invitational was missing some key runners, but it nonetheless saw its share of strong performances ahead of the fast-approaching section championships.
Here are three takeaways coming out of the meet.
Great Oak looks strong
The Great Oak boys managed to repeat their Mt. SAC title by running off with an 88-point win in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes, 28 points ahead of San Clemente's second-place finish. The Wolfpack have now won all three of their head-to-head matchups with the Tritons this season.
But don't jump to any conclusions before the state meet. San Clemente senior Brett Ephraim -- who leads his squad's effort to challenge Great Oak for the CIF Division I state championship -- was able to secure the individual title, 12 seconds ahead of Great Oak's top runner, senior Gabriel Rodriguez.
The two seem to be locked in their own rivalry and last weekend's race only added to their seemingly perpetual back-and-forth.
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Dailey wows again
What's better than winning one of the season's biggest meets? Winning that same meet ... by 30 seconds.
La Jolla sophomore Chiara Dailey laid waste to the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes race with a time of 16:52 that was half a minute ahead of the next runner and nearly a full minute ahead of the runner after that.
It was the second straight win at Mt. SAC for Dailey, who will no doubt be pleased that she managed to best her time from last season by six seconds.
She's now won five of the seven meets she's competed at this year and set a total of five personal records. Watch Dailey closely at the state meet; she could do something special.
Perez on the rise
No surprises here. Emmanuel Perez, the Cathedral senior, clocked a time of 14:38 to win the Division 3-4-5 individual sweepstakes race, posting the fastest time of the weekend.
His season-long rivals -- Ventura's Anthony Fast Horse and Dana Hills' Evan Noonan -- didn't compete at the meet. But it was no doubt a much-needed win for Perez, having fallen just short of gold to those two at the ASICS Clovis Invitational and Woodbridge Cross Country Classic.
Perez will enter the Southern Section prelims -- and presumably the state meet -- as the clear favorite to win the CIF Division IV title.
His win this weekend will no doubt give him a mental boost in his remaining state competition and is a good addition to his resume as he looks to make a statement on the national stage in December.
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A great mix of successes on Day 2 of the Mt. SAC Invite