Rancho Cucamonga Girls, San Clemente Boys showcase supremacy with Mt. SAC XC Invite Sweepstakes wins
San Clemente ends 7-year run of boys team Sweepstakes titles for Great Oak, Rancho Cucamonga overcomes win by Gaffney to become first Division 1 girls program to prevail against Wolfpack at Mt. SAC since 2008; Crescenta Valley standout Simmons shines with 14:46 performance
By Landon Negri for DyeStat
WALNUT, Calif. – The dominance of the Great Oak cross country programs in the past 15 years has been such that it’s almost more of a story when the Wolfpack does not dominate.
So on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College, two programs stepped up and broke long Great Oak winning streaks and perhaps asserted that they are now the ones to focus on in the Southern Section come the Division 1 finals on Saturday, Nov. 19.
San Clemente’s boys and Rancho Cucamonga’s girls both swept to Division 1-2 team Sweepstakes victories Saturday at the 74th Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational presented by NIKE.
The Tritons boys snapped a run of seven consecutive wins in combined Division 1-2 races for the Wolfpack, with the Cougars stopping Great Oak’s stretch of 12 straight Division 1 Sweeps titles.
Individually, Crescenta Valley senior Parker Simmons won the Division 1-2 team Sweepstakes crown with the fastest time of the entire two-day meet in 14 minutes, 46 seconds on the 2.93-mile layout, with Great Oak senior Kelli Gaffney keeping the Wolfpack name among the title winners with her Division 1-2 team Sweepstakes victory in 17:33.
Saturday’s team wins were an affirmation of sorts for both Rancho Cucamonga and San Clemente. Ranked #1 in Division 1 by the CIF Southern Section, the Cougars placed their five scoring runners in the top 11.
They doubled down on defeating Corona Santiago by 76 points at last week’s Inland Empire Championships against stronger competition, this time downing Great Oak by a 38-93 margin. Torrey Pines was third with 110 points.
It marked the first time Great Oak had not been the top Division 1 girls program in a Mt. SAC team Sweepstakes race since finishing behind Dana Hills in 2008. The Wolfpack were third overall last year, but finished behind Division 2 programs Mira Costa and Anaheim Canyon, with Rancho Cucamonga placing 13th.
“I think we really lived up to the expectation and hopefully, we can keep our rankings up,” said junior Madilyn Siana, who was fourth in 17:54. “And I think it’s also really a good motivator going into league finals, CIF and State.”
Rancho Cucamonga’s girls are looking to advance to the CIF State Championships for the first time, and the Cougars are showing they’re motivated.
“Never content,” said sophomore Nicole Alfred, who was sixth in 18:10.
Following Alfred for the Cougars were freshman Braelyn Combe (seventh, 18:12), junior Jaden Miura (10th, 18:23) and freshman Malia Reinhold (11th, 18:23).
“Our coaches always say that we have a big target on our back,” Reinhold said. “So that just means that we have to work harder and keep reaching for our goals. We have to pack up as a team and just try to dominate every race.”
Continue reading, includes race videos & interviews, at: dyestat.com
Freshman Cameron Macias, junior Omar Reyes Division 1-2 individual Sweepstakes champions article HERE.
Find more Mt. SAC XC Invite HS meet info HERE, including results, news and more!