West Ranch runners recognized for their efforts

After posting the No. 4 team time Friday at the Seaside Invitational, the West Ranch girls' cross country team gave the Foothill League a total of three entries in this week's Southern Section polls, with Saugus firmly established as the top-ranked in Div. II and Canyon of Canyon Country holding onto No. 10 in the same division.

Highlighted by strong performances from Bailey Miller, Jennifer Owen and Ashley Welker, the Wildcats took over the No. 10 spot in the Div. I rankings. Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta moved from No. 9 to No. 6 after placing six runners in the top eight in its season-opening quad meet with Camarillo, Newbury Park and Golden Valley. (Newbury Park's Jenny Mallen won in 18:56 at Mission Oaks Park).

West Ranch's team time at Seaside finished behind Saugus, Trabuco Hills (No. 2 in Div. I) and unranked Martin Luther King of Riverside, although the Wildcats would've prevailed over King had the meet been based on invitational scoring, the determining factor at the Southern Section and state finals.

There were no changes in Div. II from the preseason rankings to this week's poll, with Simi Valley (No. 5) and Newbury Park (No. 8) joining Saugus and Canyon.

Oak Park, which received a huge effort Friday from junior Melissa Skiba (17:11 at Seaside), remained No. 3 in Div. III behind Foothill of Santa Ana and South Hills of Covina.