Mt. SAC Invitational entries posted, with early race analysis
The entries for the 61st Mt. SAC Invitational have been posted. To find out which teams are competing in which races, click here (PDF file):
And to look at the complete race schedule for Friday and Saturday, click here (PDF file):
Quick observations on some of the races:
Race 64 (8:40 a.m. Saturday) -- Although the Saugus girls' varsity team is scheduled to run at 9:40 a.m., get there in time to see the Centurions compete in the JV national championship race. Although Danielle Hernando will be in Virginia attending a wedding, with Nicole Penick and Alex Hampton free from club soccer conflicts and scheduled to run in this race, Saugus possesses the necessary depth to sweep this event and the varsity sweepstakes race, similar to winning the sweepstakes and rated races at Woodbridge and the frosh/soph and varsity races in Clovis.
Race 66 (9:15 a.m. Saturday) -- Simi Valley's Liberty Miller is the only legitimate local presence in this girls' individual sweepstakes race, but a stellar matchup between Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo's Jordan Hasay and San Clemente's Alex Dunne could unfold.
Race 67 (9:40 a.m. Saturday) -- It will be interesting to see how much resistance, if any, Southern Section Div. I powers Dana Hills of Dana Point, Trabuco Hills of Mission Viejo and Great Oak of Temecula put up against Saugus in the girls' varsity team sweepstakes race.
Saugus clocked an all-time Mt. SAC course record of 89:34 -- with a 52-second separation between the five runners -- at last year's invitational, then returned to lower that mark to 88:22 at the Southern Section Div. I final, with a 38-second gap between No. 1 and No. 5.
West Ranch and Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta are among the 17 teams entered in this race.
Race 68 (10:05 a.m. Saturday) -- Southern Section Div. II heavyweights Loyola and Thousand Oaks square off for the first time in the boys' team sweepstakes race and will be joined by Div. I powers Buchanan of Clovis, Dana Hills of Dana Point and Arcadia.
Race 69 (10:25 a.m. Saturday) -- If the course isn't completely set ablaze by all the fast times being produced in the previous five races, then this field should do the trick.
The big rematch between Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Zack Torres (No. 1 in Div. I) and Foothill of Bakersfield's Chris Schwartz (No. 1 in Div. III) -- they were separated by a second at the Clovis Invitational -- headlines an incredible field that also includes Palma of Salinas' Tyre Johnson (No. 1 in Div. IV), Ayala of Chino Hills' Tyler Reed, Camarillo's Heyden Wooff, Lancaster's Pedro Zaragoza and Saugus' Alec Nelson and Brandon Jauregui.
Race 19 (2:21 p.m. Friday) -- The only reason this race is being mentioned is because Oak Park's Melissa Skiba is competing.
The top-ranked runner in Div. III, who is undefeated this year racing in big meets like Stanford and Clovis, is competing in a varsity race. Not in the Div. III sweepstakes race Friday, or the individual or team sweepstakes Saturday, but in a varsity race. Too bad she won't get an opportunity to compete against some of the elite runners in Div. I and Div. II.
Race 39 (4:56 p.m. Friday) -- La Reina of Thousand Oaks will be tested in the Div. IV sweepstakes race, but the Regents -- led by Sarah Pearson, Rachel Brajkovich and Tara Blanchard -- came through with a strong performance at Clovis, and another one here against a field that features four other state-ranked teams should give them much-needed confidence heading into the final month of the season.
Race 42 (5:36 p.m. Friday) -- Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge, defeated by more than 100 points and nearly four minutes by Woodcrest Christian of Riverside at the Clovis Invitational, will get an opportunity to close the gap on the top-ranked team in Div. V in the sweepstakes race. The Rebels, ranked second in the Southern Section and No. 3 in the state, are one of six state-ranked teams in this field.
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