The buzz in the running community over the summer was about the future of two South Bay runners. Is Leuzinger's Jose Lezama, the reigning Daily Breeze Runner of the Year, coming back this year? And what about Mira Costa star runner Kevyn Murphy, a two-time Runner of the Year?
Lezama is indeed back, and maybe the bigger surprise is that he's still at Leuzinger. The Centinela Valley School District decided to drop all non-football fall sports, so there was talk Lezama might end up at another Bay League school and that he had been running with Redondo over the summer. But Leuzinger coach Erich Tucker decided to stay on in a volunteer position, meaning the Olympians will run for another year and Lezama is primed to defend his Bay League title.
The bad news is that Murphy has decided to sit out her senior season. This is a sad situation for both parties. Murphy misses out on a chance to shine in her senior season after an injury-plagued junior campaign, and a deep, talented Mira Costa team loses one of the Southland's top runners. Not that her presence would have made much of a difference with Saugus moving down to Division II, essentially squashing Mira Costa's hopes of a CIF or state title. Mira Costa's still got the deepest girls team in the area, bar none, with Shadeh Tabatabai, Savannah Pio, Aryn Foland and Aleyna LeCroix providing a fearsome foursome, but it would have been nice to add Murphy to the mix.
Woodbridge is this weekend, and the Bay League season kicks off next Thursday at the Palos Verdes course.
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