David Cardona of North Torrance emerged as the big winner in the South Bay Cup in a meet where many of the other South Bay runners decided to take the day off, even if they eventually ended up running the race.
Kudos for Cardona, pictured to the near-right, for giving a full effort, using every ounce of his energy on a rare hot October day to overtake the Rosales brothers of San Pedro in the final 800 meters, winning in 15:02. Pablo Rosales finished second in 15:08, and David Rosales took third in 15:10.
Chadwick's Kelly Owen, pictured on the far right, won the girls race in 18:24, but admitted she treated the race on the flat 2.9-mile Columbia Park course as more of a workout than a true race. Teammate Jaye Buchbinder finished second in 18:29.
Mira Costa, obviously the deepest girls team in the area, won the girls team title despite a laid-back effort. Savannah Pio and Shadeh Tabatabai acted more as pacesetters for their teammates than runners trying to win a big meet. Pio admitted, "I don't even know my time, it's chill."
At least Mira Costa's big guns ran the race. But is this how far the South Bay Cup has fallen? To not attract all the area's stars is one thing with all the scheduling complications and such. But for most of the participants to coast through the meet is a sad state of affairs in what should be an exciting local meet that pits the Bay, Pioneer, Marine and Prep Leagues in a rare showdown. Teams are missing out on a great meet.
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