Sophomore Takes 2nd at Laguna Hills
By BOB CAMPBELL
In a personal record (PR) time of 15:24, Laguna Beach High School's Matt Neev took second place in the three-mile crosscountry sophomore race at the 26th Laguna Hills High School invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13. Last year, Neev, the defending Orange Coast League champ, began his cross country career by winning the Laguna Hills meet, one of the few that groups competitors by grade rather than time. In pre-season rankings, the LBHS boys were first in CIF and second in the state, while the girls were seventh and eighth, respectively. How well both squads measured up to their rankings remained unclear given the race's atypical format and that key runners rested rather than competed. Still, both squads made respectable showings in their season opener for first-year girls' head coach Steve Lalim and boys' coach Dave Brobeck. After victories at the last two LHIs, the freshman boys came away with a fourth place finish, while the frosh girls took fifth. The junior boys also captured fifth, with both sophomore squads finishing seventh. The junior girls and both senior squads did not start the minimum of five runners needed to record a team score. Jeff White led the freshman team, finishing 17th out of 185 runners with a time of 18:04. He was followed closely by George Sadler (18:20, 22nd). The closeknit trio of Joseph Rosseau (18:46, 37th), Adam Kravitz (18:53, 41st) and Nick Austin (19:04, 45th) completed the scoring for the Breakers. White, Sadler and Rosseau earned medals for placing among the top 40. Natasha Strickland, whose 20:34 in her first race earned her an impressive 10th place finish out of 166 competitors, led the freshman girls. Marissa Merchant (20:36) was right on her heels in 13th. Taylor Kahn (22:12, 38th), Hannah Jonus (22:26, 43rd) and Tori Toma (22:38, 49th) rounded out the top five. Strickland, Merchant and Kahn brought home medals. Tommy Newton-Neal paced the junior boys with a 15th place finish. His 16:09 smashed his PR by more than a minute. Alex Young (17:04, 32nd), who carved 30 seconds off his own PR, followed Newton-Neal. Blake Hofmeister (17:14, 38th), Jake Johnson (17:25, 43rd) and Sean Mulville (17:55, 55th) rounded out the scoring five. Newton- Neal, Young and Hofmeister earned medals for their efforts. Following Neev for the sophomore boys were Aaron Swartz (17:38, 45th), Kevin McQuaid (18:03, 51st), Wyatt Fair (18:23, 60th) and Alec Toro (19:19, 99th). Neev also medaled. Sophie Radach (21:43, 40th) medaled for the second straight year at this event, knocking 1:25 off last year's time in the process. She was followed closely by Alex Kempler (21:50, 48th). Beverly Ronses (22:11, 53rd), Carly Savage (22:19, 55th) and Austin Schlatter (22:20, 56th) finished in a pack to complete the scoring for the sophomore team. Senior Horacio Acosta, a recent transfer from Division I Santa Ana, ran on a sore calf and still managed a 16:35, good enough for 26th place and a medal in his first race for the maroon and white. When healthy, Acosta figures to be a top two or three varsity runner. Also medaling was senior Jordan Festa (17:04, 38th).
This weekend, Brobeck and 12 of his top varsity runners are in Oahu, Hawaii, for the Iolani Invitational. The remainder of the Breaker boys and girls will be at the Woodbridge Invitational on Saturday at Woodbridge High School in Irvine.
