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Seaside Invitational RecapPublished by
Great Oak makes the most of its beach trip
By Erik Boal, Dyestatcal Editor
Great Oak’s first trip to the Seaside Invitational left a lasting impression on coaches, runners and spectators alike Friday at San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura County.
The state’s top-ranked girls team delivered the most dominant showcase in meet history, highlighted by an exceptional individual effort from junior Destiny Collins.
Great Oak had 11 girls break 18 minutes on the flat 3-mile course, led by a meet-record 15 minutes, 58.3 seconds from Collins, who wasn’t just keeping up with the pace bike, but running stride for stride with it during the majority of the race.
 Although there have been several adjustments and modifications to the scenic course since former Thousand Oaks star Kim Mortensen set the meet record of 16:35 in 1995, there was no debating just how special Collins’ performance was, as she battled windy conditions to lead a Wolfpack sweep of the top three spots – along with Emily Clause (17:24.6) and Desi Stinger (17:26.8) – in the junior race.Of the 959 boys who competed in the four grade races at Seaside, only 68 – or 7 percent – ran faster than Collins.
Palisades’ Marissa Williams followed Collins’ feat with an equally significant achievement in the senior race, securing her third consecutive Seaside title in 15:59.8, an improvement of more than 40 seconds from her junior mark last season that threatened Mortensen’s former record.
Great Oak sophomores Kiyena Beatty (17:03.5) and Evelyn Mandel (17:05.8) had the third- and fourth-fastest girls times of the day, followed by Malibu senior Caroline Pietrzyk (17:06.7) – runner-up to Williams for the second year in a row – and Great Oak senior Audrey Wallis (17:21).
The combined efforts of Collins, Beatty, Mandel, Wallis and Clause produced an ominous team time of 84:53 for Great Oak, an average of 16:58 per runner.
Moorpark, which received strong performances from Michelle Magnani (17:29.1), Beth Wade (18:04.6) and Morgan Gilmore (18:20.6), had the second-fastest team time at 92:48, nearly eight minutes behind the Wolfpack, which prevailed by a 21-180 margin over the Musketeers in the combined team scoring.
Quartz Hill had a lower combined score of 163, but Moorpark had a cumulative team time that was eight seconds faster than the Rebels.
Great Oak also had Maiya Larsen (17:27.6), Taylor Walker (17:42.1), Sydney Belus (17:46.4), Alyssa Ungrady (17:58.4) and freshman champion Sandra Pflughoft (17:51.7) all eclipse the 18-minute barrier.
Although Great Oak’s boys were also the deepest team among the more than 40 schools in attendance – producing a combined team time of 75:22 – the top individual honors went to Agoura’s Michael Powell, who won the senior race in 14:44.1.
Despite resting two of its most talented runners, Great Oak still held a 51-91 edge over Agoura, but Powell’s performance helped propel the Chargers to the No. 2 team time of 76:14.
Nick Doan was second in the senior race behind Powell in 14:48.1 for the Wolfpack, which had Spencer Dodds – a Torrey Pines transfer – win the junior race in 14:53 and Solomon Fountain capture the sophomore title in 15:05.9.
Cole Spencer, Great Oak’s No. 4 overall runner, was fourth in the junior race in 15:14.8. Anthony Arvizu, the Wolfpack’s No. 5 finisher, took 12th in the senior race in 15:20.9.
Agoura’s Cole Hoff (15:11.6) and Logan Grove (15:16.2) supported Powell by placing third and fifth in the junior race. Senior Ross Husch (15:23.3) and junior Martin Wilson (15:38.9) were the Chargers’ fourth and fifth runners overall.
Quartz Hill had an impressive day to take third overall with 101 points and a team time of 76:28.
Jarred Gregory-Grimes was fifth in the senior race in 14:57 for the Rebels, who had a runner place in the top five at each grade level.
Travis Cetti was second in the junior race in 15:06.9, David Moreno took second in the sophomore race in 15:07.7 and Cade Ruble finished third in the freshman race in 15:39.1.
Rio Mesa’s Jimmy Fitzgerald was third in the senior race in 14:53.6, followed closely by Moorpark’s Garet Kaul (14:54.6), as eight boys broke 15 minutes.
Dos Pueblos’ Josh McGregor secured the freshman victory in 15:34.1. |
