Wolfpack not only wins boys and girls overall team competitions, but demonstrates depth by having fastest lineup in all eight grade races; Harvard-Westlake’s Quintero sisters both secure victories 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

It was a return to an old venue Friday for the Seaside Invitational and it was a recurring theme when it came to the performances of the Great Oak CA cross country program.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

The meet’s 29th edition was held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds for the first time since 2002 after being showcased the past 15 years at nearby San Buenaventura State Beach.

But despite the course running slightly longer than the traditional 3 miles – several coaches measured the distance anywhere from 3.05 to 3.09 miles – and the majority of the terrain outside of a long stretch adjacent to the beach uneven with a lot of gravel, the Wolfpack had little difficulty controlling the pace with both genders and showcasing impressive depth at all four grade levels.

In addition to prevailing in the overall boys and girls team competitions – relying on the five fastest performers in each gender, regardless of grade – Great Oak further demonstrated its dominance by having the victorious lineup in all eight grade races.

Great Oak senior Tyler Tickner led all athletes by winning the boys senior race in 14 minutes, 46.5 seconds, leading a top-five sweep for the Wolfpack, a feat also achieved in the boys junior and sophomore races for the program as well.

Junior teammate Gabe Abbes won for the third year in a row at Seaside, adding to his freshman and sophomore victories at San Buenaventura State Beach by also eclipsing the 15-minute barrier at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, clocking 14:51.4 to help Great Oak produce the top 10 boys times overall, all under 15:40.

Mateo Joseph also won the boys sophomore race in 15:41.4 and Carson Smith (16:40.2) held off Agoura’s Ethan Godsey (16:43) to prevail in the boys freshman race for the Wolfpack.

Great Oak junior Arianna Griffiths was the fastest overall female performer, running 17:01.1 to win her race by more than a minute.

Although the Wolfpack wasn’t able to match the depth of the boys team by sweeping the top five spots in any girls races, Great Oak produced seven of the top 10 times overall, even more impressive considering senior Fatima Cortes and junior Tori Gaitan both attended the meet but didn’t race.

Harvard-Westlake sisters Natalia and Daniela Quintero were the only other female athletes to break 18 minutes. Natalia Quintero, a sophomore, clocked 17:50.8 to secure her second Seaside victory and freshman Daniela Quintero, making her high school debut, also prevailed in 17:52.3.

The Wolverines, with their top five competitors all underclassmen, finished second in the girls overall team competition by a 27-57 margin behind Great Oak, a significant achievement for the Division 4 program.

Rio Mesa junior Elisse Weinerth (18:18.2) surged past Great Oak’s Audrey Dang (18:21.8) in the final 100 meters to place second in the girls junior race behind Griffiths, as only five female athletes ran under 18:30 on the day.

Moorpark’s Nevaeh Walla, fourth last year in the junior competition, won the girls senior race in 18:50.3 to help the Musketeers finish third overall as a team with 76 points.

Ryan Koepnick was sixth in the boys junior race and 11th overall in 15:40.8 for Agoura, which overcame the absence of one of its top runners to still place second as a team with 88 points, ahead of Royal (117) and Harvard-Westlake (127).