XC Teams Qualify for Championships

Mira Costa senior Kelli Sugimoto scored a third place finish at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA, Saturday to help her team secure second place in Division 2 competition to advance to the CIF Southern Section Ford Cross Country Championships presented by Farmers next Saturday. Sugimoto ran Mt. SAC's new 2.9-mile "rain course," as did all competitors due to the wet weather, in 16:52.

The MCHS boys team advanced to the championships, too, finishing second in its Division 2 heat.

Sugimoto, who ran in a different heat than did Redondo Union High runners Lyndsey Mull, senior, Kayla Ferron, junior, and Rachel Bush, senior, who finished in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 16:52 [for Mull and Ferron] and 16:59, beat Chelsea Totten of Golden Valley by one second.

MCHS senior Jenna Tong took tenth place in the team's heat with a time of 17:24.

As a team, Redondo's girls varsity finished first in its Division 2 heat with 48 points and a team time of 1:26:17. 

The MCHS girls varsity team finished second in its Division 2 heat with 82 points and a team time of 1:28:49. 

The fastest first-place heat times belonged to Paige Tennison, a Newport Harbor junior, at 16:13 in Division 2, Erika Reddish, a Vista Murrieta senior, at 16:47 in Division 1, and Laura Hollander, a Marina High senior, at 16:21 in Division 1.

Palos Verdes senior Rebecca Mehra took first in her Division 3 heat with 16:56.

The MCHS boys varsity team finished second in its Division 2 heat with 100 points and a team time of 1:16:14. Senior Adam Perez finished tenth with a time of 14:48, and senior Zach Adler was the next MCHS runner to cross the finish line, with a time of 15:11.

The Redondo boys team finished fourth in its Division 2 heat with 115 points and a team time of 1:16:41. Junior Evan Malone finished ninth with a time of 14:59, and senior Tyler Caracoza crossed the finish line eight seconds later for 15th place.

The fastest Dvision 2 boys time was achieved by Omar Caro, a Norte Vista junior, at 14:23, who beat out Kyler Fisk, a Tesoro junior, at 14:24.

The Southern Section Championships are scheduled for Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. The top seven teams in each division will advance to the state finals in Fresno, CA.