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| Tustin High School |
| Cross Country |
| Homepage - 1998 |
Welcome to the Tustin High School Cross Country Homepage for 1998. Please feel free to come in and look around. Tustin High is located in Southern California. To see our 1997 season, please click here. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email the Webmasters at mlythsxc@aol.com (Michael Yang) or need4spdz@aol.com (Daniel Yang). To all you runners out there, have a great season and see you on the race course!
Boys End a Great Season at the Finals
November 21, 1998 - Mt SAC, Walnut
Running early in the morning, the Tustin boys finished 12th place in the CIF-SS Division 2 Finals. The team, although they did not qualify for the state meet, put out their best effort in the race. The team was led by Leo Gordillo who finished 17th in a field of over a hundred runners. His time was 16L09. Following Gordillo was fellow senior Ryan Dedmon who finished with a time of 16:54 and placed 47th. Junior Francisco Martinez was Tustin's third runner finishing 75th in 17:34. Alonso Smith, normally Tustin's first or second runner, was a bit sick on the days coming up to the race. The sophomore finished 84th in 17:49. Freshman Edrick Sneed, a runner to definitely watch next season, placed 91st with a time of 18:10. He was closely followed by junior Joel Massey and senior Michael Yang who finished 93rd with a time of 18:14 and 94th with a time of 18:15 respectively.
It has been a great season full of fun and challenge alike. I want to say thanks to Coach Coffey, Guzman, Bickley, and Waltner for guiding me through the past four years of my life. You have been a great influence on my life and I will never forget you or the lessons you have taught me. - Michael
Girls Conclude an Awesome Season,Varsity Boys Advance to Finals
November 14, 1998 - Mt SAC, Walnut
The varsity girls team finished an awesome season today finishing 7th at the CIF-SS preliminaries. Leading the team were Freshman Tina Loney and Sophomore Meredi Gorton. Senior Kelly Dickerson, normally Tustin's top runner, finished 3rd after being out the previous week with an eye infection. They were followed by Jennifer Flint, Stephanie Wyatt, Jessica, and Misty. Although the team loses top runner Kelly Dickerson next year, the girls should have a formidable team with everyone else returning.
The Tustin boys, however, advanced to the CIF-SS finals next week finishing 4th in their heat today. Scoring 127, Tustin finished behind Katella, Agoura, and South Torrance. This advancement to next week race marks the 19th time our of the past 21 years Tustin has put at least one team in the finals. Alonso Smith finished first for the boys. He was followed closely by Leo Gordillo and Ryan Dedmon. Next were Francisco Martinez, Joel Massey, Michael Yang, and Edrick Sneed. Tustin will race next week in the Division 2 race at 8:30 in the morning at Mt. SAC.
Boy and Girls Finish Second, CIF Pre-Lims Awaits
October 30, 1998 - Central Park, Huntington Beach
Central Park.
Huntington Beach.
Six teams.
The Golden West League Finals.
Six teams racing and three openings in the CIF berth, the Golden West League Finals proved to be a formidable race for both the girls and the boys team. The girls found strong opposition from Santa Ana and Rosary, both of which they had lost to, Rosary in a sixth runner tie breaker. But the girls pushed out ahead and was able to surpass Rosary this time. Tustin finished second behind Santa Ana and advances to the CIF Pre-Lims at the infamous Mt. SAC course in two weeks.
The boys did just as well, beating Saddleback this time by three points, but losing to the Santa Ana Saints. Alfonso Leon, the top runner in Orange County, won the race in 15:06. He was followed by teammate Salgado (15:38) and Tustin's Leo Gordillo (15:53). The next Tustin runners to finish was Alonso Smith (8th, 16:15) and Ryan Dedmon (12th, 16:36). They were followed closely by Francisco Martinez (12th, 17:12), Joel Massey (23rd, 17:22), Michael Yang (26th, 17:41) and Hever Hernadez (28th).
Both Tustin teams ran, in Coach Coffey's word, a "smart race." Both the girls' and boys' team ran conservatively at the beginning and gradually picking up the pace. Indeed, four of Tustin's runners were at the back end of the race in the first half mile. Special team trophies for outstanding performances in today's meet were given to Stephanie Wyatt and Edgar Sepulvada.
Girls do well, Boys run short-handed (err... short-legged)
October 24, 1998 - Mt. San Antonia College (Mt. SAC), Walnut
Earlier this week, Tustin faced league-rival Saddleback in a duo meet. The Varsity Girls ran there race and beat Saddleback by two points. The Varsity Boys, however, ran short-handed and lost there race by a few points. Lead runner Leo Gordillo had injured his leg earlier that week in a practice.
With Leo out, the Tustin Boys were hit with even more bad news when it was announced that their race would be in the afternoon. Several of the runners were expecting the race to take place in the early or mid-morning enabling them to participate in the Edison Model United Nations conference that day. Therefore, several of the runners opted not to run the meet and instead attend the MUN conference. Even then, the team kept their heads high and finished well in all their races.
The Meet of all Meets
October 17, 1998 - Irvine Park
Anyone who is anyone was at Irvine Park today for the Orange County Cross Country Invitational. As some may recall, this race was cancelled last year due to a brush fire in the area, forcing Foothill High School, host of the meet, to call off the annual event. But this year the race was on and so were Tustin's runners.
Racing in the gold division, the Varsity Boys finished fifth in the field of twelve teams and 15th overall in all the days races. Winning the race was El Toro with 103 points and coming in second was Santiago with 118. Tustin had 155 points. The Varsity Girls did extremely well capturing the second place trophy in the silver division. They came very close to the title being edged by only three points by Estancia High School. Finally, congratulations go out to Alonso Smith who made the Sophomore All-County Team this year!
Perhaps the most stunning upset came in the Seeded race, not to Tustin but rather Santa Ana High School. Going into the race as the third ranked team in the nation by Newsweek, they were expected to easily win the Championship title. However, Katella High School cut Santa Ana's victory celebration short finishing with only 52 points. The Knights were able to place there top five runners in the top 17 places in the race. Santa Ana, who ran very uncharacteristically today especially with stunning victories this season in both the Laguna Hills Invitational and the Woodbridge Invitational, finished a distant second with 90 points.
On the Road Again
October 9-10, 1998 - Woodward Park, Fresno
Twenty select members of Tustin Cross Country and twenty more from Villa Park Cross Country spent six hours in a sleek recliner bus to Fresno. This was part of their annual trip to the Clovis Cross Country Invitational. On their way up, the runners watched highlight videos from Tustin's previous seasons and the movie Prefontaine, the man that made NIKE what it is today.
Both the Tustin team and the Villa Park team placed well in the large schools division with the Tustin boys team finishing 16th in a field of over 30 schools and the girls finishing 12th place. Both teams were in high spirits as they boarded the bus for home.
Tustin Sees Promise in Future Teams
October 1, 1998 - Tustin High School
Tustin raced in there third league meet today against the top-seeded Santa Ana Saints. The Tustin Boys Varsity team lost 17-45 against what many coaches are calling the top team in the state. Nevertheless, Tustin put on a good fight and finished the race with the dignity they brought into meet. Leo Gordillo finished fourth with a time of 16:07 behind Santa Ana's Leon (15:26), Pena (15:26), and Salgado (15:51). The next Tustin runner was Ryan Dedmon who finished eighth with a time of 16:47. Leo and Ryan were closely followed by teammates Joel Massey (11, 17:11), Michael Yang (14, 17:45), and Francisco Martinez (16, 17:55). With these times, Tustin should easily win their next league meet against Ocean View High School at Central Park, home of the Golden West League Finals course.
In the boys frosh/soph race, Alonso Smith, sophomore, won the race with a time of 16:44 giving him the second fastest Tustin time of the day. Behind him was Edrick who finished sixth with a time of 17:55. Finishing eighth was Tustin's Edgar who ran a time of 18:33. With these runners leading the way, Tustin's future looks very bright in the coming seasons.
The Tustin's Girls Varsity team also lost to Santa Ana in a bitter-sweet race. The entire race took a wrong turn on the track before the one mile mark. However, the race continued since the turn just took the race backwards on a loop of the track and did not affect the distance or outcome of the race. Kelly Dickerson was Tustin's top female runner finishing third in the race. She was followed by teammates Meredi Gorton and Tina.
Last Saturday, the Tustin team went to the Dana Hills Invitational. The team performed exceptionally well with most runners improving their personal records by thirty seconds to a full minute.
Tustin will get a break this Saturday, but next week they will travel with Villa Park High School to Woodward Park in Fresno for the Clovis Invitational. The team will leave Friday and race on Saturday morning. The Clovis Invitational is unique in that the California State Cross Country Meet is held on the same course. Two years ago, Tustin raced to a Division 3 State Runner-up title on this course.
Tustin High School Cross Country Team - 1998
Tiller Girls Race With Added Inspiration
September 24, 1998 - Westminster
The week of September 20, 1998 certainly proved to be a tough one for the Tiller girls both mentally and physically. While fighting through a tough interval workout on Monday the girls learned of the untimely death of a local running legend Florence Griffith Joyner. The team was stunned by the news but decided then that they would dedicate the rest of their races to Flojo. I know that I speak for the entire running community when I say that we will truly miss the inspiration that Flojo has given us.
We continued to fight through the week but were faced with some more bad news on Tuesday. Our coach Jami Bickley announced that her good friend had been seriously hurt in an automobile accident. Once again we were rather shaken up but we promised to pray for Sara and continue to run to the best of our ability.
When race day finally came, ( The 10 year anniversary of Flojo's record setting 200 meter race in 1988. ) the girls arrived at the Westminster/Rosary/Servite Double Duo Meet with positive attitudes and optimistic hopes. We wore black ribbons on our shoes in honor of Flojo and in prayer for Sara. The coaches told us that it would be a close race with Rosary but we knew we could handle the challenge. After an inspirational pre-race prayer led by Stephanie, Kelly and myself we hit the starting line. While we lost the race to Rosary on a tie-breaker,this race was certainly proof of the positive focus that the Tiller girls share. This article was not meant to be depressing. It is important for others to know that we will continue to train and improve each week all the while keeping those that we have lost in our hearts. Watch out League Finals 'cause Tustin's moving up! -Jennifer
PS: We're praying for you Sara!
Tillers Blast Through the Woodbridge
September 19, 1998 - Woodbridge, Irvine
The Tustin team competed in the annual Woodbridge Invitational which attracted 130 of the top teams in southern California. Running early in the morning with an overcast sky, Tustin was able to take advantage of the great running conditions. Guided by their coaches, Tom Coffey, Pablo Guzman, Jami Bickley, and Steve Waltner, approximately half of the team set new personal records.
Currently rank eighth by the LA Times and ninth by the Orange County Register, the Tustin boys Varsity team showed that they would be a contending force this year with all of its members improving 30 seconds to a minute from last weeks race at the Laguna Hills Invitational. The Tillers will make a run at defending their Orange County Championship title from two years ago (last year, a brush fire forced the cancellation of the race). However, they're job seems nearly impossible when league rivals Santa Ana High School set a new course record. But time and perseverance will tell how this team will do.
1998 Season
Click Here to go to our 1997 Season
Email the Webmasters at mlythsxc@aol.com (Michael Yang) or need4spdz@aol.com (Daniel Yang).
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