IRVINE — Seniors Maximo Zavaleta of King High and Braelyn Combe of Santiago High have high expectations for themselves, so they might be underwhelmed by results that impress other cross country runners.
That was the case Saturday night at the Woodbridge Classic at Orange County Great Park where both were the top finishers among Inland runners, but ran a little slower than they ran last year at the event.
“I do feel like I have a lot to improve on, which I felt was rare last year,” Zavaleta said. “Last year, I think this (Woodbridge) was my best race. I feel ready going into mid-season and postseason. It’s going to be really good for us.”
Zavaleta finished seventh in the Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race with a time of 14 minutes and 7.1 seconds. A year ago he also finished seventh in the race with a time of 13:56.4.
Other top Inland boys runners in the sweepstakes race included: Claremont senior Lyle Mideiros (51st, 14:36.0), Riverside Poly senior Jace Deledonne (57th, 14:39.7), King senior Bradley Quezada (74th, 14:46.9) and King senior Logan Carlson (80th, 14:51.0).
It was also disappointing for Combe in her first challenging race of the season.
“I knew I had big shoes to fill,” she said about taking over as the No. 1 runner this season for the Sharks. “But I did not show what I wanted to.”
A year ago, since-graduated teammate Rylee Blade won the Bob Day girls sweepstakes, while Combe was ninth in 16:02.9. Saturday, Combe was seventh in 16:11.1.
Other top Inland runners in the girls sweepstakes were Claremont senior Isla Bulmer (27th, 16:43.8). King senior Elizabeth Jacklin (34th, 16:48.7), Murrieta Valley senior Arielle Avina (36th, 16:50.8), and Claremont sophomore Grace Smith (44th, 17:00.9).
Lily Alder of Timpview High in Utah sprinted past La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey to win the girls sweepstakes race in 15:40.0. Dailey was second in 15:41.6 with San Diego Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams third in 15:52.2. J Serra won the girls team title.
In the boys elite race, senior Jackson Spencer won in 13:42.1 and teammate Eli Jarvis was third in 14:01.7 as Herriman of Utah, coached by former Great Oak coach Doug Soles, won an unprecedented fourth consecutive team title.
Great Oak’s teams did not run in the sweepstakes races but ran in the next best thing, the rated races. And the Great Oak girls were the rated race team champions with a score of 174, easily beating out runner-up Sage Creek (238).
Great Oak’s team Saturday included three freshmen, two sophomores, one junior and one senior. Senior Abigail Huth (18th, 17:27.2) and sophomore Makenna Mitchell (19th, 17:28.3) were the top finishers for the Wolfpack.
“This race was super fun because I knew each of us were working hard for each other,” Huth said. “It made it easier to push myself.”
The boys rated race didn’t produce an Inland champion, but several individuals placed well, including Valley View senior Evan Nahuat (fourth. 14:26.0), Roosevelt senior Luke Lopez (fifth. 14:30.1), Ontario senior Michael Ortega (sixth, 14:31.5), and Cajon senior Ramon Dorado (17th. 14:47.4),
Among other girls winners was Rancho Cucamonga freshman Emily Bell who won the blue varsity B race with a time of 17:04.2.
“I was expecting to get 19 minutes,” Bell said. “I had a soccer game before this with some time in between, so I wasn’t planning on doing this great.”
