It was a different week with the same result in Wednesday’s Condor League cross country meet at Cate, as the Thacher Toads finished well ahead of the pack in both the boys and girls competitions.
Laguna Blanca finished second in the girls race and third in the boys. The Owl girls were led by a fifth-place finish from Sarah O’Conner (22:01), with Vanessa Tom right behind her in sixth with a time of 22:13.
Cate also had identical results in the second league meet, finishing third in the girls and fourth in the boys. Mackenzie Walsh won the girls race with a second-place finish, clocking in at 20:41 — the fourth-fastest time ever by a Cate girl on the home course.
Kevin Lunn of Laguna Blanca won the boys race handily once again, blazing to a mark of 16:28. The team’s No. 2 runner, Parker Lilly, is still out with illness, so Zach Campbell stepped up and ran a great race according to coach Bob Lunn, finishing seventh in 17:40.
“We’re right where we want to be, but we’re going to really start picking up the tempo in the next four weeks,” said coach Lunn.
The Cate boys were again led by Michael Hassman, although he moved up 10 places and finished in 21st place with a time of 20:10.
Up next is Friday’s DP Invitational at Shoreline Park.
RESULTS
Girls — Thacher 26, Laguna Blanca 54, Cate 63, Dunn 86, Midland 118.
Individual — LB: 5, Sarah O’Conner, 22:01; 6, Vanessa Tom, 22:13; 12, Erin Dunn, 24:25; 13, Cecily Sanchez, 25:06; 18, Izzy Grier, 26:04. C: 2, Mackenzie Walsh, 20:41; 9, Adrian, 22:50; 16, Denali Tietjen, 25:37; 17, Lexi Greenwald, 25:46; 19, Cascade Zak, 26:22.
Boys — Thacher 21, Midland 54, LBS 67, Cate 115, Dunn 141, OVS 158.
Individual — LB: 1, Kevin Lunn, 16:28; 7, Zach Campbell, 17:40; 16, Jefferey Schultz, 18:52; 26, Alex Grier, 20:27; 27, Patrick Gainey, 20:28. C: 21, Michael Hassman, 20:10; 25, Spencer McAvoy, 20:25; 28, Mark Mullan, 20:31; 29, Jason Park, 20:40; 32, Bill Pomerans, 21:03.
Everyone is looking forward to Parker Lilly running this year ,great kid and excellent runner ,,But would be hard pressed to beat Thacher top two runners this year …..Give him 4th maybe last week ,, the math still doesn’t add up , Laguna is good but still third best team in conference behind Midland ( the other school Santa Barbara County school that Presidio ignores) ,as they have too much depth ..Their 6 and 7 runners all beat Laguna Blanca 3rd runner ,heck they have 3 freshman who are so far back that they don’t come close to counting, that beat Laguna Blanca 5th … 7 runners all running 1830 or less and three freshman running mid 19 …Thacher is looking over their shoulder , Midland gaining ..It’s still team sport …
In all fairness though, once Laguna’s no. 2 runner is back, they will have a strong team, definitely number 2 in the Condor Leauge. Thacher obviously has a great team that will have no trouble staying at the top. You might be surprised- I think, based on how it played out last year, that Laguna Owls will give the Midland (what is their mascot anyway?) a run for their money.