Bryan Fernandez and Addi Zerrenner of Dos Pueblos wrapped up individual titles, and the Charger boys and both San Marcos teams earned CIF berths at the Channel League cross country finals on Thursday in Ventura.
The Dos Pueblos boys won the meet at Camino Real Park, but Ventura earned the league title by taking the first two meets and finishing second on Thursday. San Marcos was third and nabbed the final spot for the CIF Prelims at Mt. SAC on Nov. 12.
Fernandez ran 14:53, one of the fast times recorded on the course, according to DP coach Leslie Wiggins Roth. The other DP finishes were Max Davis (5th, 15:20), John Greening (7th, 15:45) Ben York (8th, 15:46), Cole Smith (10th, 15:52) and Tyler Bradford (13th, 15:55).
“To have six guys finish under 16 minutes shows our guys are really ready for the next level of competition,” said Wiggins.
Santa Barbara’s James Scheuermann finished fourth in a PR of 15:20. Freshman Andrew Hunter also ran a PR with a time of 16:39.
Zerrenner broke the girls course record with a time of 17:03. The previous record, set in 2005, belonged to Jenna Ridgeway of San Marcos.
“Jenna was a senior at the time she set that record, and the fact that Addi is just a sophomore makes her feat even more incredible,” said Wiggins.
The Chargers were beaten out by San Marcos for third place by one point, 58-59.
“Honestly, I would rather lose by 10 points than have it be so close,” said Roth.
DP freshman Elaine McClure will join Zerrenner as an individual entrant at the CIF Prelims. McClure finished in sixth place in 18:25. The other DP finishers were Emma Redick (15th,19:29) Camille Patterson (17th, 19:31) Cheryl Wilson (20th, 19:47) Meredith Urschel (19th, 20:21) Haley Peterson (20th, 20:23).
Mia Owens was Santa Barbara’s top finisher in a personal best of 20:24. The Dons’ top seven runners finished inside 35 seconds of each other.
