04.26.08
in memoriam of the 2007 state cross-country meet
Dahl Tiner CroweOriginally uploaded by andynoise
12.28.07
Fall 2007 All-Area girls cross country selections
North Carlson, Candace 18:09:00 1 1 1Originally uploaded by andynoise
Runner of the Year: Candace Carlson
North, junior
Had top times for girls from Kern County at the state and Central Section championships
Beat all Kern County girl runners head-to-head all season
Third consecutive first team All-Area pick
Placed first at Kern County Championships at Hart Park
Brianna Diaz
Delano, senior
Won Division II Central Section race to qualify for the state meet
Set Delano course record of 18:11
Was undefeated in East Yosemite League and Central Section
Ashley Nolasco
Stockdale, senior
Became second Stockdale runner in coach Bree Tape’s five-year tenure to reach Division I state meet
Second team All-Area in 2006
Ran 19:08 at Mount San Antonio College Invitational
Cassandra Salazar
Stockdale, senior
84th at state meet in Division III
Ran 18:04 at South Sequoia League championship, beating school record by 1:35
First team All-Area in 2006
Ashlee Thomas
Centennial, senior
Fourth in Central Section Division II race, leading Golden Hawks to team title
Fifth in SWYL meet
Personal record in 5-kilometer race is 20:00
Elizabeth Wittenberg
Shafter, junior
Qualified for the Division III state meet
Finished second behind teammate Cassandra Salazar at Atascadero Invitational and the Central Valley Championships
photo album HERE
girls runner of the year 1984-2006
First team All-Area in 2006
Coach of the Year: Randy Jones, Centennial
A blend of newcomers with veterans helped Centennial win its fifth Central Section girls cross country team title in the 10-year career of coach Randy Jones.
Jones earned The Californian’s All-Area girls cross country coach of the year honor for the third time in four seasons.
“Our boys (team) got one (a Section title) this year, too. It’s been a good run,” said Jones, who resigned as Centennial’s cross country coach but will continue to coach track and field.
Centennial won the Division II girls section title by placing five runners in the top 10. The Golden Hawks scored 33 points to easily outdistance Visalia-Golden West’s 63.
“That was our goal all season,” Jones said of the section meet. “We wanted to win that valley meet. I set up our training for that meet. We tried to peak there and we did.”
girls coach of the year 1987 to 2006
Second team All-Area
Lizzy Baker-Steimer, Centennial
Sarah Baker, Bakersfield
Halie Meadow, Frontier
Natalie Fernandez, Foothill
Ruby Lara, McFarland
Carolyn Haney, Stockdale
Honorable mention
Centennial: Jessica Crow, Kelsey Dahl, Rachel Tiner
East: Sophia Garcia
Garces: Monica Guzman
Golden Valley: Hanna Rocha
Highland: Denise Mercado, Angelina Roman
Foothill: Perla Veloz
McFarland: Corina Garcia
Ridgeview: Jessica Huizar, Yesmin Tanguma
Shafter: Cassandra Carillo, Amy Waters, Elizabeth Wittenberg
Stockdale: Brianne Curtis, Jessica Miller, Amber Nelson, Shelbe Penner
Tehachapi: Emily Leming, Sarah Whitson
Taft: Melinda Magee
Wasco: Alejandra Gutierrez
Carlson put together a dominant run
BY JEFF EVANS, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jevans@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:30 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:35 PM
Candace Carlson proved to be unbeatable against Kern County opposition this season.
Carlson, a junior at North High School, was the dominant girls runner in the county and has been selected as The Californian’s All-Area Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“I’m excited. That’s awesome,” Carlson said after learning she’s been named the top runner.
She is the second North runner to win the honor in three seasons. Amanda Montgomery won in 2005 when Carlson was a freshman.
“It’s cool following in her footsteps,” Carlson said.
Carlson said her best race of the season came at the Oct. 27 Kern County Championships, where she blistered the 3-mile Hart Park course in 18 minutes, 9 seconds.
“That was my best time at Hart Park,” she said. “I felt so good that race.”
Carlson took the lead by the midway point of the race and steadily pulled away. She sped up and crossed the finish line in a sprint.
“I didn’t have any competition (that day), but even when you don’t have anyone to run with, you have to run for yourself,” she said.
Carlson won the Southwest Yosemite League individual title with a time of 18:52 at Hart Park, then placed fourth at the Central Section Division I race at Woodward Park in Fresno with a time of 19:04.
At the state meet two weeks later, her time was 19:28 — still faster than any other Kern County runner at the state meet but a disappointment to Carlson. She had a 19:14 on the same course at the state meet her sophomore year.
“I thought I would do a lot better the last two races this season, but I can’t be disappointed,” Carlson said.
She acknowledged it was difficult running among a pack of runners after often being alone ahead of everyone during Kern County races.
“You’re used to winning to having so many girls around you,” Carlson said. “It’s going to get into your head and break down your spirit a little bit.
“But that happens to everyone. I think I’m getting adjusted to it.”
One hurdle Carlson said she’ll need to overcome is the mental aspect of running at Woodward Park.
“That course is really hard for me, whenever I run there,” she said. “It seems like every time I’m there, I’m facing intense competition, which doesn’t help.”
Carlson said her goal is continued improvement next year, which she hopes will lead to a college athletic scholarship.
“My coaches all tell me I have a lot of potential,” she said. “I’m excited to see what I can do.”
Time-wise, she said she’d like to chop about 30 seconds off her time at Woodward Park while running below 18 minutes at Hart Park.
“I’m pretty excited for my senior year,” Carlson said. “If I can drop into the 17s, it gives me a lot of improvement from this year.
“That was my goal coming into this year, but I didn’t get my times down that low.”
She has taken a break from running in December but said she’ll be back running in January in preparation of track.
“I’ll start by running 5 miles a day, until I need to do some speed workouts,” Carlson said. “Track is different from cross country, of course. It’s hard to say what I prefer. It’s boring running eight laps around the track (for the 3,200 meters). The 1,600 goes so fast.”
Fall 2007 All-Area boys cross country selections
schwartz wins kern inviteOriginally uploaded by andynoise
Runner of the Year: Chris Schwartz
Foothill, junior
First Kern County runner to win Division I state cross country title.
Placed first in 12 straight meets from Sept. 26 through the Nov. 24 state meet
One of only 15 juniors in the nation to qualify for the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego
Alfonso Cisneros
McFarland, junior
Finished second in Kern County, third in the Central Section and sixth at the Mount San Antonio College Invitational
Placed second in Southwest Sierra League
Cody Gragg
North, senior
Took home titles at Wolfpack Invitational, McLane Invitational and Golden West Invitational before winning Southwest Yosemite League
Ran 16:00 in Central Section meet, qualifying for the state meet
Jesus Gomez
McFarland, senior
Finished sixth in Kern County, third in Southwest Sierra League and 10th in Central Section Division IV finals
Placed sixth in Central Section individual meet to advance to state
Oscar Fuentes
East, junior
Second in Southeast Yosemite League in 16:08
Second in Central Section in 16:39
Ran 17:09 at state meet in Div. II
photo album HERE
boys runner of the year 1984-2006
Coach of the Year: Amador Ayon, McFarland
Ayon guided McFarland to its 17th straight Central Section title (20th overall) and a third-place Division IV finish at the state meet.
Ayon said the key to McFarland’s success was a hard-working group of runners.
“The highlight of the season was the whole season. Every single day was enjoyable to me,” Ayon said. “These kids were there every day. My assistant coaches were incredible.”
McFarland placed five runners in the top 10 at the Central Section Div. IV meet. Earlier in the season, McFarland cruised to the title at the Kern County Championships against county schools of all sizes by placing six runners in the top 9.
McFarland had only one senior on this year’s team, No. 1 runner Jesus Gomez, and a solid crop of prospects are in the local junior high. “The cupboard is not bare by any stretch of the imagination,” Ayon said.
boys coach of the year 1987 to 2006
Second team All-Area
Eddie Garcia, McFarland
Arturo Ramirez, Centennial
Angel Moreno, Highland
Talon Reed, Liberty
Gerardo Alcala, McFarland
Marco Perez, McFarland
Honorable mention
Burroughs: Caleb Rosales
Bakersfield: Andrew Ariey
Centennial: James Diller
Frontier: Michael Golich
Garces: Conner O’Malley
Golden Valley: Robert Quintero
Highland: Colin Lewis, Andrew McCay, Thomas Tuner, Jake Van Zandt
McFarland: Eddie Bautista, Marco Camargo, Jose Gomez, Francisco Nava
Ridgeview: Robby Baker
Shafter: Joshua Wittenberg
Stockdale: Michael Bernaba
Tehachapi: Chris Sanchez
West: Tesfa Habebo
Wasco: Asencion Mendoza
Schwartz stepped up on big stage
BY JEFF EVANS, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jevans@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:30 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 27 2007 8:35 PM
Chris Schwartz was the first Kern County runner to win a Division I state cross country championship in the 21-year history of the state meet, and that wasn’t even Schwartz’s biggest highlight of the season.
Photos:
Photo by Casey Christie / The Californian
Foothill High’s Chris Schwartz, right, outsprints, Trabucco Hills’ Riley Sullivan near the finish line in Fresno, during the state championship cross country match. Schwartz took first and Sullivan came in second.
“Going to the nationals was my highlight,” said Schwartz, a junior at Foothill High School who is The Californian’s All-Area Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
“And I had my worst day ever at the nationals,” Schwartz added, referring to his 37th-place finish at San Diego’s Balboa Park in early December at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.
But Schwartz, 17, already had an outstanding season prior to that meet.
He was the dominant Kern County runner all season, including easy wins at the Kern County Championships and the Southeast Yosemite League meet.
Schwartz captured the Division I Central Section championship at Woodward Park, clocking 15 minutes, 31 seconds over the 5-kilometer course.
The state meet followed two weeks later.
With all eyes focused on co-favorites Riley Sullivan from Mission Viejo-Trabuco Hills and Brett Walters from Hesperia-Sultana, Schwartz used a late-race kick to pull ahead and win the race in 15:13, one second faster than Sullivan and eight seconds faster than third-place finisher Walters.
“I was planning to finish in the top-5, and I won,” Schwartz said.
The state meet marked the 12th straight race Schwartz had won, dating to a Sept. 26 triangular meet at Foothill.
Schwartz credited maturity and advice from Foothill track assistant coach Paul Contreras as the catalysts for his special cross country season.
“My track coach from last year (Contreras) helped me with pacing,” Schwartz said. “I couldn’t have done it without pacing.”
Schwartz, a state track meet qualifier last spring in the 3,200 meters, said he’s a stronger cross country runner.
“The further the distances, I’m much better,” he said. “I can’t outrun people. I’m more of a long-distance runner.”
Schwartz calls the late Steve Prefontaine, one of America’s greatest distance runners, as an idol who keeps him motivated, even though Prefontaine died in a 1975 automobile accident, many years before Schwartz was born.
“I know he died before I was born, but I want to catch his time,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz placed seventh at the West Regionals following the state meet, which qualified him for the Foot Locker national championships in San Diego. He was one of 40 of the top runners in the nation invited to the meet.
At the regionals, he out-kicked Sullivan again, “just like the state meet,” Schwartz said, and was the second-fastest runner from California.
He said he was one of only seven juniors at the Foot Locker meet.
“I was kind of surprised to make it,” Schwartz said. “I was the only junior making it from the Western Region.”
Schwartz is already planning to run in the Foot Locker meet next season.
“Next year I won’t be as nervous and I’ll know the course more. And most of the kids who will be coming will be running it the first time, or I ran against them this year.”
12.22.07
2007 All-State Boys Frosh Squad - Marco Perez (McFarland)
2007 All-State Boys Frosh Squad
Boys Selections By Doug Speck
Third Team
Marco Perez (McFarland) - Had fine overall year for very young McFarland team that will be back in 2008 with Marco and a ton of talented returnees.
complete squad HERE
11.22.07
dystatcal picks schwartz as a favorite at state
CIF-STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEET PREVIEW
Junior Chris Schwartz of Foothill (CE) in Bakersfieldis among the favorites after posting the best time of the year (15:21) on the Woodward Park course but his erratic racing style often has contrasting effects, sometimes intimidating the competition an it other times causing him to dive into oxygen debt. With a smart racing plan, he could enjoy yet another momentous breakthrough!
complete preview HERE
11.10.07
Woodward Park All-Time Records
Woodward Park All-Time Records are posted HERE.
chris schwartz made the All-Time Boys Sophomore List:
19. Chris Schwartz (Foothill, Bakersfield) 2006 15:36
and from what i can tell is the only bakersfield runner on any of the all-time woodward lists.
11.07.07
Girls Division II rankings
Division II
1. Golden West 13.15 (1) 12.88
2. Centennial 15.69 (2) 15.69
3. Highland 23.89 (3) 23.89
4. Tulare Western 32.77 (7) 37.96
5. Monache 33.15 (4) 31.28
6. Liberty 36.47 (6) 36.47
7. El Diamante 38.86 (5) 35.45
8. Reedley 45.47 (8) 40.01
9. Porterville 45.66 (9) 40.96
10. Delano 46.56 (10) 45.40
dyestat preview HERE
-compiled by Larry Lung,
Central California
Cross Country Chair
Girls Division I rankings
Division I
1. Buchanan 5.26 (1) 5.87
2. Clovis East 8.01 (2) 6.96
3. Clovis 8.23 (3) 7.27
4. Madera 8.99 (4) 8.55
5. Stockdale 12.31 (5) 12.31
6. Clovis West 13.55 (6) 15.39
7. Bullard 19.10 (8) 20.77
8. Ridgeview 19.84 (7) 19.84
9. North 23.61 (9) 23.61
10. Foothill 24.42 (10) 24.42
dyestat preview HERE
compiled by Larry Lung,
Central California
Cross Country Chair
Boys Division IV rankings
Division IV
1. McFarland 5.32 (1) 5.32
2. Avenal 14.20 (2) 15.95
3. Parlier 23.22 (3) 30.04
4. Farmersville 38.92 (5) 38.92
5. Woodlake 39.50 (4) 38.61
6. Exeter 43.18 (6) 45.85
7. Garces 47.33 (8) 47.33
8. Corcoran 47.70 (8) 54.38
9. Firebaugh 50.82 (9) 55.18
10. SJM 65.08 (NR) 67.86
compiled by Larry Lung,
Central California
Cross Country Chair
dyestat preview HERE
Boys Division II rankings
Division II
1. Highland 12.25 (1) 12.25
2. Centennial 16.78 (2) 16.78
3. Liberty 18.39 (3) 18.39
4. Tulare Western 19.58 (5) 22.37
5. Golden West 20.98 (4) 20.86
6. South 42.79 (7) 42.79
7. East 44.36 (8) 44.36
8. Reedley 47.54 (6) 41.85
9. Sanger 49.10 (NR) 53.74
10. Lemoore 54.80 (10) 52.73
compiled by Larry Lung,
Central California
Cross Country Chair
dyestat preview HERE
boys division one rankings
foothill at leagueOriginally uploaded by andynoise
Division I
1. Clovis East 4.96 (1) 3.63
2. Buchanan 5.22 (2) 4.32
3. Clovis West 7.11 (3) 7.36
4. Madera 8.33 (4) 9.80
5. Roosevelt 10.86 (5) 10.97
6. Bullard 18.77 (7) 21.89
7. Foothill 21.38 (6) 21.38
8. Clovis 27.07 (8) 26.07
9. Bakersfield 29.56 (9) 29.56
10. Stockdale 33.47 (10) 33.47
compiled by Larry Lung,
Central California
Cross Country Chair
dyestat preview HERE
11.03.07
valley 2007 coverage
candace carlsonOriginally uploaded by andynoise
2007 Central Section
Cross Country Championships
Woodward Park Fresno, CA
2007 photos HERE
2007 results coverage on dyestatcal HERE
driller results HERE
valley is thursday and i believe our girls run at 1:30 and the boys run
at 3:30. the top three teams qualify and then:
Individual Qualifiers
A Maximum of five (5) individuals (not on an automatic team entry) per the
criteria in each division will qualify from Section to State meet finals. Sections entering Three teams - Individuals must place in the top 14 at section finals to qualify.
so to make it to state in division one, you need to be one of the five fastest individuals and be in the top 14 in the race.
so last year in the boys race. 1. Madera 26 (80:43); 2. Buchanan 55 (81:59); 3. Clovis East 69 (82:47) made it as teams. no individuals qualified.
the highest kern athlete, cody gragg (north) came in 20th in a time of 16:53. in the 2006 girls race. 1. Buchanan 18 (94:16); 2. Madera 75 (99:35); 3. Clovis East 96 (101:10) made it as teams. three individuals qualified. jennifer dittman (centennial) 19:46, monica morley (centennial) 19:52 and candace carlson (north) 19:24.
The Valley meet will be conducted in five (5) divisions. Schools will compete in the division determined by the previous year CBEDS, grades 9-12. If a school incurs a gain / loss on enrollment of a minimum of fifteen percent (15%) in the current year (October 2007 CBED), then the October 2007 CBED enrollment figures shall be used in place of the 2006 CBEDS enrollment figures to determine the school’s division for 2006 (per CIF Bylaws)
dyestatcal coverage HERE
Cross Country Divisions 2007-2008 HERE
RACE SCHEDULE HERE
NATIONAL FEDERATION RULES HERE
how to qualify for state HERE
boys rankings HERE
girls rankings HERE
2006 photos HERE
2006 driller results HERE
complete 2006 results HERE
recent kern athletes results at woodpark HERE (excel file)
