IRVINE – A better time, but not the preferred place.
Woodbridge senior Aidan Antonio sliced 20 seconds off of his time from last year to this year in the Woodbridge Classic cross country meet. But he was not jazzed about his eighth-place finish competing in a national-level field Saturday in the Doug Speck Sweepstakes boys race, the final race of two long days of cross country in what annually is the largest regular-season meet in the nation.
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Antonio’s eighth-place time was 13 minutes, 47.6 seconds. He ran the meet’s sweepstakes race in 14:06.30 to finish fifth last year.
“It was a good time,” said Antonio, last season’s Orange County boys cross country athlete of the year. “But at this point I care more about the placement.”
Antonio was in fourth place after the first mile.
“I wasn’t able to stay in the position I needed to be in,” he said.
Abdinasir Hassan of Northfield in Colorado finished first in 13:35.5, five seconds ahead of second-place Kai Gutierrez of Southlake Carroll in Texas. Hassan crossed the finish line with long, smooth strides.
Southlake Carroll won the boys sweepstakes team championship with 206 points.
Santa Margarita senior Carol Dye was Orange County’s best in the Bob Day Girls Sweepstakes race, the top girls competition of the meet. Dye was 10th at 16 minutes, 18.5 seconds.
Dye said she was happy with how the race went for her, and that her training paid off Saturday.
“I kept my same training plan,” she said. “We’ve been going pretty heavy. I think not letting off the gas too early in the season and sticking with my race plan has made me so successful.”
She finished second in her two previous meets, the Saddleback Cup at Trabuco Hills High and the Mountie Xpress Invitational at Mt. San Antonio College.
Illness struck the JSerra girls cross country team, a program that went into this season with five straight CIF State championships. Reese Holley, All-Orange County second team last year as a junior, was unable to compete in the Woodbridge Classic.
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JSerra still turned in a great team performance. The Lions finished third in the team standings in the Bob Day Girls Sweepstakes.
They were led by sophomore Brooklyn Tennant’s 11th place finish at 16 minutes, 19.1 seconds. Fellow JSerra sophomore Maya Pawlowicz was 15th at 16:26.1.
JSerra coach Chase Frazier was more than pleased with how the Lions ran.
“I’m thrilled with the way they stepped up,” Frazier said. “Everyone ran their best time this season, and we’re ready to go.”
JSerra will compete in the Great American XC Festival in North Carolina in two weeks.
Crater of Oregon won the girls sweepstakes team championship with 142 points.
The top Orange County finisher in the girls rated varsity race was Mission Viejo sophomore Quinn Turner. She was 13th at 17 minutes, 00.6 seconds.
JSerra senior Zac O’Leary was the top county finisher in the boys rated varsity race at 14:26.5.
The Woodbridge Classic drew more than 19,000 athletes representing 645 schools from 19 states.
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