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2003 Bella Vista Bronco Cross Country Invitational – Meet Summary

by Steve Fagundes

Clear skies and relatively warm weather (temperatures in the high 70’s to low 80’s) greeted athletes from over 40 schools to the scenic Sierra College (Rocklin) cross country course for the Fourth Annual Bella Vista Bronco Cross Country Invitational.  With all athletes in each classification competing in the same race and team/individual champions and placers determined on large (CIF Division 1 and 2) and small (CIF Division 3,4, and 5) school divisions, the meet provided a unique opportunity for “head-to-head“ competition.  Varsity races were contested over the 5,000-meter collegiate course, which consists of two challenging hills of 250 to 300 meters in length and consistently rolling terrain (minimal flat sections) composed of hard-packed dirt and sand.

In the varsity girls large school competition, the Lawrence sisters, senior Collier and freshman Marie, took off to an immediate lead and pushed the pace and each other throughout the race.  Sprinting down the final straightaway Collier pulled away to a 0.7 second victory and new large school meet record of 18:46.2 (Old Record: 18:53.5 by Natalie White [Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills]). Super frosh Marie Lawrence was also under the old meet record with her 18:46.9.   Folsom junior Natasha LaBeaud finished a strong third with personal best on the course of 19:17.4 with Vacaville sophomore Cecily Lemmon fourth in 19:48.8 and Reno sophomore Daryan Glenn fifth in 20:20.3.  Reno ran away with the team title with a low score of 18 points and a  new meet record of 99:52.7 (Old Record: 100:22.2 by Reno in 2002). Joining the Lawrence sisters and Daryan Glenn on the record setting team were freshman Nicole Lejeunesse and senior Michelle Glenn. Vacaville finished second with 67 points with Fairfield, lead by senior Cassandra Quinonez’s eleventh place, edging Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) by one point 75 to 76.  In the small school division, Amador (Sutter Creek) senior Melissa Dowlat held off senior Caitlin Croall of Lincoln by 1.3 seconds with a winning time of 20:47.2. Calaveras (San Andreas) senior Erin Frier finished third in 21:09.3. Led by juniors Megan Alexander (5^th) and Maggie Toole (6^th), perennial Sac-Joaquin Section power St. Francis (Sacramento) captured the small school team title with a low 23 points. The remainder of the winning Troubadour team was composed of freshman Amy Lackner (9^th), and juniors Jacqueline Lee (10^th) and Mairin Meltvedt (11^th). Senior Erin Hunter’s fourth place finish led her Diamondback (Union Mine [Placerville]) teammates to a second place finish with 33 points.

In the varsity boys competition, Reno senior Jonathon Cardenas captured his second consecutive individual title with a convincing 18 second victory over senior Steven Potter (Galena, Reno, NV) in 16:16.8. Vacaville senior Cheyne Inman was a strong third (16:50.6) with seniors David Shackleton (Reno) and Esco Long (Los Banos) rounding out the top five in 17:04.5 and 17:10.9, respectively. The team race came down to a contest between Nevada rivals Reno and Galena. Reno appeared to be on the way to victory placing three in the top nine, but Galena fought back with strong finishes by their third through fifth runners to edge Reno 40 to 43.  In addition to Steven Potter, the winning Galena team was composed of junior Raul Tibiduiza (7^th), sophomore Dan Geib (11^th), Michael Antwerp (16^th), and senior Sanddon Sherwood (17h). In the small school division Adam Bales of Amador (Sutter Creek) was the individual winner in 18:11.4 with Calaveras (San Andreas) sophomore Nick Papp taking second and the Colfax Falcons taking the third and fourth with senior Miles McGammon and sophomore Russ Mooney. Colfax also captured the team title with 40 points to 48 for runner-up Calaveras and 69 for third place San Juan (Citrus Heights).  In addition to Miles McGammon and Russ Mooney, the championship Colfax team was composed of sophomore Will Cole (6^th), freshman Johnathon Crebbin (21^st), and sophomore Matt Wollenburg (24^th).    

With the addition of the grammar/middle school races to the meet program, a number of underclass athlete meet records were also eclipsed and are summarized in the following table:

Summary of Underclass Meet Records Established at 2003 Bella Vista Bronco Cross Country Invitational