Eagles end up in third at state meet

By: CHRIS CLAUSEN - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 29, 2003 9:24 PM PST ∞

FRESNO ---- San Pasqual High senior Claire Rethmeier finished in an unfamiliar spot on Saturday. Rethmeier took second in girls Division II competition behind Granite Bay's Caitlin Chock at the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.

"I lost," a disheartened Rethmeier said. "I used too much energy and tightened up at the end."

She would have been good enough to win in most years, as her time of 17 minutes, 27 seconds for 3.1 miles is the fifth fastest in Division II girls history. But Chock won the state title for the second straight year, and her 17:21 time was the second best in state history.

"I am happy with my time," Rethmeier said. "I wanted to win, but I can't control what she (Chock) does."

As a team, San Pasqual finished third, behind College Park and Sultana.

Senior Lorin Scott finished fifth to help get the Eagles to the medal podium. Scott, who finished third last year, recorded a time of 17:46 for a 14-second improvement from last year, well below the 18-minute mark she was looking to break this year.

"I am very happy with my time," she said. "The whole field ran faster this year. I finished third last year, but I had a faster time this year and finished fifth."

San Pasqual coach Pat King was pleased by his team's performance, despite his team's health issues.

"I wish we would have been healthy," King said. "Renae (Eaton) being sick hurt us today, but I don't think that would have mattered."

King was happy about Rethmeier's performance.

"She had a shot at first," he said. "She ran the race the right way, but Chock was definitely the better runner today."

Ventura was the winner in girls Division I competition, and senior Rachel Bryan from Laguna Creek repeated as individual champion with a time of 17:29.

Rancho Bernardo (ninth) was the highest North County team finisher in Division I as junior Lindsay delaMontaigne earned 12th place. Vista freshman Andrea Jacobs was 14th, while El Camino senior Sariah St. Laurent crossed the line in 19th place.

"I felt dead out there," an exhausted Jacobs said. "It was a long race, but it will help me build experience for next year."

Don Lugo was the Division I boys champion. Yosef Ghebra from James Logan won the race with a time of 15:15.

Torrey Pines and El Camino finished seventh and eighth, respectively. El Camino junior Randy Pensinger (15th) was the highest finisher among North County runners.

"I was hoping for both the boys and girls to finish in the top 10," Wildcats coach Tom Kloos said. "AJ (Acosta) was sick and our fourth runner was out, and that affected our boys finish."

Pensinger led the Wildcat with a time of 15:47.

"I will build on this for next year," Pensinger said. "I thought more about what I was going to do today. I was a lot more focused."

St. John Bosco was the Division II boys champion, and Los Angeles Loyola's Mark Matusak won the individual title with a time of 15:08.

Valley Center's Danae Hough (15th) and San Dieguito Academy's Marie Raffray (18th) broke the top 20 in Division III girls. Miramonte was the team champion, while Alicia Follmer of Saratoga was the individual winner, finishing in 17:40.

San Luis Obispo was the Division III boys champion. The school was led by individual winner Dan Nunn, who had a time of 15:15.

The Division IV boys team winner was Carmel, and Duarte's Mohamed Trafeh won in 15:16. Oak Park was the girls champion and Amanda Moreno of Escalon the individual champ in 18:27.

In Division V, San Francisco University was the girls team champion. Brentwood's Tani Brown won the race in a time of 19:08. The boys winner was Santa Clara's Tony Arredondo in 15:33, and Marantha was the team winner.