RB runner enhances her memories

By: SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 27, 2004 10:13 PM PST ∞

Rancho Bernardo cross-country and track runner Lindsay de la Montaigne
JT Lovette for The North County Times
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FRESNO ---- Rancho Bernardo High's Lindsay delaMontaigne has taken many memories from her illustrious cross country career, most she would like to cherish and some she would rather forget.

Count Saturday's performance at the CIF State Cross Country Championships as one she will cherish.

DelaMontaigne finished second in the Division I race at Woodward Park, completing the 3.1 mile course in a blistering 17 minutes, 57 seconds.

In 2001, delaMontaigne's freshman year, she arrived at her first state meet as Division I San Diego Section champion. She would be introduced as such before the race, which was run under dreary skies, intermittent rain and swirling winds.

Fast forward to Saturday's state meet, where the racing conditions were eerily similar to those of 36 months ago. And for the first time since that day, delaMontaigne came to Fresno as section champion.

"The atmosphere totally reminded me of my freshman year," delaMontaigne said. "I made it into the top five then and I was hoping to repeat that performance today."

Corona's Alma Escobar easily won the race in 17:33, but delaMontaigne's trek was far more dramatic.

There are three points in the Woodward Park cross country course where spectators can watch the race. The first is the starting line, where delaMontaigne got boxed into the middle of the pack.

The second is at the 1-mile mark, where the Broncos' senior could be seen cutting through traffic before whizzing by in fifth place. The runners then go another mile up and down a hill before re-emerging at the same location heading in the opposite direction.

When delaMontaigne showed up next, she had moved into third place but remained well out of out of second place.

"(Broncos coach Terry Dockery) told me that when the leaders made a move, that I should try to keep up with them," delaMontaigne said. "It did what he said and when I picked up the pace, I realized I had a lot more energy left."

At the final viewing point for fans, delaMontaigne could be seen cruising across the finish line in second place.

"I'm really happy with how my last state meet turned out," delaMontaigne said.

"I had fun on this course and I ran without any pressure. Winning CIF last week took a large weight off my shoulders and I was really able to enjoy this run. I think winning CIF made me realize how strong I could be and how much potential I still have."

El Camino's AJ Acosta showed off some of his potential in the Division I boys race. Acosta ran strong and confident in a second-place finish behind El Toro's Brandon Bethke. He finished the 3.1 mile course in a personal-best 15:11.

"I obviously would've rather won, but I'm happy with how I ran today," said Acosta, a junior. "(Bethke) made a move about a mile and a half into the race and I didn't close the gap fast enough. I tried to kick again at the end, but I had too much ground to cover in too little time."

El Camino's Randy Pensinger ran a solid race, finishing sixth in 15:36. Pensinger ran his best race of the season after a number of disappointing finishes earlier in the year.

"Randy ran very well today," El Camino coach Tom Kloos said. "I think he wanted to close out his senior year with a solid effort, and he gave us one. He showed up with a great attitude and really pushed himself out there.

"As for AJ, he ran an awesome race. I think he showed that he can race with anybody on any given day."

El Camino's boys team finished seventh overall with 215 points. Rancho Bernardo's girls team finished sixth with 207 and the Wildcats' girls team finished seventh with 241.

Valley Center's girls team finished seventh in Division III with 241 points behind a solid ninth-place finish from Trisha Allred.

Individually, San Pasqual's Brooke Kerby finished eighth in Division II in 18:34 and Vista's Andrea Jacobs finished 12th in Division I in 18:28.

Calvin Christian's Michael Walters finished 10th in 16:35 in Division V.

Contact staff writer Scott Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com.