Santa Ana Duo Meet - October 1, 1998
Tustin Sees Promise in Future Teams
October 1, 1998 - Tustin High School
Tustin raced in there third league meet today against the top-seeded Santa Ana Saints. The Tustin Boys Varsity team lost 17-45 against what many coaches are calling the top team in the state. Nevertheless, Tustin put on a good fight and finished the race with the dignity they brought into meet. Leo Gordillo finished fourth with a time of 16:07 behind Santa Ana's Leon (15:26), Pena (15:26), and Salgado (15:51). The next Tustin runner was Ryan Dedmon who finished eighth with a time of 16:47. Leo and Ryan were closely followed by teammates Joel Massey (11, 17:11), Michael Yang (14, 17:45), and Francisco Martinez (16, 17:55). With these times, Tustin should easily win their next league meet against Ocean View High School at Central Park, home of the Golden West League Finals course.
In the boys frosh/soph race, Alonso Smith, sophomore, won the race with a time of 16:44 giving him the second fastest Tustin time of the day. Behind him was Edric who finished sixth with a time of 17:55. Finishing eighth was Tustin's Edgar who ran a time of 18:33. With these runners leading the way, Tustin's future looks very bright in the coming seasons.
The Tustin's Girls Varsity team also lost to Santa Ana in a bitter-sweet race. The entire race took a wrong turn on the track before the one mile mark. However, the race continued since the turn just took the race backwards on a loop of the track and did not affect the distance or outcome of the race. Kelly Dickerson was Tustin's top female runner finishing third in the race. She was followed by teammates Meridi Gorton and Tina.
Last Saturday, the Tustin team went to the Dana Hills Invitational. The team performed exceptionally well with most runners improving their personal records by thirty seconds to a full minute.
Tustin will get a break this Saturday, but next week they will travel with Villa Park High School to Woodward Park in Fresno for the Clovis Invitational. The team will leave Friday and race on Saturday morning. The Clovis Invitational is unique in that the California State Cross Country Meet is held on the same course. Two years ago, Tustin raced to a Division 3 State Runner-up title on this course. -Michael
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