EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 26, 2018 Page 5
Locals Excel in Run For Education
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
On a sundrenched morning this past Saturday,
over 1,600 runners hit the streets of
El Segundo to take part in the 27th Annual
Big 5 Sporting Goods Run for Education.
The 5K and 10K races are one of the biggest
fundraisers put on by the El Segundo PTA
Council. The successful event benefits El
Segundo schools and draws runners from as
far away as Bakersfield, Orange County and
the Inland Empire. It was a perfect morning
that was ripe for families to be together and
get some exercise while at the same time
helping out our schools.
El Segundo residents did well in the race.
The 5K came down to the last 100 yards,
but Phillip Gonzales held off El Segundo’s
Austin Van Biezen by a mere two seconds.
William Seidel placed fourth, while three El
Segundo High School cross country runners
-- Ethan Liang, Ryan Massie and Arend
Verfaille -- came in sixth through eighth.
The first female runner to cross the line was
former ES High standout Amy Reaser, while
11-year-old Ruihan Zhu was the youngest to
cross the finish line first in 21:05.
Here are the top El Segundo male runners
in each age division, with their placing in
parentheses: 8U: Preston Milne-Castro (2),
Will Collard (3), Luke Villavaso (4); 9-10:
Declan Lister (1),Vinny Baldino (3) Til
Lavelle (4); 11-12: Ruihan Zhu (1), Ethan
Ayler (2); 15-17: Ryan Massie (1), Arend
Verfaille (2) and Calvin Liang (3); 18-23:
Ethan Liang (2) Brandon Yob (5), Ryan
Porter (7); 30-34: Seidel (3) Garret Wong
(4); 35-39: Adam Nicolai (2) Hass Sullivan
(4); 45-49: Mike Zarneke (2), Patrick Dorr
(4); 50-54: Douglas Carrigan (3) Vincent
Marcias (4); 55-59: Richard Negrete (1);
60-64: John Stabile (2); 65-69: Paul Lavoi
(2), Donald Brueck (3) Steve Wennerstrom
(4); 70-74: John Telfair; and 80+: George
Pelzman, who at 82 was the oldest male.
Top female runners from El Segundo were:
8U: Maribel Friel (1), Grace Dominick (2),
Cailyn Fry (3); 9-10 Natalie Christenson (2);
11-12: Katy Durand (2), Sammie Kleiger
(3); 13-14: Zane Sant, Morgan Villavaso
(2), Sofia Wight (3); 15-17: Sophia Zago
(1), Lauren Kleiger (2), Moira Gulden (3);
18-23: Aiyana Verfaille (1), Alicia Carr (3);
24-29: Amy Reaser (1), Casey Riorden;
30-34: Kelsey Robinson (1); 35-39: Sarah
Townsend (1) Elaine Canchola (2), Heidi
Schlagheck (4); 40-44: Jody Kleiger (1),
Stacy Ward (3); 45-49: Mary Moy (1),
Kelly Watson (2), Liz Davidson (4); 50-54:
Lee Boyles (2), Sally Dail; 55-59: Angela
Phillips (1); 60-64: Jeanne Nishime, Marie
Loye and Meredith Beachly; 80+: Jeannie
Pelzman and Sue Bartlett.
In the 10K race Steven Taylor was the first
El Segundo resident to finish, with a time
of 42:20 -- good for sixth overall. Elevenyear
old Erick Fallon finished 12th overall,
while 10-year-old Xavier Friel was the
youngest to the finish line first. Multi-time
winner Valerie Voboril was the first female
across the finish line. While Valerie won her
age group, Steve Voboril won his own age
Katie Croxall gets a great feed from #11 Kaelyn Kearney on a double play against King/Drew.
group division. Kevin Wright and his wife
Kelly each medaled in their respective age
group. Victoria Samia was the fourth overall
female to finish and she is no stranger to the
podium. Her winning time in her age bracket
rewarded her with another medal.
Eagles Taking Care
of Ocean League Foes
El Segundo faced Beverly Hills in a home
and home set that saw the Eagles take care
of the Normans 13-2 on the road and 5-0
at home. The Eagles made short order of
the Normans in a mercy rule-shortened
game. Matt Romero was 2-for-2 with a triple
and five RBIs to pace the Eagles. Ryan
Sullivan had a big day at the plate, going
3-for-3 with two doubles. He also scored
twice and had an RBI. Cooper Sutherland
went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs, while Ian Bonham’s
bat has come alive as he collected two doubles
and scored twice.
Quinn Kirsten went the distance in limiting
the Normans to two runs on five hits, while
striking out three. Kirsten improved to 2-0
in league play with a sparkling 1.25 ERA.
In the 5-0 win at home, Jaime Galicia was
spectacular on the mound. Mixing up his
fastball with his devastating breaking ball,
he melted the Normans for nine strikeouts,
scattered four hits and walked two while
throwing 97 pitches. The closest Beverly Hills
came to scoring was in the fifth inning when
the Normans loaded the bases with one out,
but Galicia got a strikeout and a routine fly
ball to end the inning.
Galicia also helped himself at the plate by
driving in the winning run in the first inning.
Ethan Burner walked to start the game and
two batters later, Galicia’s RBI single scored
Burner. Romero followed with a three-run
home run to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead after
the first inning.
Offensively, the Eagles were stymied.
After the first inning’s single and homer, El
Segundo had just three other hits the rest of
the way. Though the Eagles scored one run
in the second inning, they didn’t threaten the
rest of the way. Romero, who had two of his
team’s five hits, upped his batting average
to .383 with a team-leading ninth extra base
hit on the season.
Against Simi Valley in the third round of
the Redondo Tournament, the Eagles ran
Julia Chavez doubles in the tying run in the fourth inning against King/Drew.
into a buzz saw and fell 6-0. They never
threatened in any inning and were limited
to just three hits -- two by Ian Bonham. El
Segundo kept the ball in play and hit the
ball hard at times. The Eagles struck out just
twice, but couldn’t capitalize on two walks
or two batters getting hit.
The Pioneers did the little things to win a
baseball game. They capitalized by scoring on
two walks and executed two sacrifice bunts,
including a safety squeeze. They added two
sacrifice fly balls. The Pioneers threatened in
each of the first five innings, including the
third inning when they loaded the bases with
no outs. Copper Sutherland, who started for
the Eagles, induced a force at the plate and
a double play to end the inning.
The Eagles returned to Ocean League
play on Tuesday at Lawndale and host the
Cardinals today at 3:15 p.m. The Eagles
host Hawthorne next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
Adri Hebert has great range, but couldn’t come up with this ground ball.
Softball Team Throttles
League Opponents
The Eagles improved to 3-1 in Ocean League
play with their dominant performances over
Beverly Hills and Lawndale. In the Eagles’
22-0 win over Beverly Hills, 11 players had
hits --paced by Monique Benjamin and Adri
Hebert who each had four hits. Hebert had a
triple, four RBIs and four runs scored. Jade
Johnson went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Katie
Croxall was 3-for-4 and scored three times,
and Gabby Benjamin’s big day included a
home run and five RBIs. Johnson picked
up her first win of the season by going the
distance. She allowed two hits and one walk
while striking out seven.
The Eagles continued their winning ways
against Lawndale in their 20-1 win. Like
they did against Beverly Hills, El Segundo
scored in each of the five innings of the
mercy rule-shortened game. Kat Kakuske
and Mya Bennett each had perfect games
at the plate. Kakuske was 3-for-3, while
Bennett was 2-for-2 and scored three times.
Rosalind Williams had three hits and three
RBIs. Audrey Butler picked up her first win
by tossing a two-hitter while striking out 10.
The Eagles played a key Ocean League
game against Santa Monica on Tuesday and
face Culver City today at 3:15 p.m. For the
Eagles to stay in contention for a league title,
they’d need to sweep both teams.
The Eagles split their first two games in the
El Segundo Tournament, defeating Narbonne
11-3. However, they lost a heartbreaker to
King-Drew 9-8. The tournament continues
this Saturday. •