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EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 13, 2018 Page 5
Cross Country Teams Preview
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By Gregg McMullin
The 2017 season was one for the record
books for the El Segundo High School Eagles
cross country program. Both boys and girls
won the Ocean League titles for the first time
together. For the girls team, it was a third
consecutive Ocean League title. Meanwhile,
the boys won their second ocean League title
in four years. Both teams advanced to the
California CIF State Championships.
For the girls, it marked the second straight
year they had reached the pinnacle of the
season by advancing to the state meet. It
was also their fourth trip in seven years. The
boys had never qualified a team to the state
championships, so this was a historic season.
Both teams finished in the top 10 at
the state meet, with the girls taking seventh
and the boys ninth. When you consider how
many teams there are competing throughout
the state and then the top 24 teams vying for
a state title, it really was an impressive feat.
While it was one for the record books, it is
also a launching pad for the 2018 season. According
to head coach Marcos Bolanos, the
cross country program has increased its
numbers because of the success both teams
have had recently.
The girls return their top four scorers from
last season in James Matlosz, Nicolette Fulcomer,
Sophia Zago and Gabriella Lee. All
four had strong track seasons in the spring
with each running under 5:25 in the 1,600 and
sub 12min for the 3,200. All four continued
their running, had strong summers and look
to improve upon their previous two trips to
the state championship.
Although the Eagles lost some seasoned
veterans in Grace Hoffman, Aiyana Verfaille,
Kate Johnson, and Karina Kramer, they have
added some depth this season with Letina
Daniel, Aliya Rafei and Leah Guziak returning
stronger than ever.
Coach Bolanos said, “This is one of our
best recruiting seasons ever, adding 18
new girl runners to the program.” Notable
additions are Tyler Matlosz, Isabella Mai
and Erin Rifkin. All three could be crucial
contributors when November rolls around
and the Ocean League, CIF championships
and the state meet are held.
Recent rankings from the CIF were released
and the girls have gained the attention of the
cross country community by being ranked
second behind perennial powerhouse Foothill
Technology -- last year’s state champions. The
girls squad looks primed for a big year and
has its eye set on the top of the division in
November.
The boys team said goodbye to arguably
the best graduating class of senior runners
ever, according to Bolanos. Garrett Rifkin,
Noah Fenton, Elliott Bijlsma, Ryan Hoerner
and Ben Kooper all contributed to the historic
season for the Eagles. This year’s team is
looking to not only match last year’s run, but
finish even stronger. Led by Calvin Liang,
Arend Verfaillie and Chris Waites, the Eagles
look to shock the running community again
by making a name for themselves with fast
times and impressive finishing team scores.
The strategy for this year’s squad is returning
to a winning recipe of “pack running.” The
team looks to have enough depth this season
to make a run at another Ocean League title
and a second consecutive appearance at the
state championships. Notable returners are
Nate Quezada, Niall Glynn, Cobi Rifkin,
Lukas Lux and Marcus Ortiz. Bolanos says,
“The team has put in a ton of work this past
summer and has looked stellar in practice.”
The Eagles played host to the first-ever
Eagle XC Invitational at The Lakes at El
Segundo. Twenty-seven teams competed,
including some of the CIF’s top lineups.
Other notable races this season will be the
prestigious Woodbridge Invitational. The girls
team will be running in the Sweepstakes
Event at the Woodbridge Invitational for
the first time. It’s important to note that this
is reserved for the top teams in California
and Western United States. What it means
is that the girls will be running against some
of the best talent in the nation. One other
prestigious meet will be the Nike Hole in the
Wall Invitational (Seattle). This is one of the
top cross country meets in the United States.
In the first-ever Eagle Invitational, the
girls team easily won the meet when juniors
Zago and Matlosz finished third and fourth
respectively. Seniors Lee and Nicolette Fulcomer
finished fifth and seventh. Waites and
Verfaille paced the boys team.
The Eagles’ future looks bright with Jonny
Felker medaling for the JV boys team. The
sophomores look promising with Marcus
Ortiz, Cole Sterba and Cooper Haas each
medaling in their race, while freshman runners
Ryu Iguchi and Neal Fallon each medaled in
their race. In the girls JV race, Leah Guziak
placed third and Aliya Rafei seventh. In the
freshman race, Tyler Matlosz, Isabelle Mai
and Erin Rifkin finished third, fourth and
fifth respectively.
Eagles Fall to
Mira Costa in Football
El Segundo High faced Mira Costa for
the third consecutive year in a non-league
football game. The Eagles had defeated the
perennial powerhouse Mustangs 18-14 two
seasons ago and 21-6 last season. It turned
out that the third time was a charm for Mira
Costa when it took advantage of four turnovers
to defeat the Eagles 42-21. The game was
actually closer than the final score might have
indicated. Without those four Eagle turnovers,
each setting up touchdowns, it might have
been a very different story.
Senior quarterback Matt Romero threw
three touchdown passes, including one to
Scott Melton on a 43-yard pass play. He
also connected with Christophe Charles on
a 46-yard catch and run and another to Joey
Gorte for 23 yards. Romero had a rough night
being chased and sacked four times. One of
the bright highlights on defense was Dylan
Marquez-Wasson’s interception.
The Eagles (1-2) will host Torrance (0-3)
Friday night at 7 p.m. The Tartars have started
the season on the south side of success, having
been outscored 6-86.
Eagles Schedule
The girls volleyball team is in action on
Friday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Beverly Hills
in an Ocean League match. The boys water
polo team returns home next Wednesday
to host Beverly Hills in an Ocean League
game. The cross country teams travel to
Irvine on Friday and Saturday to run in the
Woodbridge Invitational. •
The El Segundo High School girls cross country team strategizes its “pack” approach during the Eagle Invitational held at The Lakes.
El Segundo won the first Eagle Invitational and the team poses with medals.
Nate Kehl gets a block from Dylan Phillips and looks for running room on this pass play.