Sweepstakes Boys
Defending D1 state champ Phillip Rocha (Arcadia) is sitting out the meet this weekend, so that opens the door for Eduardo Herrera (Madera South) to win this race. He will meet with resistance from Great Oak's Spencer Dodds, who opened the fall season well after coming off of a strong track season. We will also get to see arguably the most-improved runner of the year so far this season, Steven Khan (Ayala), who won the Great Cow Run 3-Miler over Robbie Santoyo (Bishop Amat). Nobody improved more than Dillon Beckum (Bonita) during the spring, as he eventually reached 4:09 for 1600; will that translate to the course this weekend? Another guy to watch is Hector Garcia (Marshall), who had a monster 3 Mile time in October of last fall, 5th-fastest in California (he also ranks in the top 15 among 5K runners). Jorge Suarez (Santa Ana) won on a much more challenging 3 Mile course at Laguna Hills last weekend. Winning the award for longest trip: Devyn Keith (Curtis Christian LA) brings a sub-15 time across the country from Louisiana, where he is the top returner in the state at 3 Miles.
One of the interesting subtexts to this race will be the battle of the #2 runners, because several of these teams have more than one legitimate top-10 guy. US #8 Great Oak has Isaac Cortes, who seemed to struggle a bit in his first meet two weeks ago; this would be a good race for the 4:08 miler, who ran 14:17 here to finish 7th in 2014, to get back on track. Madera South (US #21) has its own "super second" in Miguel Villar, who is the 5th-fastest returner in California and finished 10th in the Division 1 state meet. You can include Desert Hills (UT) in this category, too, as their front-running duo of Jaiden Melendrez and Joshua Thatcher are the top 2 returners in their state at 3 Miles, which is the standard distance in Utah.
So it's no coincidence that the top three teams in the virtual meet (using returning 2014 times) are the same teams we just listed; those elite second men make their squads very formidable. You can add Mountain Vista (CO) to the list of potential trophy-winners, too; they don't run 3 Mile courses, but the "bubble team" in our Saucony Flo50 rankings is also the #1 returning 5K team in Colorado. Using returning times, you can also put Agoura into the pool of possible top-5 teams, although the Chargers didn't get to race at the Seaside Invitational because the last 3 races were canceled due to extreme heat. You certainly have to believe Arcadia will be in the mix, too; the Dragons have only raced once, without their #1 runner on the tough Laguna Hills course, so a full-strength race on the quick Orange County Great Park course should be a big jump forward for them.
There are a few California teams in this race that are looking for greater respect, and they have the opportunity to earn it by making a splash here this weekend. Ayala certainly fits the bill, and you might even put Bishop Amat in this category; both teams have had a good early season so far, but haven't faced this level of competition yet. West Torrance is another squad looking to earn credibility, and they look good in the returning rankings, but the Warriors did not run well in their first meet. We ranked King #9 in California in our Preseason Countdown, with West Torrance 10th, Canyon (Anaheim Hills) 11th, and Agoura 12th, so this could be an early battle for spots in the top 10 in our first team rankings, coming out in two weeks.
More Woodbridge Classic Coverage
- Meet Page (results from previous years, recent records, and more)
- Virtual Meets Hub