More Than 2,000 Expected for County Championships

The Orange County cross-country championships Saturday morning at Irvine Regional Park will bring together more than 2,000 runners from nearly 50 schools.

The featured competitions--the seeded races--will showcase the county’s top boys’ and girls’ teams. The girls’ race, which begins at 9 a.m., could result in the closest finish in the 27-year history of the event.

Top-ranked Edison, the defending Sunset League and Southern Section Division II champion, will battle second-ranked and defending champion Corona del Mar as well as other Sea View League powers Irvine (No. 3) and Santa Margarita (No. 4). Fifth-ranked Canyon, led by Kim Nelson, will be on hand, along with No. 6 Esperanza.

The boys’ seeded race, which begins at 10:24, should be a duel between top-ranked Katella and No. 2 Santa Ana. The Knights have a solid one-two punch in seniors Mike Moreno and Delfino Resendiz. The Saints counter with the trio of Juan Medrano, Frederico Duran and Juan Zaragoza. Rounding out the competition are Mater Dei (No. 4), Corona del Mar (No. 5), Orange (No. 7) and Villa Park (No. 9).

The individual races narrow down to a handful of favorites on the boys’ side, with Orange senior Jaime Martinez, last year’s runner-up, confronting Moreno, Resendiz, Capistrano Valley’s Adalberto Sanchez and Santa Ana Valley’s Joel Orozco.

The girls’ races figure to feature the first showdown of the year between Buena Park senior Carrie Garritson and Nelson, the defending champion. Garritson, winner of the Laguna Hills and Woodbridge invitationals, sat out last season after transferring from Sunny Hills. Nelson, who posted the fastest times at the Las Vegas and Dana Hills invitationals, won the 3,200-meter race at last spring’s Southern Section Masters track and field meet.

Notes

Some of the other girls to keep an eye on Saturday: Carrie Caulkins (Esperanza), Tracy Clark (Corona del Mar), Jessica Corbin (Irvine), Maribel Delgado (Santa Ana Valley), Nancy Dollar (San Clemente), Elisa Estrada (Santa Ana Valley), Amy Gomez (Santa Margarita), Dresden Howell (Corona del Mar), Taryn Lawson (Ocean View), Meghan Mayes (Capistrano Valley), Heather McGlone (Laguna Hills) and Courtney Pugmire (Esperanza).

On the boys’ side: Pat Conlin (Corona del Mar), Mike Gavar (Tustin), Matt Huss (Santa Margarita), Brendon Mahon (La Habra), Martin Pennell (El Toro), Phil Sitner (Villa Park), Brian Slingsby (Corona del Mar) and Ryan Wilkinson (Santa Margarita).