November 12, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
In the first two 605 League cross country meets, nothing changed with the top three team finishes. It was Whitney High, Cerritos High and Oxford Academy for the boys and Cerritos, Whitney and Oxford Academy for the girls.
Cerritos High senior Anna Field starts fast out of the gate at the 605 League finals last Wednesday and never looks back, winning the race with a time of 19:04. The next runner to cross the finish line, Whitney sophomore Katherine Low, came in 62 seconds after Field. PHOTOS BY JASON WATANABE.
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That did not change during the league finals last Wednesday at Ralph B. Clark Park in Buena Park as the Cerritos girls cruised past Whitney 24-68 with Oxford Academy gaining 73 points while the Whitney boys defeated the Dons 26-38 with Oxford Academy getting 67 points.
Not much changed at the top with the individuals as well as Cerritos senior Anna Field led wire to wire, finishing with a time of 19:04 and winning the league’s most valuable player award, winning all three league meets. After Whitney sophomore Katherine Low came in second place for the third time, at 20:06, the next three spots were occupied by Cerritos runners-junior Dani Romero (20:11) and sophomores Daisy Lee (21:14) and Kalana Nguyen (21:24).
The last three Cerritos runners all claimed the 11th, 12th and 13th spots as senior Zilian Liu had a time of 22:56, then sophomores Maye Zarate (22:59) and Nandini Panchal (23:18). Whitney freshman Madison Lee finished in seventh place with a time of 21:52 and after that, the next runner for the Wildcats would be junior Alyson Kang, who came in 16th place at 24:04.
Not known for cross country for the most part, Artesia High had a full complement of runners and came in fourth place, three points behind Oxford Academy. Sophomore Nya Crespin finished in ninth place with a time of 21:59 and sophomore Genesis Flores was 42 seconds behind her in 10th place.
Also not known for cross country was John Glenn High, which had the necessary five harriers to get points as it finished in fifth place. Junior Melanie Patino was the school’s top runner (15th place, 23:51). There were 35 runners out of a possible 42 that could run the race as Oxford Academy had six runners and Pioneer High had just three runners.
For the boys, Cerritos freshman Vincent Valenzuela, who had finished in fifth place and second place in the first two league meets, took home the top prize in the finals with a time of 16:37 while Whitney junior Christian Ishiki, who was named the league’s MVP, was 19 seconds behind Valenzuela. It was Ishiki who took the early lead before Valenzuela passed him midway through the race and never looked back.
Cerritos High freshman Vincent Valenzuela is all alone as he wins the 605 League Championships with a time of 16:37. Although he won the race, it was Whitney High which compiled 26 team points while Cerritos had 38 team points. PHOTO BY JASON WATANABE.
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Cerritos sophomore Allan Woolley came in third place (17:01) before Whitney seized the next three spots-seniors Ethan Choi (17:03) and Matthew Low (17:13) and junior Avery Chen (17:39). Cerritos senior Howard Lee finished in seventh place at 17:40 while a pair of Whitney juniors, Brendan Perry and Caiden Cortes rounded out the top 10 with times of 17:59 and 18:00, respectively.
Cerritos junior Nicholas Melendrez came in 11th place at 18:08 and five spots later, it was senior Alton Chan at 18:35 to complete the official scoring for the Dons.
The top 10 finishers for the boys and girls following the 605 League Championships last Wednesday at Ralph B. Clark Park in Buena Park. PHOTOS BY JASON WATANABE.
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Glenn would come in fifth place with senior Jacob Enriquez (23rd,19:23) the team’s top runner while Artesia sent the necessary five runners, led by senior Maverick Crawford (29th, 20:45). Artesia was the only school that did not have the full complement of seven runners.
Cerritos, Oxford Academy and Whitney all have qualified for the CIF-Southern Section preliminaries, to be held on Friday and Saturday at Mt. San Antionio College. In one Division 2 heat, the Cerritos girls will race at approximately 11:13 Saturday morning while the boys will go at approximately 11:57. The Whitney girls will race in a Division 4 heat at approximately 8:13 Saturday morning while the boys will compete approximately 44 minutes later.
Individually, Crespin and Flores will race in Division 4 action at approximately 7:45 Saturday morning.
In other cross country news, both Valley Christian High teams will be in the CIF-SS Division 5 preliminaries with the girls racing at approximately 8:58 Friday morning while the boys will go at approximately 9:32. The La Mirada High girls will race in one Division 3 heat at approximately 9:23 Saturday morning while the Gahr High boys (Division 3) and Norwalk High boys (Division 2) will race in their respective heats at approximately 10:21 and 11:45 on Saturday morning.
FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK
DIVISION 13
#1 Gahr (6-5) @ #9 Artesia (9-2)-There will be no shortage of storylines in the lone remaining area postseason game, starting with the fact that these two longtime ABC Unified School District rivals will be renewing acquaintances for the first time since 2017.
Gahr is coming off a 41-14 rout over La Puente High last Friday as senior running back Dylan Richburg had a season-high 143 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns. junior wide receiver Jai’Dyn Backus added 58 yards on seven carries and scored once while junior quarterback Roman Acosta completed seven of eight passes for 89 yards. The defense also scored on an interception return and a fumble recovery as the Gladiators surpassed 40 points for the fourth time, three in the last four games.
The big story for the Gladiators is the uncertainty of senior offensive utility person and cornerback Markell Slaughter, who has missed four games because of an injury. Slaughter leads the team with 606 yards on the ground and nine touchdowns but has also completed 26 of 43 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns and caught 17 of Acosta’s passes for 247 yards and another touchdown. On defense, he has the team’s lone interception.
Gahr head coach Greg Marshall said that it’s a possibility that Slaughter could play against Artesia but might be able to run only straight. In fact, Marshall has classified his status as a ‘maybe’ for next week.
Artesia is coming off a narrow 31-27 win at Desert Hot Springs High last week as junior running back Josue Flores scored the game-winner late in the game, a 10-yard run for his third touchdown of the night. He would gain 134 yards on 26 carries while senior quarterback Charlie Lopez scored on a 25-yard run to begin the game’s scoring. He had 178 yards on 21 carries and completed six of 11 passes for 52 yards.
The Pioneers had leads of 7-0 and 14-7 before owning a 24-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter against the second place team from the Sun Valley League.
“It was a long day for our guys,” said Artesia head coach Connor Crook. “We left [at 11:00 a.m.] so we could beat the traffic. I knew it was going to be tough; we’ve really never [travelled far] this year with our guys. But they made a good day out of it.
“They were similar to us,” he continued, talking about Desert Hot Springs. “We were in the semis last year for D. 14 and just fell short of reaching our goal and they were the same as well, but in D. 13. So, we both had a lot to play for. They played hard and it was a good game.”
For the season, Lopez has 53 completions in 95 attempts for 929 yards and seven touchdowns while adding another 1,176 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground. Senior running back Julius Padilla has rushed for 375 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Flores is next with 293 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Josue runs really hard,” said Crook. “He’s not super flashy or anything like that. He just runs really hard and will run right into guys and keep moving his feet. This year, he really hasn’t had a lot of games where he gets this many carries. But I know we can do that if it comes down to it because he does have that experience from last year.”
Junior lineman Maximus Garcia leads the Pioneers with four sacks while seven players have combined for 13 interceptions, led by sophomore linebacker Robert Garcia, who has three picks.
“I don’t know much about them,” said Marshall. “I just know they are vastly improved, just like Cerritos. I know they have a good running back because his grandmother works at Gahr. I hear every week how good he is. I don’t know how well they throw the ball, but I know, obviously, they can run it.”
Crook says he thinks Gahr is athletic and has some athletes that do a lot of things on the offensive side, especially with a lot of formations and different things that the Pioneers will have to prepare for. He also added that defensively, the Gladiators keep it simple, but will be ready to stop Artesia’s running game, which has gained over 2,500 yards and scored 39 touchdowns.
Last November was the first time that all three ABCUSD schools that have a football program advanced to the postseason in the same season with Cerritos winning the Division 12 championship game and the Pioneers advancing to the semifinals. This season will mark the second straight in which a district school will have advanced to the semifinals.
This rivalry began in 1973 with Gahr holding a 22-15 advantage in games in which a score was reported. There are five years in the 1980s and two more in the 1990s in which no score was reported, or the game was not played. Artesia and Gahr did have its 2001 contest cancelled because it was days after the terrorist attacks on America.
When last they met, Gahr was on the positive side of a 47-7 contest and has won the last four in the series. Gahr’s biggest win in the series came in 1998 and 2016, both 56-7 scores. However, the Gladiators won the 2007 meeting 62-42. Artesia’s biggest win was a 49-7 conquest in 1991 but scored 50 points in a 15-point win in 2008.
Crook is no stranger to seeing Gahr this season as the two teams defeated Ocean View High with the Gladiators winning 43-35 on Sept. 6 and Artesia beating the Seahawks the following week 14-13. Both have also lost to Cerritos with Gahr getting whitewashed 37-0 on Aug. 30 while Artesia fell to the Dons 36-7 on the last game of the season.
“We were really watching the film to scout Ocean View, but we saw some Gahr film,” he said. “Obviously, we played Cerritos, and they played Gahr way early [in the season] and we were watching some of that film as well. So, we’ve seen bits and pieces of them. We threw with them over the summer; we did seven on seven against their guys.”
This is the third time the Pioneers have reached the quarterfinals with 2018 and last season being the other two seasons while Gahr has not gotten out of the first round since 2007.
An Artesia win means it will host either fourth-seeded Anaheim High or Arrowhead Christian High in the semifinals while a Gahr win will keep the Gladiators at home against Anaheim or see them travel to Redlands to face Arrowhead Christian.
“It’s a big game for the area,” said Crook. “I’m sure we’re going to have people from the district office come. It will be a big game for the area, especially since we haven’t played them since 2017. So, I’m expecting that; a good turnout this Friday.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
The 2024-2025 season beings on Monday as Cerritos hosts Cypress High, Gahr will face Palm Desert High in the Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary Tip-Off Classic, Glenn will travel to Lennox Academy, La Mirada will face South Torrance High in a first round game of the 7th Annual “Rumble On The Hill” Tournament while Valley Christian will entertain St. Francis High in pool play action of the V.C. Tournament.
On Tuesday, Artesia hosts Calvary Christian High, La Mirada will face either Fullerton High or San Clemente High and Norwalk goes to La Quinta High while on Wednesday, Cerritos takes a road trip to Sierra Canyon High, Gahr will face Linfield Christian High in the CSHM Tip-off Classic, Glenn entertains Eastside Christian High while La Mirada and V.C. continue its respective tournament play.
On Thursday, Gahr hosts Centennial High and Norwalk travels to Anaheim High.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
In season openers on Monday, Glenn will be home to Bolsa Grande High, La Mirada faces Pacifica High in pool play action in the inaugural La Mirada Tournament, Norwalk goes to Kennedy High, V.C. will face Fairmont Prep in the first round of the Oxford Academy Tournament and Whitney hosts Covina High.
On Tuesday, Gahr hosts Garfield High, La Mirada faces Loara High and Norwalk goes to Laguna Beach while V.C. continues the Oxford Tournament, which goes all week. Glenn visits Workman High on Wednesday while Gahr is home to Venice High, Norwalk travels to Los Amigos High and Whitney visits Schurr High the next day.
BOYS SOCCER
V.C. hosts Crean Lutheran High on Monday and will visit Gahr on Tuesday while Glenn is home to The Seed School of Los Angeles County and Whitney travels to the California Academy of Math and Science, also on Tuesday. Two days later, Glenn goes to Norwalk, La Mirada is home to Bellflower High and Whitney welcomes Tarbut V’Torah High.
GIRLS SOCCER
Only three games will take place through Thursday as Glenn visits Calvary Chapel Downey High on Tuesday and Long Beach Cabrillo High on Thursday while Gahr goes to V.C. on Thursday.
