A new season of racing hits local courses for scholastic boys and girls cross-country teams.
At La Jolla High, Head Girls Coach Roger Karnopp said the Lady Vikings are expecting a better overall season than one year ago.
La Jolla lost one runner to graduation, Laurie Mittermiller. Among the returnees is Nihal Kayali, back from injuries.
“The key obviously is to stay healthy and injury-free at the right times,” Karnopp noted.
Other key runners are seniors Margot Hedlin, Lily Howard and Maya Gamble; and sophomores Kayali, Tess Plant-Thomas, Courtney Avvampato and Meagn Bautista. Two other runners who could figure in are senior Kate Weber and freshman Rosie Jaye.
Last year La Jolla was second in the Western League, second in CIF and 18th at States.
“At States we did not have Kayali or Courtney Avvampato, so, this year we are looking to, first, make it to States, and then to improve our standing at States,” Karnopp said.
The junior varsity team finished in a tie for first in the Western League last year and was led by Haley Hammerschaimb.
On the boys’ side, La Jolla High adds new Head Coach Hal Goforth to the mix.
According to Goforth, this year’s squad will be paced by Trevor Dorne, Jonathon Westman, Lucas Binder and Greg Horvath.
La Jolla has very good depth with returning JV runners Tucker Bass, Bryant Hammerschaimb and Daniel Holl, Zac Wesco, Jacob Glavan and Thamine Dalichaouch.
“The strength here is really in the alternates for the varsity,” Goforth commented. “But, some very dedicated freshmen and sophomores give us great depth in JV and will be quite ready to move to varsity next year.”
At The Bishop’s School, the Knights and Head Coach Mary Fran Cullen saw the boys team win the CIF Div. IV crown last season and the girls finish second.
“Last year we lost a large number of varsity boys as they graduated, but we are excited to have another strong senior boys group as well as a few key juniors and sophomores on the boys’ side,” Cullen said.
Juniors Andy Morgosh and Alex Meyers reportedly look very strong, along with seniors Patrick Wemmer, Stephen Bardin and Tim Stiefler. Sophomores Henry Su and Trevor Sinclair should add depth to this year’s varsity squad.
“The girls are looking strong this season as well,” Cullen said. “Our largest group is comprised of our sophomore girls, including returning runners Elizabeth Schulze, Alicia Triana and Naomi Wagner, and newcomer Laura Wyatt. Seniors Sarah Bromley and Natalie Wheeler and junior Annie Kadota will add depth and experience to the varsity team. The girls team looks really strong this season.”
At La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School, Head Coach Scott Sanders and the Torreys look to replace CIF individual champ Val Christy and four-time all-CIF runner Hana Justice, who were lost to graduation.
Five other members of the defending Coastal Conference and Division IV CIF champion Lady Torreys squad are back, however. They include Coastal League champ and Division IV runner-up Lauren Pischel. Pischel last weekend won the Division II race at the Bronco Roundup at Kit Carson Park.
Jasmine Junnarkar (senior), Ariel Abbott (junior), Sasha Binderow (sophomore), and Breanna Muir (sophomore), all top-20 finishers at CIF last year, are hoping to repeat as CIF champs and improve on their 10th-place finish at States. These girls will be joined by freshman Alexis Samuels, while Jess Jacobs and Sarina Fritz should compete for the seventh varsity spot.
“Depth is again an issue for us, but I’m confident that we will be healthy and strong come November,” Sanders said.
On the boys side, LJCD suffered greatly last year after losing almost the entire varsity to graduation. This year, Sanders said the squad should be able to make some serious strides back towards a championship.
“Graduation didn’t really hurt us this year, though we did lose a couple runners to other interests,” Sanders commented. “A lot will depend on the large freshmen contingent, who are very athletic and competitive.”
Alex Fleischhacker, Dennis Roth, Vinny Pujji and Jason McCallum have already made their way on to the varsity for the Torreys. Recently, Fleischhacker and Roth set school records for the freshman race at the Wolfpack Invitational, while Pujji and McCallum finished in the Top 20.
Returning varsity runners are Alex Poyhonen (sophomore), Stephen Migdal (senior), Ben Fleischhacker (senior), and Jake Eliasberg (sophomore).
“With so many freshmen on the two squads, it’s really hard to say what things will look like in November when it matters most,” Sanders added. “But we’re off to a great start and I’m very optimistic that the girls have a shot at winning their seventh straight Coastal and CIF championships, and I have no doubt that the boys will consistently show that they are much improved over last year.”