A pair of local cross country teams turned in some top performances last weekend in different CIF divisional races. On the boys side, La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School captured the Division IV CIF crown. The effort included a valiant effort from senior Alex Poyhonen, who despite being weakened by the race managed to cross the finish line. Teammates Dennis Roth and Lee Klitzner also crossed the line to send the Torreys to victory. Poyhonen gave an outstanding effort just to cross the finish line after falling (possibly to dehydration) during the race. LJCD head coach Scott Sanders was there at the end to catch Poyhonen as he crossed the finish line. “There have been questions about whether Alex should have been encouraged to keep going when he was so clearly struggling,” Sanders said. “I have coached Alex for four years and obviously know him very well. I knew how important finishing was for him, and what kind of a competitor he is. As long as he was able to get back up, I had to let him keep going and keep encouraging him. It was his last race in San Diego, his shot at the state meet, and that of his team as well. “I was right there next to him, ready to intervene if he couldn’t go on, but as long as he was trying to get to the finish line, I had to let him. I’ve discussed this with his parents and have received their support for how things went. They agree that for Alex, crossing the finish line was an imperative.” Poyhonen finished in 16th place, in 18:21. In the 10 seconds that followed, three more Torreys crossed the finish line. Alex Fleischhacker finished 17th, Eric Blodgett was 19th and Noah Wolfenzon (the team’s sixth man, non-scoring) was 20th. Jake Mack would finish a minute later, in 36th place. “The strong races of Lee and Dennis, coupled with the scores of Alex and Eric, ensured the team victory,” Sanders remarked. “We beat Christian by a score of 57 to 68. Had Alex (Poyhonen) not been able to finish, Noah’s score would have also brought us the win.” What may have seemed like an eternity for Poyhonen to finish just showed everyone involved what kind of effort the young man was willing to give for his teammates on this day. “In the three minutes or so it took Alex to struggle through those last few hundred yards, his character and that of his teammates was completely revealed and exposed,” Sanders continued. “As wrenching as it was to watch Alex suffer and see one of his dreams evaporate (winning the meet), his courage and drive were inspiring. He was on a personal mission to finish his last CIF race, to be sure, but I know that his main concern in finishing was for his team. That Dennis and Lee would stop racing with only seconds to go out of concern for their fallen teammate was equally inspiring. That all of the boys ran their hearts out, making sure they did their part in a championship race — well, they’ve done that all year, but it still pleases me every time. I was also incredibly impressed and touched by the concern shown by the Country Day parents, students and teachers who were there, and also by Alex’s competitors.” On the girls side, LJCD also turned in some good times, as Sam Staszak just missed qualifying for the state meet as an individual; her time of 19:38 was about seven seconds off 12th place. Senior Sasha Binderow finished 25th in her final cross country race, with the team finishing fifth overall. “With a core group of freshmen on the team, we’re hoping for big improvement next year,” Sanders noted. Elsewhere, the La Jolla High girls team placed third in the Division III CIF finals, qualifying for the state meet this weekend in Fresno. Of 70 teams at CIFs, La Jolla finished 13th overall. La Jolla was led by seniors Nihal Kayali (fifth place, 17:35), Courtney Avvampato (10th, 17:54), Tess Plant-Thomas (18th, 18:18), Tatevick Simavoryan (33rd, 19:03), Ilanna Fricks (34th, 19:03), Jeanine Mejares (41st, 19:25) and Zoe Wescoe (50th, 19:46). “Everybody had very strong finishes; Courtney Avvampato and Tess Plant-Thomas came on very strong in the last 150 yards to pass several girls to make our trip to States possible,” La Jolla head coach Roger Karnopp said. Karnopp also noted the efforts of Kayali, who has been recovering from a stress fracture of her femur. Kayali trained hard in recent weeks to ready herself for the CIFs, making it possible for La Jolla to do well. “Without her (Kayali) having that dedication, the team would not have the success they had,” Karnopp added.