The Point Loma High School (PLHS) cross country teams ran thousands of miles in practice this season, but it paid off in what coach Keith DeLong called “a great season.” It was senior Meghan Breadmore, however, who clearly stole the show. Breadmore came within 15 seconds of qualifying for the national finals Dec. 4 at Mt. San Antonio College in the Foot Locker West Regionals, a race that featured the best runners from several states. Breadmore turned in a time of 18:47 for a 12th-place finish. The top-10 runners qualified for nationals, with the 10th-place finisher coming in at 18:32. While the event ended Breadmore’s prep cross country career, she also collected a pair of honors this fall. Breadmore covered the 2.75-mile Morley Field course in Balboa Park in a time of 16:29 to capture the title in CIF Division II. The race, held Nov. 20 in a driving rainstorm, showcased Breadmore’s skills as she crossed the finish line 37 seconds before the second-place runner. Despite the achievement, Breadmore said she wasn’t pleased with her performance. “I was really unhappy with my time because a lot of my competitors ran quite a lot faster than me and my pace was a lot slower. It was nice to win, but I wasn’t real thrilled about my time,” she said last week while preparing for the western regional meet. Breadmore won the Eastern League finals meet Nov. 10 with a time of 17:35 for a 3-mile course at Mira Mesa High, finishing a stunning 1:27 ahead of her nearest competitor. “I’ve played soccer since second grade and did ballet,” said Breadmore. She said she didn’t begin competitive running until high school “because I’ve always liked running and decided to give it a chance.” While she hasn’t accepted any college offers yet, Breadmore listed Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the University of Arizona and the University of California campuses at Santa Barbara and Davis as possible choices. Breadmore’s accomplishments were the highlight of a strong performance by PLHS runners this season by both the girls’ and boys’ teams. DeLong saw his teams finish second in both boys’ and girls’ results at the Eastern League finals. Then, the boys finished fourth and the girls ninth at the CIF finals — strong showings among all county Division II schools. Many of the Pointer cross country team members will run distance events during the spring track season. Training for the sport typically lasts year-round. DeLong and his athletes plan to continue their run to glory as one of PLHS’s top teams.
