Simi Valley girls' cross country gets into Div. I final

WALNUT - If none of the members of the Simi Valley girls' cross-country team continue their running careers beyond high school, they might want to think about joining the circus instead.

That's because for the second year in a row, the Pioneers perfected the art of tightrope walking when it comes to advancing in the postseason.

Although senior Liberty Miller ran the fastest girls' time of the day at the Southern Section prelims at Mt. San Antonio College - clocking 17 minutes, 21 seconds on the 2.9-mile course - it was anything but easy Saturday for Simi Valley.

The Pioneers, competing without Karla Vernola (injured left leg), secured the fourth and final qualifying berth in their heat with 126 points, making them the lone area team to reach the Nov. 21 Div. I final.

"After the race, everything just fell apart. At first, I thought we didn't make it and I started to cry because I thought it was going to be the last race with my team," Miller said. "They deserve to be there and I didn't want to think what it would be like next week without them there. It was meant to be. They were meant to persevere and be given another chance."

The same couldn't be said for the Crescenta Valley of LaCrescenta girls in Div. I, the Canyon girls in Div. II and the Thousand Oaks boys in Div. II, all of which finished fifth in their qualifying heats to miss advancing by one spot.

In addition to the Simi Valley girls, there were several other close calls for local teams, including the Westlake girls, who finished fourth in their Div. II qualifying heat with 114 points to edge South Torrance (121).

Thousand Oaks, which took third in the final Div. II girls' heat, recorded 118 points to hold off Ventura (123) and Edison of Huntington Beach (124).

Newbury Park and Saugus were both fourth in their respective Div. II boys' heats to complete the 16-team finals field.

Viewpoint of Calabasas got in as the top sixth-place boys' team in Div. V, along with securing the eighth and final girls' qualifying berth in its heat.

Harvard-Westlake of Studio City didn't endure similar nerve-racking moments as Viewpoint, winning both its boys' and girls' heats in Div. IV.

The Wolverines, led by Cami Chapus (18:25) and Amy Weissenbach (18:49) taking first and third, posted the fastest girls' team time in the division (98:01). Harvard-Westlake also produced the top boys' time (83:01) in the division.

The Royal of Simi Valley boys had their top four - Korey Yoakum (15:30), Travis Edwards (15:32), Sean Davidson (15:33) and Paul Jesson (15:35) - finish in the top nine to win the heat with 42 points.

Saugus relied on a 1-2 finish from Kaylin Mahoney (17:55) and Danielle Hernando (18:08) to win its Div. II heat with 33 points, despite resting four varsity runners.

Golden Valley captured its Div. III boys' heat with 32 points, with Seth Totten's second-place finish (15:16) leading five Grizzlies in the top 11.

Melissa Skiba (17:49) and Kaycee Holcomb (18:30) were first and fourth for the Oak Park girls, who won their Div.III heat with 41 points.

Rachel Brajkovich (18:32) and Sarah Pearson (18:51) placed first and third for LaReina of Thousand Oaks in its Div. IV win with 53 points.

Camarillo's Heyden Wooff won his Div. II boys' heat in 15:16, leading the second-place Scorpions (83 points). Canyon and Westlake both took third in their Div. II boys' heats.

Ashley Welker and Bailey Miller both ran 18:18, helping West Ranch take second in its Div. II heat with 99 points.