Just like it did four years ago, Ventura High has caught the boys’ cross country postseason by surprise.

Not listed among the top Division II programs all season, Ventura placed second in its heat Saturday at the CIF-Southern Section Prelims at Mount San Antonio College.

Using a familiar formula, Ventura’s top five runners were separated by only 34 seconds. Easton Tacket and Doug Petrie were eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Division II heat. In 2006, unranked Ventura was the Division II section and state runner-up.

Ventura was one of 14 area teams to qualify for the Nov. 21 CIF Divisional Finals on the same course.

It was a day of strong team and individual performers for Ventura County. Three teams and four individuals were heat winners.

Ranked No. 1 in the nation by The Harrier magazine, Royal put on a command performance.

Four runners placed in the top 10 in the heat and all seven were within a 49-second time gap. Korey Yoakum (15 minutes, 23 seconds) and Travis Edwards (15:30) were third and fourth. Sean Davidson (15:33) placed sixth and Paul Jesson (15:35) finished ninth.

Led by defending Division III girls’ individual champion Melissa Skiba, Oak Park won its heat handily.

Skiba won with a time of 17:49. Kaycee Holcomb was fourth (18:30). Also placing in the top 20 in the heat were: Taelor Young, 11th, 19:10; Jessica Reints, 12th, 19:11; and Brittany Stalzer, 16th, 19:24.

Defending state champion La Reina and Oaks Christian were first and third in the same Division IV girls’ race.

La Reina packed four runners in the top 11. Rachel Brajkovich (18:32) and Sarah Pearson (18:51) were first and third for the Regents. Katie Kavetsky (20:04) was ninth.

Leading Oaks Christian was Fallon Cislo, who placed fifth in 19:21. Christina Garcia (20:23) was 13th.

Although Frontier League champion Nordhoff did not qualify, senior Catherine Hasbrouck made the finals after placing second in her heat in 18:45.

Not advancing out of the Division III girls’ prelim was Agoura, which was eighth. Sara DeLuca (19:29) and Jana Peale (19:44) were 20th and 28th.

Condor League champion Thacher was second in its Division I boys’ heat behind Woodcrest Christian.

Will Callan (16:00) and Joel Reimer (16:24) were first and third for the Toads. All five Thacher runners placed in the top 25.

In Division I girls, Simi Valley survived with a fourth-place finish in its heat. Liberty Miller was the individual winner in 17:21. Alexis Miller was 18th in 19:15. Competing in the same race as an individual, Oxnard’s Sydney Caldwell was 11th in 18:57.

Westlake and Newbury Park advanced in the same Division II boys’ heat with Ventura. Sam DeMello (16:01) and Jonathan Miller (16:02) were 12th and 14th. Westlake had a 28-second time gap. For Newbury Park, Sean Grumney (15:38) was second and Talmage Jones (15:48) was seventh.

Camarillo was the runner-up in the last Division II boys’ heat as Heyden Wooff placed first as an individual in 15:16. Erik Pinuelas was fifth in 15:53.

Defending Division II boys’ champion Thousand Oaks missed qualifying by 19 points. The Lancers were fifth in their heat. Kevin Joerger advances as an individual after posting one of the best times (15:19) of the day. Rio Mesa was out of the money after placing 10th in its heat.

Royal did not qualify after finishing sixth in its Division I heat. Kelly Upson (18:25) and Sophie Mateu (18:46) were fifth and 12th.

Simi Valley and Oxnard did not qualify in their Division I boys’ heats. David Nelson (15:50) and Michael Vorgitch (15:51) was 17th and 18th for Simi Valley, while Gustavo Mena was 48th (16:40).

In Division III boys, Oak Park did not advance after placing seventh. Blake Minasian was 20th in 16:23.

Qualifying in Division IV boys was Oaks Christian, which finished sixth. Vincent Colarossi (16:52) and Ryan Huning (16:55) were 14th and 18th. Nordhoff was one place away from qualifying. Matt Russell was 25th in 17:05. St. Bonaventure and Fillmore were ninth and 11th in their heat.

Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Ventura qualified for the Division II girls’ final.

Westlake qualified fourth in its heat. Nicki Ghazarian (18:42) and Rachel Smiley (19:22) were eighth and 15th. In the final heat, Thousand Oaks and Ventura were third and fourth, respectively. Kalin Padberg (19:14) and Caitlin Turner (19:15) were 18th and 19th. Ventura’s Hannah Kirkegaard was third in 18:08.

Pacific View League rivals Camarillo and Rio Mesa did not advance after being seventh and 10th, respectively. Freshman Aliya Shah was seventh in 18:33, but it wasn’t enough to help Buena, which did not qualify.