GIRLS' TOP 10
1. Saugus
2. Simi Valley
3. Crescenta Valley
4. Canyon
5. Westlake
6. Golden Valley
7. Royal
8. Valencia
9. Thousand Oaks
10. La Reina
BOYS' TOP 10
1. Burbank
2. Saugus
3. Westlake
4. Hart
5. Golden Valley
6. Oak Park
7. Camarillo
8. Moorpark
9. Canyon
10. Crespi
GIRLS' RUNNERS TO WATCH
SENIORS
Olivia Altieri, Saugus; Abby Buckhoff, Golden Valley; Sonja Cwik, La Cañada; Maddie Dignadice, Valencia; Dominique Dowell, Birmingham; Kathleen Dunne, Camarillo; Gabby Fitzpatrick, Flintridge Sacred Heart; Melanie Fujiwara, Paraclete; Madison Grenier, Paraclete; Callie Hallman, Saugus; Madison Hills, Canyon; Heidi Hoslet, Saugus; Katie Huntington, Saugus; Gracia Innocentia, Burroughs; Jordan Jeworski, La Reina; Cali King, Crescenta Valley; Stephanie LaFace, Notre Dame; Genevieve Johnson, Thousand Oaks; Courtney Korven, Simi Valley; Vanessa Lopez, Highland; Kazia Mermel, Notre Dame; Yasmin Moreno, Harvard-Westlake; Kimberly Nava, Birmingham; Olivia Pear, Valencia; Annie Radigan, Highland; Rachel Ranucci, Newbury Park; Giovanna Romo, San Fernando; Hannah Ruby, Crescenta Valley; Lupe Ruiz, Canyon; Nina Sassano, Saugus; Valeria Soto, Canyon; Chelsey Totten, Golden Valley; Weslie Totten, Golden Valley; Rachel Vinas, Simi Valley; Madison Wildman, Agoura; Elle Wilson, Harvard-Westlake.
JUNIORS
Krista Andreassen, La Reina; Sarah Baxter, Simi Valley; Sammie Cox, Newbury Park; Jamie Delbick, El Camino Real; Brooke Edell, Westlake; Kendall Engelhardt, Oak Park; Kate Evans, Flintridge Prep; Alyssa Frank, La Reina; Abigail Frankian, Saugus; Anna Frederich, La Cañada; Kelsie Garrison, Agoura; Riley Gilmartin, Flintridge Sacred Heart; Kristi Goodspeed, Canyon; Elizabeth Greif, Quartz Hill; Kori Groenveld, Thousand Oaks; Erika Johnson, Crescenta Valley; Shalyn Mabritto, Canyon; Asiah Melville, Granada Hills; Lucik Minassian, Hoover; Kristin Monson, Paraclete; Arlette Movsesyan, Burbank; Monica Nimmagada, Harvard-Westlake; Michelle Padgett, El Camino Real; Raina Sprock, Sierra Canyon; Lizzy Thomas, Harvard-Westlake; Charlotte Utash, Simi Valley; Ana Vargas, Fulton Prep; Madelyn Vorgitch, Simi Valley; Taylor Welker, West Ranch; Sarah Yoho, Flintridge Prep.
FRESHMEN/SOPHOMORES
Casey Au, El Camino Real, Soph.; Vanessa Barajas, Birmingham, Soph.; Ariana Brajkovich, La Reina, Soph.; Natalie Cox, Newbury Park, Soph.; Trishta Dordi, Harvard-Westlake, Soph.; Clarice Douille, Westlake, Soph.; Emma Fleming, Oaks Christian, Soph.; Jenny Giguere, Westlake, Soph.; Monika Gyalay, Moorpark; Augustina Hansen, Hart, Soph.; Ashley Heys, Saugus, Fr.; Brianne Holland, Royal; Desirae Jones, Simi Valley; Darby LaPlant, Saugus, Soph.; Giselle Maseda, Chatsworth, Soph.; Megan Melnyk, Crescenta Valley, Soph.; Samantha Ortega, Saugus, Soph.; Amelia Pear, Valencia, Soph.; Rachel Power, Desert Christian, Soph.; Sarah Riggs, Simi Valley; Leana Setian, Glendale, Soph.; Bianca Tinoco, Golden Valley, Fr.
BOYS' RUNNERS TO WATCH
SENIORS
Matthew Binkley, Quartz Hill; Jeff Black, West Ranch; Chris Carlson, Oak Park; Jackson Chirigotis, Simi Valley; Bernie Corea, Burbank; Jo Jo Cortez-Adams, Crespi; Andrew Davis, Buckley; Nolan Del Valle, Golden Valley; Elias Ellison, Flintridge Prep; Aaron Esparza, Crescenta Valley; Jonathan Feller, Simi Valley; Austin Fisher, Saugus; Sergio Fraire, Burbank; Tommy Foudy, Royal; Timo Garcia, Golden Valley; Zack Gomez, Camarillo; Joel Gonzalez, Camarillo; Cole Helm, Saugus; Jackson Higgins, Alemany; Anthony Janaslani, Saugus; Michael Keller, Moorpark; Jake Ledbetter, Thousand Oaks; Alex MacMiller, Crespi; Alexis Malagon, Monroe; Nick Martin, Buckley; Michael Mrgudic, Granada Hills; Rodrigo Ornelas, Saugus; Teerth Patel, Moorpark; David Peterson, Valencia; Rocky Peterson, Westlake; Josh Sherfey, Hart; Luis Solano, Birmingham; Aaron Sugimoto, Flintridge Prep; Patrick Thedinga, Oak Park; Brendon Tinoco, Golden Valley; Kenny Trejo, Hoover; Nikolas Utash, Simi Valley; Esteban Vega, Camarillo; Billy Walker, Hart; Zachary Wims, Canyon; A.J. Yarnall, Saugus; Jeremy Zadoorian, Hoover.
JUNIORS
Isaiah Amos, Burbank; Sahm Bazargan, Oak Park; Warren Bonilla, Crespi; Ricky Buckelew, El Camino Real; Jonathan Byrne, Newbury Park; Elliot Choe, Burbank; Gabe Collison, Crescenta Valley; Chris Costa, Westlake; Adam Driedger, Canyon; Mikey Giguere, Westlake; Carlos Guijarro, Knight; Ryan Klachko, Royal; David Manahan, Harvard-Westlake; Ricky Mendez, Burroughs; Matthew Meredith, Notre Dame; Arsen Mkrtchyan, Burbank; Ethan Moskowitz, Burbank; Sean O'Bryan, Westlake; Michael Picchini, Moorpark; Charles Salomon, Bellarmine-Jefferson; Ezra Soriano, El Camino Real; Ben Thomas, Thousand Oaks; Erick Villegas, Birmingham; Alan Yoho, Flintridge Prep.
FRESHMEN/SOPHOMORES
Ryan Alexander, Birmingham, Soph.; Mac Kaufman, Hart, Soph.; Alex Pearson, Saugus, Soph.; Nikhil Poole, Flintridge Prep, Fr.; Ruben Rubira, Hart, Soph.; Ben Weissenbach, Harvard-Westlake, Soph.
FIVE BURNING QUESTIONS
1.Which local team could benefit most from changing Southern Section divisions because of new enrollment figures?
Simi Valley. After a year of battling Saugus in Div. II, the Simi Valley girls return to Div. I -- where they competed in 2010 -- and are a heavy favorite to win another section title with the return of Nike Cross Nationals champion Sarah Baxter, along with Rachel Vinas, Sarah Riggs, Desirae Jones, Madelyn Vorgitch, Charlotte Utash and Courtney Korven. The Pioneers could also capture their first state title after placing fourth last year in Div. II, with Ventura, San Clemente, Dana Hills, Great Oak and St. Francis of Sacramento as the primary challengers. Simi Valley's boys' team could also reach the Southern Section Div. I final with one of the deepest rosters in program history.
2. Will any area boys' team win a section title?
No. After Golden Valley, Saugus, Harvard-Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Birmingham, Monroe and Fulton Prep have all won championships in the past four seasons, it will be tough for any local group to achieve that feat this season. Burbank has perhaps its strongest team in program history, but competes in Div. I, where the Bulldogs placed seventh in the section and 11th in the state last year. Saugus, Westlake and Hart are all capable of reaching the Div. II state meet, but getting past Loyola and Dos Pueblos at the section final will be tough. Oak Park, Crespi and Flintridge Prep are all worthy challengers in their divisions, but none finished higher than third at last year's section meet and have their work cut out in order to win a title. Taft was the only local City Section team to place in the top five at last year's final and graduated its top three runners, so it could be tough for any area program to challenge Palisades and San Pedro. Fulton has the best shot to win again in the City small school division, but must replace five of its top seven.
3. Will Saugus capture a seventh consecutive girls' state championship?
Yes, because come November on the Woodward Park course, no team is better prepared than the Centurions. Despite significant graduation losses last season, Saugus bounced back from a setback to Simi Valley at the Div. II section final to extend its state record to six consecutive titles. Although Saugus lost Karis Frankian, Jenay Jauregui, Jordan McCall and Emily McCarty from last year's state championship roster, the Centurions have plenty of underrated performers ready to make a significant impact this season. Along with the return of state champions Abigail Frankian, Heidi Hoslet and Katie Huntington, Saugus will rely on Olivia Altieri, Samantha Ortega, Darby LaPlant, Nina Sassano and Callie Hallman to battle Tesoro, Anaheim Canyon, Redondo Union and La Costa Canyon in order to extend its legacy.
4. Which are the area's most competitive leagues?
For the boys, the Marmonte League has plenty of parity, with the Mission League girls' competition more balanced than in recent years. Although Westlake is the favorite to win the Marmonte boys' championship, Moorpark, Royal, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks will all be battling for postseason berths, which could set up for impressive battles at both Ventura County Championships and the league final. With Harvard-Westlake graduating all-state performers Cami Chapus and Amy Weissenbach -- both at Stanford -- the Wolverines will need to rely more on a strong pack to hold off the upcoming challenges from Notre Dame and Flintridge Sacred Heart. The Foothill League features the most talent, but isn't as deep as it has been in recent seasons.
5. Which local teams could enjoy breakthrough seasons?
Canyon's girls and Westlake's boys. Although Canyon finished 16th at last year's Southern Section Div. II final, Madison Hills, Valeria Soto, Lupe Ruiz, Shalynn Mabritto and Shelby Dunn return from last season's lineup, with Kristi Goodspeed and Kaitlynn Tedrick adding potential depth for the Cowboys in their pursuit to reach the state meet. Westlake was 14th in Div. II, but also returns a strong corps led by Mikey Giguere. The efforts of Rocky Peterson, Chris Costa, Sean O'Bryan and Graham Rigby will be instrumental in the Warriors' success, which should include a trip to the state final.
MEETS TO WATCH
Today: Seaside Invitational at Buenaventura State Park.
Saturday: Fastback Shootout at Mount San Antonio College.
Sept. 15: Woodbridge Invitational at Estancia High.
Sept. 20: Foothill League Meet No. 1 at Central Park.
Sept. 22: Bellarmine-Jefferson Invitational at Griffith Park.
Sept. 29: Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park; Stanford Invitational.
Oct. 6: Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park; Santa Clarita Invitational at Castaic Lake.
Oct. 19-20: Mount San Antonio College Invitational.
Oct. 26: Ventura County Championships at Lake Casitas.
Oct. 31: League finals: Mission at Woodley Park; Golden at Pelona Vista Park.
Nov. 1: League finals: Marmonte at Agoura; Foothill at Central Park; TCAA at Lake Casitas.
Nov. 17: Southern Section finals at Mt. SAC; City Section finals at Pierce College.
Nov. 24: State finals at Woodward Park.
