CIF California Cross Country State Championships 2013 Presented by Farmers

CIF 2013 Boys Individual Preview: Title card matchups across all five divisions

CIF 2013 Boys Individual Preview: Title card matchups across all five divisions

Nov 29, 2013 by FloTrack Staff
CIF 2013 Boys Individual Preview: Title card matchups across all five divisions
Back at the Flotrack HQ, there are some arguments you know that’ll happen once a week. Who would win in a 600m race between Usain Bolt and Mo Farah? Who’s the greatest of all-time? What state is not only the deepest, but has the best quality runners?

Though none hail from the great state of California, we’ve all come to be partial towards The Golden State over the years.

This year, California added another notch on our belt of love with yet another incredible Mt. SAC Invitational. Although after watching Sarah Baxter’s run last fall, we should have come prepared knowing that we were in store for some solid races.

Make sure to catch all of the action at the 2013 CIF State Cross Country Championship presented by Farmers live on Flotrack (subscription required).

Before we even dip our foot into what’s setting the stage for the CIF State Cross Country Championships Presented by Farmers, let’s just dive into the breakdown.

We’ll give you our two favorites for each boys division and then a few dark horses. Since our adventure at Mt. SAC, we’ve learned to never sleep on those wily California kids.

Division 1 (9:40am)

It’s uncommon that the main event comes first, but the CIF gives the people what they want. It’s Stockdale’s Blake Haney versus Torrey Pines’ Tal Braude.

While Flotrack was riding the Haney train all the way to the Foot Locker Championships, the future Oregon Duck stumbled at Mt. SAC and finished sixth in 15:01. We were pretty stunned, but maybe should have seen it coming as Braude, who took the win in 14:27, had some hype on social media before the race.

Though the two have taken different paths to the CIF State Championships, Haney and Braude will again cross paths this Saturday.


Relive that incredible race at Mt. SAC

Our pick? We think Haney will exact some revenge. If Braude wins, he should feel free to give us the whole “Fool me once...” speech.

Though the bout should be between these two heavyweights, there may be another challenger who can sneak and and take the win. Watch out for San Pedro’s Steve Correa, who was the LA City Section in 15:21. He ran 14:49 at Mt. SAC as well.

Another guy riding some momentum is Dana Hills’ Jake Ogden, who won the Southern Section in 14:41 and ran 15:16 at Mt. SAC.

Though the Arcadia duo of Estevan de La Rosa and Philip Rocha could be in the mix, our last sleeper is De La Salle’s Blair Hurlock. He’s another sectional champion (North Coast in 14:30) and ran 14:48 at Mt. SAC.

Division 2 (10:10am)

If you didn’t get your fill from the first heavyweight bout, don’t worry, there’s a second one about 30 minutes later.

“Two title card fights in two separate divisions?!” you might say. Don’t like the Division 2 label fool you - this one is going to be one to watch as well.

This one’ll feature Villa Park’s Garrett Corcoran and La Costa Canyon’s Steven Fahy. Coincidentally, both preps have been featured by Flotrack this season one way or another.

After his impressive win over super sophomore Austin Tamagno at the Orange Country Championships (14:28 to 14:33), Corcoran earned the adidas Boost Performance of the Week in Run Junkie. That’s a nice accolade to put on one’s resume.

But what’s even better is that after finishing second at Mt. SAC in a blazing 14:29, Corcoran made his intentions clear - he wants a CIF state title.



After initially flying under the radar this season, Fahy (who just committed to Stanford) stormed onto the scene with a third place finish (15:04) at the Stanford XC Invitational.

- Runner of the Week: Steven Fahy goes from the watch list to #5 in the nation

Our pick? Just like Gerry Bertier in Remember the Titans, Corcoran is too strong. Though the last time we slept on Fahy, he surprised three of the then top five preps in the country...

Speaking of those who might quietly make a run for a state title, we’ll throw out names like Canyon Springs’ Hector Hernandez, Glendora’s Jeff Kirwin, and Westlake’s Mikey Giguere (just in case).

Division 3 (12:20pm)

We really wanted to label this race as the first “good bet” of the morning, but after looking at the results from the CIF Southern Section, there’s still some uncertainty. Curse you Mt. SAC!

Originally, our “safe bet” was going to be Brea Olinda’s super sophomore Austin Tamagno. In his second year at Mt. SAC, Tamagno smashed the sophomore class record at Mt. SAC with his 14:34 win. The previous record was 14:48, held by Elias Gedyon from 2008.

Then the Southern Section came around and ruined the odds. Which is fine for us, because it’s just another anxious and exciting race that we can’t wait to unfold.

At his sectional final, Tamagno took second in 14:39. The winner? Indio High’s David Luna in 14:33. This wasn’t the first time that Luna took down Tamagno either. With his win at the Finals, Luna proved that his victory over the Brea Olinda underclassman at the Southern Section Prelims wasn’t a fluke.

Luna wasn’t too far behind Tamagno time-wise at Mt. SAC (he ran 14:45), but he’s made it clear that he can challenge the sophomore head-to-head.

While we really like Tamagno’s gumption, Luna’s confidence should be riding high.

With all of this head-to-head talk, we haven’t even said anything about the defending champion Aidan Goltra from Campolindo. He’s coming into form after a 14:44 win at the North Coast Section Championships.

In an effort to try and cover as many bases as possible, we’ll mention that El Modena’s Sydney Gidabuday wasn’t too far behind Luna and Tamagno as the Southern Section Final. The senior finished third in 14:48.

Division 4 (11:15am)

A big individual favorite finally emerges in the boys division four championship. Big Bear High School has some storied history in California and we expect Caleb Webb to add another trophy to the school’s cabinet.

Improving on his 14:56 fifth place finish at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Webb came back to the course for the CIF Southern Section Finals to take the win in 14:48.

After him, there’s a slew of quality Californians that could be included in our watch list.  The first that stands out is Don Bosco’s Ruben Dominguez has come on strong and finished second to Webb at the Southern Sectional in 14:58.

Not as much of a contender as Dominguez but still worth a mention is Xavier College Prep’s Emery Caster, who finished third in that sectional final in 15:12.

Still, we think Webb is a good choice here.

Division 5 (1:25pm)

In what seems to be a prevailing theme of the day, the final race of the CIF State Championships has two preps that will vie for the title.

In this corner, the defending division five state champion and coming off the third fastest mark in the North Coast Section (14:43.8), Marin Academy’s Trevor Reinhart.

In the other corner, the winner of his division at the CIF Southern Section, Mt. SAC Invitational, ASICS Clovis Invitational, Stanford XC Invitational, and the Don Bosco Tech Invitational, Flintridge Prep’s Alan Yoho.

Can we separate the two? Reinhart has the experience and is red-hot. Though we’re not discounting Yoho’s wins and ability, we think Reinhart will make it two in a row.

Looking at the other sectional results, Immanuel’s Kasey Knevelbaard looks solid as do state returners St. Joseph Notre Dame’s Gabe Arias-Sheridan and another Marin Academy stud James Kinney.

That’s what you have to look for tomorrow at the 2013 CIF State Cross Country Championship Presented by Farmers. All of the action will be live on Flotrack Pro. Set your clocks, sit down in front of your computer, and get ready for some of the best state action in the country.