Complacency Could Be Hart’s Toughest Opponent

How dominant is the Hart High boys’ cross-country team?

Coach Gene Blankenship recently pondered that question for a few moments before answering.

“I don’t want to sound cocky,” he began, “but I have to be straightforward. We cannot be beat. But we can give a meet away. No one is going to beat us if we run to our potential, but we can be beat if we don’t run well.”

It is difficult to toss Blankenship’s comments into the “talk-is-cheap” bin when one looks at what Hart has accomplished over the last three years.

* Three consecutive Southern Section championships.

* Two consecutive state Division I titles.

* The mythical national championship last year when the Indians were the No. 1-ranked team in The Harrier magazine’s national poll.

Hart has maintained that position in this year’s preseason poll, and for good reason. Six of the team’s top seven runners--including the top three--return.

Blankenship realizes that an unprecedented third consecutive state Division I title is not a given, and he is wary of his team getting complacent. Therefore, he has set other goals, such as recording the all-time lowest point total in the state Division I meet and breaking the team time record on Mt. San Antonio College’s vaunted three-mile course.

Team time is the combined time of a school’s top five runners in a race.

“Everything we’re doing is geared toward the state meet,” Blankenship said. “But, weather permitting, I’d like to take a shot at as many course team-time records as possible along the way. I’m putting some extra pressure on the kids by doing that, but this is a special group. I think they can handle it.”

Senior Keith Grossman, who placed fourth in the state championships last year, understands Blankenship’s motivational tactics, but the effect they might have had on some teammates concerns him.

“Some of the guys are already talking about what color patches they’re going to get after winning the state championships,” Grossman said. “And I’ve had to remind them, ‘Hey, guys, we haven’t won anything yet.’ ”

Grossman, who is entering his fourth varsity season, lowered his personal best to 9 minutes 9.83 seconds in the 3,200 meters at the Arcadia Invitational in April before being sidelined for several weeks with an illness similar to mononucleosis. Although he placed second in the 3,200 in the Foothill League track and field finals, Grossman was unable to regain his racing form before the end of the season.

“I feel fine now,” Grossman said. “(The illness) was just a freak thing.”

Senior Paul De La Cerda and sophomore Brett Strahan placed 11th and 12th in the state championships, and each is coming off a superb track season.

De La Cerda set a school record of 1:55.16 in the 800 and also ran 4:17.90 in the 1,600; Strahan lowered his 1,600 best to 4:22.16.

How close those two can stay to Grossman during races will play a key role in how fast Hart runs as a team.

“(De La Cerda) can run with (Grossman) for the first two miles,” Blankenship said. “It’s the last mile that gives him problems. But I’m hoping that (Strahan) can be right there and push him.”

Junior Gavin Klinger (22nd in the state championships) and senior Tommy Givens are expected to battle for the No. 4 slot, and the quality does not drop much thereafter.

Next are junior Jose Erazo (32nd in the state meet), senior Jonny Eveleth (37th) and sophomore Joel Givens (Tommy’s brother).

“We should have six runners under 16 minutes at Mt. SAC,” Blankenship said. “And our fourth and fifth runners should be in the 15:40-to-15:45 range.”

If that happens, Hart could very well have a shot at the Mt. SAC team-time course record of 77:58 set by Sacramento Jesuit in 1985.

Mike Smith, who coached Camarillo to the 1989 state Division I title with a record total of 39 points, figures Hart has a good chance of attaining the goals Blankenship has set.

“We have the Southern Section record for the team time (78:27) at Mt. SAC and the state-meet record for the lowest score,” Smith said. “But I have a feeling that both of them are going to be in serious trouble this year. (Hart is) that good.”

OTHER TEAMS TO WATCH:

Thousand Oaks--The inexperienced but talented Lancers are led by junior Brandon Del Campo.

Del Campo was not allowed to run for the Lancers’ varsity last season after being granted an intra-district transfer from Westlake, but he ran a personal best of 9:38.08 in the 3,200 in track.

Del Campo, described as an “up-and-coming” talent by Lancer Coach Jack Farrell, could be one of the top runners in Ventura County by the end of the season.

Del Campo should be followed by a tightly bunched group that includes seniors Ryan Nugent, Scott Farrell (the coach’s son) and Ryan Glass, junior Chadd Aldrich and sophomores Jeff Fischer and Kevin Marsden.

Nugent ran 1:57.0 in the 800 during track season, and Aldrich placed eighth in the Ventura County cross-country championships last year.

“We don’t have the big gun on top like some teams,” Farrell said. “But the difference between our first and fifth man should be about 40 seconds. That will really help in the big meets.”

Agoura--Ryan Wilson returns for his senior season and Coach Bill Duley expects the Chargers to be stronger than last year’s team that won the Marmonte League finals and placed seventh in the state Division II championships.

Wilson had an up-and-down junior season. He placed second in the state championships but finished a disappointing 28th in the Kinney national championships.

“He definitely wants to run a lot better at Kinney this year,” Duley said. “But he realizes he has to get there first before he can do that.”

Wilson was much more consistent during track season, running a personal best of 4:12.77 in the 1,600 and finishing fifth in the state championships.

Senior Emanuel Azizi and sophomore John Greene are expected to battle for the No. 2 slot, with junior Craig Wilson (no relation to Ryan) and freshman Adam Eyre waging a struggle for the No. 4 position.

Agoura has one of the best runners in the state in Ryan Wilson, but the team’s success will ultimately depend on how well the Chargers’ No. 4 and No. 5 runners perform.

Buena--The Bulldogs lost four of their top seven runners from last year’s team that placed fifth in the state Division I championships, but they have plenty of ammunition with which to reload.

Senior Nathan Jobe (25th in the state meet) and junior Rolando DeAngelis (52nd) are expected to be Buena’s top runners.

Juniors Brett Butolph, Dennis Sweningson and David Nutting should round out the top five.

Buena, unranked in the Southern Section preseason poll last year, finds itself in the same position this season.

“That worked to our advantage last year,” Coach Steve Blum said. “And I expect it to again.”

Birmingham--Senior Alvaro Mejia, the defending City Section champion, will lead the Braves in their quest for a top-five finish at the state Division I championships.

Birmingham finished a disappointing 10th in last year’s state meet but six of its top seven runners return, including vastly improved senior Leo Quintana.

Quintana was Birmingham’s No. 5 runner last year, placing 111th in the state championships, but Coach Scott King expects him to challenge Mejia this year.

Sophomore Jose Torres, junior Stuart Pattle and senior Adam Naftalin are expected to round out the top five, with sophomore Jaime Tinajero being given a chance to crack the Braves’ scoring quintet before the end of the season.

INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH:

Margarito Casillas of Hoover, considered the No. 2 runner in the nation, is the odds-on favorite to win the state Division I title.

As a junior, Casillas placed second in the state championships behind Angel Martinez of San Gabriel (now at Mt. San Antonio College), won the Kinney West regional and finished fifth in the Kinney nationals.

Though not blessed with great speed over short distances, Casillas nevertheless ran personal bests of 4:20.55 in the 1,600 and 9:05.79 in the 3,200 during track season. He placed seventh in the latter event in the state championships.

John Bischop of Canyon entered last week’s Seaside Invitational at San Buenaventura State Beach as a relative unknown but left it as one of the bright new faces.

Bischop placed second in the junior race with a time of 15:00 over the three-mile course, the fastest clocking of any performer from the region.

“He’s just improved a great deal since last season,” Coach Dave DeLong said. “I think it’s just a matter of him maturing into a young man and staying healthy.”

Javier Ramirez of Nordhoff is expected to be one of the top runners in the state in Division IV.

Ramirez placed eighth in the state championships last year as a freshman, leading the Rangers to the team title.