San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GROSSMONT HIGH CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM SETS ITS SIGHTS HIGH
When Grossmont High’s Kei Okura was a sophomore, he sensed that just maybe he and four freshmen runners would eventually develop into a pretty strong crosscountry team.
Okura is now a senior, the other four are juniors, and the Foothillers have been ranked anywhere from second to fourth in the San Diego Section from the start of the season.
Translation: He was right.
“They weren’t the hardest workers, except maybe (No. 1 runner) Russell (Blakely), but it was still very encouraging,” said Okura, the team captain. “When they were freshmen, I was a little tougher on them than I am now. Once they became sophomores, I pushed a little more, but they were teammates and by putting in the work, they proved themselves.
“I still wasn’t sure how good we could be until the first meet.”
That would be the Vaquero Stampede at El Capitan, where the Hillers lowscored their opponents with 58 points, beating strong teams like San Marcos, Poway, Steele Canyon and Patrick Henry.
Blakely won the 2-mile race by 6 seconds in 9:51; Ian Rosen was fourth in 9:59.0; Mason Coyle was 17th in 10:26; followed closely by Josh Edwards in 18th at 10:27; and Okura in 21st at 10:31.
That meant the time gap between first and fifth was a mere 40 seconds.
“We knew we might be pretty strong after we compared our times on the track this spring,” Rosen said. “We worked really hard over the summer as Kei and Russell organized the workouts. I knew we had a shot to be something special.
“Running as well as we did at Vaquero showed we were legit.”
Blakely won the next race, the Bronco Roundup, but Grossmont slipped to third in the team race behind Mt. Carmel and Otay Ranch, with the gap opening to 56 seconds. It showed there is little margin for error when your sixth and seventh runners aren’t able to pick up the difference if just one of the top five has an off day.
“Our sixth and seventh runners (Miles Rainey and freshman Brian Stevens) are smart and they listen,” said head coach Ross Bartell. “Miles really wants to be better and is willing to do the work, while Brian, being a freshman, should improve. I can talk him up.
“The key will be for us to stay healthy. We’ll be good because these guys all like each other and help each other. They do what they need to do. A couple of them were feeling some aches and pains and knew they needed to take a day off.
“They have really bought into our goals — but it won’t be easy.”
Grossmont is in Division II with No. 1-ranked Mt. Carmel and Scripps Ranch, and they’ve set their sights high.
“First, we want to win the San Diego Section,” Okura said.
A check of the section record book reveals that would be a first. Although Grossmont has had individual champions, this year’s team would be the first titlist since the section was formed in 1960.
While that would be precedent-setting, Okura and Rosen say one step even higher, a first-ever state championship Nov. 27 at Woodward Park in Fresno, isn’t beyond imagination.
“It will take our No. 3-4-5 runners to move up,” Rosen said. “If we can improve an average of 20 to 30 seconds between our No. 1 and No. 5, we could really move up. We’re working hard every day to make that happen.”
Bartell says the Hillers have what it takes at both section and state, they just need to improve together.
“Russell is super talented,” he said of Blakely, who fits the first criteria of many champions — a strong No. 1 runner. “He runs with a chip on his shoulder. He always wants to do more and sometimes I have to rein him back.”
Not surprisingly, Blakely has very lofty goals.
“I want to win DII and break 15 minutes at state,” he said after winning Bronco. “We all want to make state.”
Bartell said the rest of the team has also bought in.
“Ian is a black belt in karate and very tough. He’s a 1:57 half-miler, which means he has great speed, something many cross-country runners lack.
“The other three have their own strengths but the thing that makes it all possible is that they’re such good friends. They don’t just train together; they have lunch together and do things on the side together.
“They worked hard through COVID to be ready. About the only thing they lack is experience, which is why we ran at Woodbridge and hope to be in the Division II team Sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC (Oct. 15-16). That should tell us a lot.”