The girls cross country team at Point Loma High continued to rewrite history, scoring the school’s highest-ever finish when they ran to second place at the state CIF meet held on Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
In the past, the girls have qualified for the state meet only twice noted head coach Keith DeLong, now in his 14th year at the helm. First were the girls of 2017 who finished 16th in Div. II. Last year the girls finished 15th in Div. III.
This year, however, his group of underclass girls came within 43 points of a state championship but were elated and proud of their outstanding performance.
Team scores are determined by the finish place of each school’s first five runners on the 5,000-meter course.
The Pointers’ score of 149 was 43 points behind the first-place group from South Pasadena High. The top five Div. III team scores:
South Pasadena High 106
Point Loma High 149
Santa Margarita High 163
Cathedral Catholic 165
Oak Park High 207
A total of 213 girls from 25 schools began the Girls Div. III race. On the day, 10 races were held involving more than 2,000 boys and girls from the Northern and Southern sections of the state.
Pointer runners, with finish place, grade level, and time:
27. Isabella Ramos, (11) 18:26.5
33. Kelly McIntire, (10) 18:39.2
50. Paige Eudy, (10) 18:59.3
57. Sara Geiszler )11) 19:03.6
69. Nicole Witt (11) 19:14.7
130. Corinne Santoro (10) 20:18.1
167. Zoe Boes (11) 21:04.9
The first-place runner, Abigail Errington from South Pasadena, was timed at 16:57.5.
The success of the Pointers’ distance runners is a result of the countless hours put in by dedicated head coach DeLong and his assistants with both girl and boy runners as they work to lower their times. Season meets typically cover three miles of hilly terrain putting each entrant’s endurance to the test. Workouts continue during summer as DeLong mentors his runners who have elected to accept the challenge of intense workouts as part of their high school athletic experience.
HUNGRY DOG DASH
DeLong and parent boosters will be hosting their 12th annual “Hungry Dog Dash” on Sunday, Feb. 11 at NTC Park in Liberty Station. The 8 a.m. start on Super Bowl Sunday allows participants to enjoy the event and be home in plenty of time to watch the big game.
The certified 5K course is the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year and is open to all ages and levels of runners and walkers. In addition, dogs on leashes are invited along with people pushing strollers.
Registration is now open at $35 for youths and $40 for adults. Entrants receive a race T-shirt, dog tags, goodie bags, water stops along the course, trophies to the top three finishers in all divisions, and prizes for the first male and female finishers. Music and entertainment are also planned. Check out hungrydogdash.com for more information.
