Advertisement

CdM’s Boudreau bursts onto scene with sensational debut at Laguna Hills Invite

CDM's Annabelle Boudreau approaches the finish line in the Div 3 freshman race in the Laguna Hills cross country meet on Saturday.
(Andrew Turner / Daily Pilot)
Share

Unique is one way to describe the Laguna Hills Invitational.

The early-season cross-country meet is split into three divisions, but it is also run by grade level, putting the spotlight on the individuals that might easily blend into the fabric of team success.

After all, it takes a group of five competitive runners to create a complete cross-country team, but it never hurts to have an ace at the top of the lineup.

Corona del Mar High had a hole to fill with the graduation of Raquel Powers. It took just the first race of the season to figure out who the Michigan Wolverine’s replacement might be.

Advertisement

A star was born on Saturday at Laguna Hills High, as Sea Kings freshman Annabelle Boudreau led nearly wire-to-wire in a sensational high school debut.

Boudreau ran the three-mile course in 18:30, good for third overall on the day. A year ago, Julia Tung, the top returner for the CdM girls, debuted with a win in the Division 3 freshman race with a time of 19:54.

The performance received an enthusiastic response from Sea Kings coach Bill Sumner, who simply replied, ‘Wow,’ when he heard where Boudreau’s time ranked among all competitors.

Boudreau said that she trained with Powers and the boys’ team during the summer. It helped to push her in workouts. Although she was physically ready, there was still trepidation for the standout newcomer.

“Laguna Hills was definitely a change for me because I’m not used to those cross-country courses,” said Boudreau, who has run competitively with the Cal Coast running club in the past. “My main fear was getting lost out on the course.”

To prepare for this possibility, Sumner sent Boudreau on a warmup route than spanned the second half of the course.

Sumner, the longtime head of the CdM program, has been known to hold his runners back early in the season. He aims to keep his runners fresh as they target a peak at the end of the year. Asked if she has clashed with that philosophy at all, Boudreau professed the opposite.

“I think [Sumner] has a good plan in place, and I just try to listen to his plan because from what I see, he has great success with that,” she said. “He always reminds me, ‘You have to keep your control. You have to keep relaxed.’

“I’ve been trying to listen more because I see results with his plan.”

To put Boudreau’s day in perspective, she bested first team All-County selection Nadia Tabrizi of JSerra by 34 seconds.

The top time went to Capistrano Valley’s Haley Herberg, who has received multiple All-County selections and set the Division 2 junior meet record last year. Herberg ran 17:41 on Saturday.

Corona del Mar teammate Gigi Lee placed 24th overall. Her time of 19:46 was good for second in the Division 3 junior race.

Costa Mesa’s Diane Molina posted a 27-second personal record with a time of 18:38 to win the Division 3 sophomore race. She finished fifth overall.

Ocean View freshmen Isabella Brannon (20:16) and Natalie Miller (20:33) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in their Division 3 race.

Among the local boys, Newport Harbor’s Alexis Garcia (15:35, fourth), Corona del Mar’s Ian Turner (16:06, 11th) and Joseph Cianfrani (16:14, 20th), and Huntington Beach’s Lars Mitchel (16:18, 21st) turned in top 25 times overall.

Garcia, the defending Sunset League champion, said his goals include trying to chase down reigning Orange County champion Jack Landgraf of Dana Hills. Garcia was the runner-up to the Dolphins senior in the county showcase last year.

The first opportunity to compete against the Dana Hills star will be at the Dana Hills Invitational on Sept. 23.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Garcia said of his individual rivalry with Landgraf. “We have two weeks from today to Dana Hills so I’m going to train harder to [contend with him].”

JSerra’s Anthony Grover proved that he wants in on the battle for the best in the county. He placed second overall, first among Orange County athletes at the meet, with a time of 15:12.

Last year marked the first that Pacifica Christian was allowed to field a varsity team. The Tritons continue to gain visibility, appearing in major invitationals.

There is added excitement for the Pacifica Christian program, which has joined the San Joaquin League this season. That will make the Tritons CIF postseason eligible.

The team remains without any seniors, as it is just the school’s third year of existence.

Junior Nicholas Kutscher is their top runner. He ran 18:05 on the Laguna Hills course, which features inclines at “Hawk Hill” and “Final Ascent.”

“I’d be really stoked if we made CIF because our [original] runners are getting the times required to get to CIF,” said Kutscher, whose father, Gary, is the director of the Orange County Marathon. “They’re getting 17s, 18s, and 19s.

“All these people, competing in running is new for them. It’s really cool to see, especially the freshmen right now. This is their first meet ever. They did exceptionally well.”

BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Laguna Hills Invitational

At Laguna Hills High

3-mile course

Team Results

1. JSerra 1:21:14; 2. Mira Costa 1:22:06; 3. Aliso Niguel 1:22:18; 4. Santa Ana 1:22:22; 5. Corona del Mar 1:22:41; 6. Newport Harbor 1:22:55; 7. Dana Hills 1:23:29; 8. Capo Valley 1:23:35; 9. Vista Murrieta 1:23:46; 10. Warren 1:23:58

Division 1 Senior

1. Villa (Vista Murrieta) 16:12; 2. Angle (Vista Murrieta) 16:13; 3. Lorenzana (Anaheim) 16:26; 4. Rodriguez (Warren) 16:28; 5. Avila (Santa Ana) 16:34

Division 2 Senior

1. Court (Mira Costa) 15:47; 2. Orozco (Rancho Verde) 15:57; 3. Metoyer (El Modena) 16:09; 4. Rodgers (Foothill) 16:26; 5. Kendall (Foothill) 16:29

Division 3 Senior

1. Byrne (Santa Margarita) 15:53; 2. Mowery (Orange Lutheran) 16:13; 3. Peraza (Cathedral City) 16:19; 4. Sarino (Servite) 16:21; 5. Rosales (Servite) 16:22

Division 1 Junior

1. Dukes (Aliso Niguel) 15:58; 2. Duran (Santa Ana) 16:08; 3. L. Mitchel (Huntington Beach) 16:18; 4. Yemane (Los Alamitos) 16:28; 5. Soriano (Santa Ana) 16:32

Division 2 Junior

1. Ramos (Rubidoux) 14:50; 2. Garcia (Newport Harbor) 15:35; 3. Chitteden (Mira Costa) 16:11; 4. Savely (Capo Valley) 16:12; 5. Patrick (Murrieta Valley) 16:13

Division 3 Junior

1. Herold (JSerra) 15:35; 2. Turner (Corona del Mar) 16:06; 3. Cianfrani (Corona del Mar) 16:14; 4. Bragdon (JSerra) 16:25; 5. Williams (Mission Vista) 16:29

Division 1 Sophomore

1. McKenna (Aliso Niguel) 15:33; 2. Barranco (Poway) 15:47; 3. Elsesser (Long Beach Wilson) 16:28; 4. Niednagel (Dana Hills) 16:28; 5. Beckwith (Poway) 16:35

Division 2 Sophomore

1. Havens (Murrieta Mesa) 16:20; 2. Robertson (Capo Valley) 16:21; 3. Aggarwal (Beckman) 16:45; 4. Valencia (Rubidoux) 16:55; 5. Schwarz (Mission Viejo) 17:11

Division 3 Sophomore

1. Grover (JSerra) 15:12; 2. Pence (Corona del Mar) 16:52; 3. Garcia (Cathedral City) 17:07; 4. Nguyen (La Quinta) 17:16; 5. Rioquinto (Rancho Alamitos) 17:24

Division 1 Freshman

1. Palacios (Santa Ana) 16:18; 2. Pizano (Dana Hills) 16:32; 3. Broadhead (Dana Hills) 16:35; 4. Del Carmen (Santa Ana) 16:54; 5. Viola (Dana Hills) 17:01

Division 2 Freshman

1. Jasperson (Murrieta Mesa) 16:46; 2. Trueman (Capo Valley) 16:50; 3. Hussain (Beckman) 17:10; 4. Carew (Mira Costa) 17:18; 5. Mordy (Capo Valley) 17:19

Division 3 Freshman

1. Arriola (JSerra) 17:07; 2. Warpool (Ocean View) 17:39; 3. Noonan (Costa Mesa) 17:46; 4. Bishop (Mission Vista) 17:56; 5. Cox (Corona del Mar) 18:03

GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

Laguna Hills Invitational

At Laguna Hills High

3-mile course

Team Results

1. Vista Murrieta 1:36:54; 2. Capo Valley 1:37:21; 3. Murrieta Valley 1:40:23; 4. Corona del Mar 1:40:34; 5. Foothill 1:40:50; 6. Aliso Niguel 1:41:36; 7. Long Beach Wilson 1:41:38; 8. Brea Olinda 1:41:44; 9. JSerra 1:42:10; 10. Warren 1:42:23

Division 1 Senior

1. Dubon (Vista Murrieta) 19:17; 2. Del Bello (Long Beach Wilson) 20:03; 3. Aguilar (San Pedro) 20:07; 4. McGrath (Aliso Niguel) 20:39; 5. Peralta (Lakewood) 20:49

Division 2 Senior

1. Herberg (Capo Valley) 17:41; 2. Hall (Foothill) 18:36; 3. Lima (Rancho Verde) 19:42; 4. Reece (Murrieta Valley) 19:46; 5. Caldwell (Foothill) 20:27

Division 3 Senior

1. Delao (Monrovia) 20:26; 2. Montgomery (Corona del Mar) 20:48; 3. Huynh (La Quinta) 21:06; 4. Luna (Rancho Alamitos) 21:10; 5. Recinos (Brea Olinda) 21:13

Division 1 Junior

1. Hubarth (Vista Murrieta) 19:06; 2. Candaele (Vista Murrieta) 19:21; 3. Van Riper (Vista Murrieta) 19:24; 4. Cervantes (Warren) 19:40; 5. Prossor (Long Beach Wilson) 20:27

Division 2 Junior

1. Billman (Murrieta Valley) 18:59; 2. Goode (Foothill) 19:56; 3. Farren (Murrieta Valley) 20:19; 4. Chris (Newport Harbor) 20:20; 5. Siegel (Murrieta Valley) 20:25

Division 3 Junior

1. Tabrizi (JSerra) 19:04; 2. Lee (Corona del Mar) 19:46; 3. Getz (Santa Margarita) 19:57; 4. Klug (Laguna Hills) 20:26; 5. Gervirtzman (Brea Olinda) 20:37

Division 1 Sophomore

1. Von Scherr (La Quinta/LQ) 18:01; 2. Hernandez (Santa Ana) 19:14; 3. Schuerger (Aliso Niguel) 19:18; 4. Gomez (Warren) 19:28; 5. Potter (Vista Murrieta) 19:46

Division 2 Sophomore

1. Kroger (Capo Valley) 18:59; 2. Corsinita (Capo Valley) 19:16; 3. Carachure (Santiago) 19:59; 4. Klauke (University) 20:00; 5. Eloe (Beckman) 20:07

Division 3 Sophomore

1. Molina (Costa Mesa) 18:38; 2. Valenti (Brea Olinda) 19:22; 3. Douge (Brea Olinda) 19:26; 4. Peters (Monrovia) 19:38; 5. Gilles (Laguna Hills) 20:04

Division 1 Freshman

1. Richards (Aliso Niguel) 19:33; 2. Oliver (Los Alamitos) 20:16; 3. Williamson (San Clemente) 20:16; 4. Pretlow (Vista Murrieta) 20:42; 5. Clark (Dana Hills) 20:49

Division 2 Freshman

1. Lowengrub (University) 18:57; 2. Glassen (Newport Harbor) 20:23; 3. Telford (Capo Valley) 20:29; 4. Odom (Northwood) 20:39; 5. Kubiak (Newport Harbor) 20:47

Division 3 Freshman

1. Boudreau (Corona del Mar) 18:30; 2. Gutierrez (Orange Lutheran) 18:56; 3. Longo (Mission Vista) 19:48; 4. Brannon (Ocean View) 20:16; 5. Miller (Ocean View) 20:33

Andrew.Turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner

Advertisement