The Los Alamitos High cross country team raced league finals on Oct. 28, at Central Park in Huntington Beach. League Finals consists of two leagues, the Surf League, and the Wave League. From each league two teams advance to compete in CIF Southern Section Prelims at Mt. Sac. The Griffin boys team competed against Edison, Fountain Valley, and Newport Harbor. The Griffin girls team competed against Corona Del Mar, Huntington Beach, and Newport Harbor. The Griffin’s dominated the race and became League Champions in four divisions. The varsity girls team along with two varsity boys, Lon Monk and Matthew Mayhue advanced their way to CIF.
The Griffin girls won League Championships in the Frosh/Soph race and the junior varsity (JV) division. In the Frosh/Soph race, sophomore Phoebe Grimshaw (20:43) won the race and became League Champion, Maddie Heenan (21:14) placed second, and freshman Bella Castellon (21:15) placed third. The girls JV team also won their race and secured the Championship for the team. Junior Trista Candiotty (19:50) won her division becoming League Champion for the JV team followed by Thalia Griffith (21:15), and Elizabeth Tinsley (21:29). The Griffin varsity girls tied for first place with 49 points, a tie breaker gave the Championship to Huntington Beach High, but the Griffins secured their advancement to CIF. Junior Stevie Holguin (18:25) lead the Griffin’s followed by Olivia Bettinger (18:30), and Alejandra Reyburn (18:53).
The Griffin boys also secured the title of League Champions in the Frosh/Soph and JV race. In the Frosh/Soph race, Dean Lehigh (17:17) led the way followed by AC Wellsand (17:33), and Jonathan Vazquez (18:00). The boys JV team was won by Jaxon Nguyen (17:30) securing his title for League Champion followed by Darin Gillet (17:49) who took second and Daniel Li (18:03). The boys varsity team was led by Matthew Mayhue (16:08), followed by senior Lon Monk (16:09) and Charles Villegas (16:35). The top two Griffin boys, Matthew Mayhue and Lon Monk will be advancing to CIF.
Head Coach Mark Celestin said, “it was great to see the seasons long dedication and hard work of all our athletes pay off as the Griffins dominated the league-winning 4 of 6 league championships, tied for a 5th league championship (edged to 2nd place in a tie breaker) and a 3rd place for our 6th team. The coaching staff is incredibly proud of all our runners and grateful for a fantastic season.”
The Griffin varsity girls and top two boys will be running at CIF Southern Section Prelims on Nov. 11 at Mt. Sac in Walnut, CA.