HomeSportsSpotlight on San Marino Cross Country: Commitment Is Key to Harriers’ Early...

Spotlight on San Marino Cross Country: Commitment Is Key to Harriers’ Early Success

PERPETUAL MOTION: Senior Meg Hannan plays three sporrts and cheers, making her one of the busiest students at SMHS Coach Angus Leung calls Hannan “gifted.” Gaby Yonarta Photo

Angus Leung was not entirely pleased with the performance of last year’s cross country teams, so a new formula was created that the fourth-year coach hopes will make the Titans more competitive. Leung, who actually ran against San Marino High School while competing for Temple City, decided to pare down his roster.

“The last two years I didn’t make any cuts, but this year I have done so,” said Leung, who seemed to be genuinely mourning those he chose to set free. “This way we know we are all involved and everyone is committed. It seems to be working because everyone is improving.”

San Marino participated in its first Rio Hondo League meet Thursday afternoon on the sweet home soil of Lacy Park after prepping with two large meets, the local Rosemead Invitational and last weekend’s Mount Carmel Invitational in San Diego.

“We did well in Rosemead and San Diego was a big-time learning experience for us,” Leung said. “At Rosemead our freshman boys team won its division by over 20 points against more than 20 other school and every one of our grades had one or two runners who did well. In San Diego, the course we ran was very tough, possibly even harder than Mount SAC. But we learned and had a lot of fun. This helped prepare us for the season.”

Leung is hoping for improvement from the boys’ varsity squad and the early returns are promising. Senior Sean Chen provides leadership on and off the trail.

“Sean is probably the best and most competitive runner we have,” Leung said. “This is only his third year in the sport and he continues to lead the team. Jonathan is also one of the smartest kids in the school. He is a leader of the team and a leader in competing.”

Leung called sophomore Jonathan Karkafi “a rising star.”

“Jonathan was a very good track runner last year but is getting better in cross country day by day,” Leung said. “He is probably the just talented runner we have.”

Karkafi turned heads at last year’s Rio Hondo League track & field finals when he won titles in the junior varsity 800, 1,500 and 3,000-meter runs on the same night.

Senior Joseph Weber adds much-needed vocal leadership to the squad.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Senior Sean Chen is a solid runner, leader and one of the San Marino High School cross country team’s most highly competitive athletes. Gaby Yonarta Photo

“Joseph is the guy that everybody looks up to on the team and is one of the captains,” Leung explained. “He is our most vocal, too, and is the best endurance runner we have on this team. He is looking to be one of the top 15 runners in the Rio Hondo League, which places them on the all-league team.”

Another senior, Joshua Rose, is one of the few 4-year cross country participants.

“Joshua is known as the most clutch runner on the team who pulls out the most necessary points when we need them,” Leung said with a chuckle. ”He might not be the fastest or the strongest runner, but he plays a strong role because he scores at every single meet. Josh is a gamer.”

Varsity competition is old hat for senior Patricio Oseguera.

“Patricio is the only member of the team who has run a varsity race all four years,” Leung said. “He works very hard during practice and is very competitive. We owe him a lot for all of his efforts to make the program better all these years.”

Junior Leighton McBryde is another burgeoning star.

“Leighton has improved so much this year and is right there with Patricio with the season-best times so far,” Leung said. “He is a very hard worker and one of those guys for whom the hard work pays off.”

The coach also mentioned freshman Jonathan King, who could score for the Titans this season.

The Lady Titans put forth a solid effort last year and return several of their top runners for 2018. No mention of “top runners” is complete without the inclusion of senior Olivia Ruiz.

“It’s pretty obvious who we are going to talk about first,” Leung said. “Olivia Ruiz is the only athlete I have coached who will have earned all-Rio Hondo League honors all four years. She keeps me very busy as there is always a college recruitment letter in my mailbox. That proves how good she is and how capable she is of running at the next level.”

Ruiz was San Marino’s only runner to advance to CIF last year and finished second at the Rosemead Invitational a couple weeks past.

Typically just a few steps behind Ruiz is junior Puja Balaji.

“Puja is another very smart student who is involved in several academic programs,” said Leung. “She is also the captain of the team. Puja is one of the best runners in the league and has been all-Rio Hondo League as a freshman and a sophomore. We expect her to be back there this year.”

Karen Lee, a sophomore, was “one of the biggest surprises after summer camp,” Leung said.

“Karen has moved up to be our third best runner on the team. She is probably the speediest girl on our team and was a sprinter and triple-jumper on the track team. She is back at distance running and is our most consistent all-around runner.”

Sophomore Peyton Tat has made huge strides in cross country.

“Her story is very similar to Leighton’s,” Leung said. “She has improved greatly. Peyton has made tremendous progression between last year and this year. She is very hard working and very coachable.”

Senior Meg Hannan has established herself as a solid contributor to the school.

“Meg is what we call a quatra-athlete,” Leung said. “She is in cheer, cross country, soccer and track. Meg is one of the most gifted athletes I have ever coached, not just by frame but by mentality as well. Only time will tell how fast she will get. We have high expectations for Meg this year.”

Sophomore Lily Tong has impressed her coach.

“Lily is a gifted runner,” Leung added. “She is young and searching for consistency, but Lily makes up for that with a lot of hard work. There is no telling how far she will be by the end of the season.”

Junior Katie Wong and freshman Anya Tang are also contributing to the varsity gang.

Seven runners compete in each meet and the five lowest placements are added together for a team score. The race length is three miles.

Leung expects La Cañada and Temple City to provide the most competition – again.

“I am really looking forward to our league season,” he told The Tribune. “This group works very hard.”

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