VanPeteghen picks up where she left off for Huntington Beach
- Share via
Under a local heat advisory that had just begun to take effect, local cross-country runners pushed themselves to rise above the challenge of the conditions and top the competition in the Central Park Invitational.
Huntington Beach’s Rebecca VanPeteghen broke away from the lead pack late on Saturday morning, crossing the finish line in 17 minutes 16.4 seconds to claim victory in the girls’ sweepstakes race.
“I had no plan coming into it,” VanPeteghen said. “I just was focused on not passing out from heat exhaustion, because it was pretty hot today. I kind of surprised myself.”
VanPeteghen broke out last season as a sophomore, riding a strong postseason to an individual qualification into the CIF State Division 1 championship.
In just her second 3-mile race of her junior campaign, VanPeteghen showed there is more in the tank. She slashed 50 seconds off her previous best time at Central Park, when she was the runner-up to teammate Sydney Rubio, who is now a senior, in the Sunset League final last year.
“I’ve only run here once, but I practice here a couple times a week, so I think just being familiar with it, I kind of knew I could trust myself,” VanPeteghen said. “Sometimes, mentally, it’s like, ‘Should I push now?’ Like, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I knew that I could push when I did because I’m familiar with the course.”
Junior Emma Alba placed second (17:20.2) to pace sweepstakes winner Beckman. Fountain Valley’s sixth-place finish was led by junior Teagan Bradshaw (19:04.9). Huntington Beach was ninth overall.
Newport Harbor freshman Lyle Torribio (23rd, 15:29.6) led the local contingent in the boys’ sweepstakes, followed by Huntington Beach junior Zane Nawaz (29th, 15:33.8).
Freshman Andrew Carr (43rd, 15:49.1) paced Fountain Valley to its 12th-place finish as a team.
Marina topped Newhall Hart, 152-207, to win the Section 1 boys’ varsity race. Seniors Nathan Cajilig (10th, 16:14.4) and Maddox Vann Nguyen (24th, 16:39.6), juniors James Levitin (16:40.7) and Wade Beaumont (39th, 16:56.4), and sophomore Jude Mooren (85th, 17:21.2) factored into the scoring for the victorious Vikings.
Edison senior Zachary Byerley, who placed sixth in 16:04.3, was the area’s top runner in the race, guiding the Chargers to 12th place in the field.
The race course brought back fond memories for Byerley, who previously qualified for CIF as an individual with a ninth-place finish — and a similar time of 16:06.0 — in the Sunset League finals as a junior. Going into that race, Byerley said he was ranked 21st in the field, based on personal-best performances.
“To go from 21st to ninth, that really meant a lot,” Byerley said. “That mindset, I’ve just realized that I just need to see the guys around me and not let them go. For my past couple races, I’ve just really been emphasizing that, and that’s helped a lot. That’s why I was able to stick pretty high up there in today’s race.”
Junior Madelyn Rakhshani also performed well for Edison, placing fourth in 19:19.6 in the Section 1 girls’ varsity race.
Senior Hannah Huber (48th, 21:00.0) keyed a 13th-place showing for Marina. Corona del Mar came in 14th as a team, led by sophomore Valentine Steinman (53rd, 21:05.5).
BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
Central Park Invitational
3-mile race
Sweepstakes
Team Results
1. Beckman 59; 2. West Torrance 78; 3. St. John Bosco 99; 4. El Dorado 152; 5. Los Alamitos 196; 6. Chaminade 233; 7. South Torrance 248; 8. Woodbridge 250; 9. Bonita 287; 10. Trabuco Hills 306; 12. Fountain Valley 333; 16. Huntington Beach 363
Individuals
1. Johnson (South Torrance) 14:50.0; 2. Funk (Palisades Charter) 14:50.4; 3. Franco (Beckman) 14:52.6; 4. Miller (South Torrance) 14:54.7; 5. Barris (Beckman) 14:55.5; 6. Mashburn-Gillian (West Torrance) 15:05.9; 7. Reimer (Mater Dei) 15:06.3; 8. Lopez (St. John Bosco) 15:07.0; 9. Uzan (West Torrance) 15:11.1; 10. Burris (West Torrance) 15:11.1; 23. Torribio (Newport Harbor) 15:29.6; 29. Nawaz (Huntington Beach) 15:33.8; 43. Andrew Carr (Fountain Valley) 15:49.1; 82. Ross Day (Corona del Mar) 16:23.4
Section 1
Team Results
1. Marina 152; 2. Hart 207; 3. Covina 225; 4. West Torrance 255; 5. Redlands 263; 6. Walnut 278; 7. Beckman 300; 8. Citrus Valley 337; 9. Esperanza 349; 10. Warren 365; 12. Edison 379; 33. Huntington Beach 845; 34. Los Amigos 865
Individuals
1. Lambert (Damien) 15:17.6; 2. Akiyama (Kamehameha Kapalama) 15:44.3; 3. Hernandez (Wiseburn-Da Vinci) 15:59.3; 4. Gumnam (Chandler) 15:59.9; 5. Arreola (San Jacinto) 16:01.4; 6. Byerley (Edison) 16:04.3; 7. Lopez (Covina) 16:05.2; 8. Torres (Canoga Park) 16:10.7; 9. Rivera (Covina) 16:13.4; 10. Cajilig (Marina) 16:14.4; 115. Maragos (Huntington Beach) 17:35.8; 164. Vazquez (Los Amigos) 18:07.6
GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
Central Park Invitational
3-mile race
Sweepstakes
Team Results
1. Beckman 44; 2. Long Beach Wilson 84; 3. Canyon 94; 4. Yorba Linda 95; 5. Los Alamitos 129; 6. Fountain Valley 166; 7. Rowland 170; 8. Aliso Niguel 182; 9. Huntington Beach 230; 10. Bonita 235
Individuals
1. Van Peteghen (Huntington Beach) 17:16.4; 2. Alba (Beckman) 17:20.2; 3. Billotte (Classical Academy) 17:22.8; 4. Joh (Campbell Hall) 17:26.7; 5. I. Wroblewski (Yorba Linda) 17:47.3; 6. Nielson (Apple Valley) 17:54.2; 7. Errecart (Long Beach Wilson) 17:57.6; 8. S. Wroblewski (Yorba Linda) 18:08.1; 9. Boyce (Canyon) 18:12.6; 10. Maldonado (Mater Dei) 18:15.9; 24. Bradshaw (Fountain Valley) 19:04.9
Section 1
Team Results
1. Granada Hills 95; 2. Walnut 118; 3. El Dorado 121; 4. Palisades Charter 195; 5. San Clemente 208; 6. Valley Christian / Cerritos 220; 7. Etiwanda 263; 8. Santa Rosa 279; 9. Citrus Valley 291; 10. Canoga Park 310; 13. Marina 386; 14. Corona del Mar 398; 18. Edison 461; 25. Los Amigos 563
Individuals
1. Wohlgezogen (El Dorado) 18:53.2; 2. Guerra (Loara) 19:16.5; 3. Rivas-Sandoval (Ridgeview) 19:17.9; 4. Rakhshani (Edison) 19:19.6; 5. C. Watrous (El Dorado) 19:21.8; 6. Duenas (Granada Hills) 19:26.1; 7. Laurel (Walnut) 19:27.1; 8. A. Watrous (El Dorado) 19:27.8; 9. Castellanos (Canoga Park) 19:33.6; 10. Fieldhouse (Valley Christian / Cerritos) 19:39.8; 48. Huber (Marina) 21:00.0; 53. Steinman (Corona del Mar) 21:05.5; 56. Morales (Los Amigos) 21:12.3
