Huntington Beach’s Rebecca VanPeteghen adds to resume with first cross-country league crown
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Rebecca VanPeteghen quietly goes about her business, rarely vocalizing expectations, even as her performances continue to do the talking for her and make the case that she can go far once again.
A breakout star as a cross-country state qualifier as a sophomore, VanPeteghen has continued to build on that by setting new standards for herself.
VanPeteghen crossed the finish line first in 17 minutes 24.8 seconds to pick up her first individual league title in the Sunset League finals on Oct. 31 at Central Park in Huntington Beach.
She improved by 42 seconds over her league finals time from the year before.
“It was fun,” said VanPeteghen, who put a 29-second margin of victory between herself and teammate Sydney Rubio, a senior who won the individual league title the year prior.
After a light regular season, in which she ran four 3-mile races, VanPeteghen and the Oilers set their sights on the CIF Southern Section postseason races. The top four teams from the seven-school league extended their seasons.
“I know the girls that I train with, they give it their all,” said VanPeteghen when giving her team a vote of confidence that it could advance to the CIF finals. “We do it for each other, so just having the spirit is enough. … We kind of just go day by day and see where it takes us.”
Los Alamitos, a 53-75 winner over Huntington Beach, as well as Newport Harbor and Fountain Valley, in order of finish, advanced to the CIF preliminaries from the girls’ race.
Individuals who finished in the top 10 from non-qualifying teams also earned at-large CIF berths. Marina freshman Madison Dahl (fifth, 18:20.6) and Edison’s Avery Williams (eighth, 18:46.9), a senior, and Madelyn Rakhshani (ninth, 18:58.8), a junior, qualified.
“It was really exciting, but also really nerve-wracking, because there’s a lot of pressure to do good and succeed as a team,” Dahl said of her first league final.
Los Alamitos swept the team titles, with the Griffins topping Huntington Beach, 34-72, in the boys’ race. Marina (84 points) and Fountain Valley (97 points) earned the other automatic bids.
Three individuals successfully fought to keep their seasons alive: Newport Harbor’s Lyle Torribio (second, 15:27.9), a freshman, and Khyler Bonaparte (10th, 15:57.3), a senior, as well as Edison senior Zachary Byerley (sixth, 15:50.4).
Torribio has impressed this season, and he got the attention of Will Lieras (15:14.7), the race winner from Los Alamitos. When he crossed the finish line 13 seconds later, Lieras, a junior, turned to him and confirmed that he was a freshman in going to congratulate him.
“I was really trying to win this race,” Torribio said. “This is my [sixth] race, and we’re already at league finals. This is my first year running. [Lieras] is a very nice guy. I got to give him lots of respect because he’s such a nice kid for telling me that and supporting me like that.”
Marina seniors Nathan Cajilig (seventh, 15:52.4) and Maddox Vann Nguyen (ninth, 15:56.6) were critical to the Vikings’ advancement, while Fountain Valley edged Newport Harbor by seven points for the last guaranteed postseason berth.
Huntington Beach needed a new frontrunner following the graduation of Michael Appell. Junior Zane Nawaz took the job, posting a fifth-place finish in 15:47.9, a seven-position improvement over last season.
“I’m just really grateful that I was able to kind of step up and fill in that position, because I think without that, we would have done a lot worse as a team,” Nawaz said. “I think everybody has individually grown a lot since last year, and now on average, our team is way better than we were last year, so even without Appell, we’re still able to go really far.”
BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
Sunset League finals
At Central Park, Huntington Beach
3-mile course
Team Results
1. Los Alamitos 34; 2. Huntington Beach 72; 3. Marina 84; 4. Fountain Valley 97; 5. Newport Harbor 104; 6. Corona del Mar 137; 7. Edison 142
Individuals
1. Lieras (Los Alamitos) 15:14.7; 2. Torribio (Newport Harbor) 15:27.9; 3. Pareti (Los Alamitos) 15:43.9; 4. Cooks (Los Alamitos) 15:44.8; 5. Nawaz (Huntington Beach) 15:47.9; 6. Byerley (Edison) 15:50.4; 7. Cajilig (Marina) 15:52.4; 8. Landrau (Huntington Beach) 15:53.0; 9. Vann Nguyen (Marina) 15:56.6; 10. Bonaparte (Newport Harbor) 15:57.3; 12. Kwong (Fountain Valley) 16:01.8; 17. Ward (Corona del Mar) 16:07.8
GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
Sunset League finals
At Central Park, Huntington Beach
3-mile course
Team Results
1. Los Alamitos 53; 2. Huntington Beach 75; 3. Newport Harbor 76; 4. Fountain Valley 89; 5. Marina 97; 6. Edison 124; 7. Corona del Mar 160; 14. DeCicco (Corona del Mar) 19:26.9
Individuals
1. VanPeteghen (Huntington Beach) 17:24.8; 2. Rubio (Huntington Beach) 17:53.6; 3. Cabal (Newport Harbor) 18:04.9; 4. Camara (Los Alamitos) 18:19.4; 5. Dahl (Marina) 18:20.6; 6. Garcia (Los Alamitos) 18:39.5; 7. Butcher (Newport Harbor) 18:45.9; 8. Williams (Edison) 18:46.9; 9. Rakhshani (Edison) 18:58.8; 10. Do (Fountain Valley) 18:58.8
