By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 71st Brooks Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.

Here are 10 storylines to follow at one of the largest high school meets in the country:

Download race assignments here

A decade of dominance

Since the first girls sweepstakes champion was crowned in 1976, only two programs have won four championships in the highest division, Peninsula CA and Great Oak CA.

Although Great Oak’s pursuit of a fifth consecutive girls grand sweepstakes championship and sixth in the past seven years Saturday is impressive in its own right, it isn’t even the most incredible streak the Wolfpack is looking to continue.

Great Oak, led by Tori Gaitan, Arianna Griffiths and Fatima Cortes, is looking to become the top Division 1 program in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race for an unprecedented 10th straight year.

Although the Wolfpack has finished second twice and fourth once in the grand sweepstakes race overall, Great Oak has managed to defeat all Division 1 opponents during that stretch.

Since Great Oak has defeated all California opponents this year, with its only setback coming Sept. 22 against Boise High at the Bob Firman Invitational in Idaho, the Wolfpack has the inside track on the streak reaching a decade, with its most significant challenge expected to come from Division 2 program La Costa Canyon CA and senior Kristin Fahy.

A fifth consecutive grand sweepstakes championship would also be a record overall, since Peninsula won its four titles during an eight-year span in the 1990s.

Not to be outdone

Great Oak is also seeking a fifth straight boys grand sweepstakes title, with the Wolfpack expecting to face challenges from La Costa Canyon CA, Loyola CA, Long Beach Poly CA, Bellarmine Prep CA, Crescenta Valley CA and Desert Vista AZ.

Great Oak is one of four programs – joining Thousand Oaks CA, Royal CA and Long Beach Poly – to have won four boys sweepstakes titles in the highest division, but none of the others have won them consecutively.

The Wolfpack, led by Tyler Tickner and Gabe Abbes, would be the only boys team to have captured five grand sweepstakes championships overall. Brea-Olinda CA won four consecutive Division 3 boys sweepstakes titles from 2013-16, before Palos Verdes CA halted that streak last year.

Ramos ready for a run at a repeat

Rubidoux CA senior Kevin Ramos prevailed in the Division 1-2 boys individual sweepstakes last year in 14 minutes, 39.7 seconds, the second-fastest time of the meet overall, with Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau of Bellarmine Prep winning the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race in 14:33.4.

Ramos is looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the individual sweepstakes race since Elias Gedyon repeated for Loyola CA in 2009-10.

Ramos’ victory last year came against eventual California Division 3 state champion Liam Anderson of Redwood Larkspur, who decided not to return to the meet this season. Anderson and Ramos are expected to square off Nov. 24 in the California Division 3 state final at Woodward Park in Fresno.

In order to repeat, Ramos will have to get past reigning Division 4 state champion Anthony Grover of JSerra, along with Logan Underwood of Anaheim Canyon CA, Ethan Danforth of Canyon Country Canyon CA, Connor Livingston of De La Salle CA, Daniel Rush of Golden Valley CA, Cy Chittenden of Mira Costa CA and Franky Varela of San Pasqual CA.

No Lane, but still plenty fast

Although Malibu CA senior Claudia Lane won’t be delivering an encore performance in the Division 1-2 girls individual sweepstakes race following her all-time record 15:49 last year, there are still plenty of quality athletes from the Golden State seeking their moment Saturday in the spotlight.

Jacqueline Duarte of Chino Hills, Nadia Tabrizi of JSerra, Carlie Dorostkar of Canyon Crest Academy, Hope Bergmark of Amador Valley, Cynthia Martin of Chaparral, Hailey Kirsch of Valencia, Natalie Harper of Cosumnes Oaks, Jicel Fernandez-Ramirez of El Camino Real, Caitlin Cornell of San Marcos, Hana Catsimanes of San Clemente, along with the Monte Vista duo of Sidney Isom and Kelli Wilson are among the entries, with the winner looking to run under 17 minutes for the seventh consecutive year.

Martin, the top returnee, placed fifth in last year’s race in 17:35.7.

A special showdown

The winners of last year’s Division 1-2 girls team sweepstakes race and Division 3 sweepstakes race will square off Saturday when Great Oak junior Tori Gaitan and La Costa Canyon senior Kristin Fahy meet in the team sweepstakes race, which also includes Walnut CA senior Chloe Arriaga.

Gaitan clocked 16:52.3 last year and Fahy ran 16:54.9. Arriaga has a personal-best 17:12.3 from 2016.

Unless a postseason showdown materializes at Nike Cross Nationals or Foot Locker Nationals, this could be the only matchup this year involving Fahy and Gaitan, who both attended Nike Elite Camp in Oregon in July.

Fahy is the Division 2 state title favorite Nov. 24 and Gaitan is expected to battle the Buchanan CA duo of Corie Smith and Meagen Lowe, along with Arriaga, in the Division 1 state final.

Only 13 female athletes have ever run under 16:50 at Mt. SAC, but that list could be expanding come Saturday.

Terrific timing

Great Oak is not just looking to add to its impressive sweepstakes championship haul, the Wolfpack also has sights on improving on historic team time performances from last year.

Although the races will be held again on the construction course, with the finish line set up on the airstrip, Great Oak is looking to lower its all-time marks even more.

MT. SAC ALL-TIME PERFORMANCE LISTS

The Wolfpack clocked 74 minutes, 31 seconds last year to lower the boys team record from 74:47 in 2015, the year Great Oak captured the Nike Cross Nationals title.

The girls record was also eclipsed last season, with Great Oak producing the fastest time in invitational history at 87:46, improving on its effort of 87:58 from the 2013 CIF-Southern Section Division 1 final at Mt. SAC.

Saugus CA had previously run the fastest girls time in invitational history when it clocked 88:18 in 2008. Great Oak’s best invitational performance before last year was 88:34 in 2015.

Back in the spotlight

The last time La Costa Canyon raced Saturday at the invitational was 2014, when the Mavericks won the Division 2 girls sub-sweepstakes race and the boys placed 10th in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race.

Since then, La Costa Canyon has been a Friday fixture, winning three consecutive Division 3 girls team sweepstakes titles, with the boys placing fourth last year and third in 2016.

But with the Mavericks returning to Division 2 this year in the CIF-San Diego Section, along with the move comes a place in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes races Saturday in both genders.

The last time both La Costa Canyon teams competed in the team sweepstakes race in the same year was 2013, when the girls took third and the boys placed ninth.

Kristin Fahy and Jessica Riedman look to help the Mavericks secure the top spot among Division 2 programs and challenge Division 1 power Great Oak.

Jacob Stanford, Garrett Stanford and Caleb Niednagel will try to propel La Costa Canyon to the top spot among Division 2 boys entries, but the Mavericks will have to contend with Loyola, in addition to Division 1 power Great Oak.

La Costa Canyon’s departure from Friday competition has created the opportunity for Palos Verdes to potentially sweep both Division 3 sweepstakes titles.

The Sea Kings are seeking a repeat in the boys race, but are expected to face strong challenges from Bakersfield Ridgeview CA and West Torrance CA. Nevada Union CA senior Garrett Gough headlines the top individuals in the race.

Palos Verdes, led by junior Savannah Scriven, is a significant favorite in the Division 3 girls race, looking to capture its first girls sweepstakes title at Mt. SAC in any division since 1988. Del Oro CA freshman Riley Chamberlain, the Division 3 state favorite, is scheduled to compete in an earlier varsity race Friday.

Seeking small school supremacy

Foothill Tech CA hasn’t competed at the invitational since 2015, when the Dragons placed seventh in the Division 4 girls sweepstakes race.

But the opportunity to square off against Sage Creek in a rematch of last year’s Division 4 final was too much to pass up for Foothill Tech, winner of the past two state championships.

Foothill Tech, Sage Creek, Harvard-Westlake CA and last year’s champion Coronado CA headline the entries in the Division 4-5 girls sweepstakes race Friday. California Division 5 programs Flintridge Prep, San Francisco University and St. Joseph Notre Dame are also entered, along with South Anchorage AK and Hopi AZ.

Foothill Tech, led by senior Lauren Kearney, will be tested by Sage Creek and Harvard-Westlake, both of which feature a pair of talented sisters. Skyler Wallace and Stormy Wallace lead Sage Creek, with Natalia Quintero and Daniela Quintero setting the pace for Harvard-Westlake.

Teresa Perez, last year’s race winner, returns for Coronado.

St. Joseph Notre Dame senior Emily Perez, last year’s Division 5 state runner-up, is also entered.

Sage Creek won the boys Division 4-5 sweepstakes race last year, but will be tested by Page AZ, Foothill Tech, Harvard-Westlake, San Francisco University and Flintridge Prep.

Dress rehearsal before returning to the desert

With the Arizona Interscholastic Association moving its state meet back one week this fall, it has resulted in eight programs from the Grand Canyon State deciding to compete in California this weekend, seeking a final challenge before the postseason begins.

Leading that list of entries are a pair of four-time state champions in Desert Vista and Page.

Desert Vista, which secured its fourth consecutive Division 1 championship last year before placing eighth at Nike Cross Nationals, is entered in the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race Saturday.

Lee Nasewytewa and Sammy Van Alstine lead Desert Vista, which has improved significantly since a 23rd-place finish in the boys team sweepstakes race Sept. 15 at the Woodbridge Classic in Norco, Calif.

Page, winner of the past four Division 3 titles, is scheduled to compete in the Division 4-5 team sweepstakes Friday. The Sand Devils, led by Bowen Martin, are making their first trip to California this season.

Page edged Desert Vista by three points, with the teams placing fifth and sixth in the sweepstakes race Sept. 28 at the Desert Twilight Festival in Casa Grande, in their last meeting in Arizona.

Anthem Prep, Casa Grande, Gilbert Christian, Hopi, North Phoenix Prep and St. Michael are the additional Arizona schools scheduled to compete.

More out-of-state arrivals

With its state meet held Sept. 29, South Anchorage is continuing the trend of Alaska programs competing at the invitational after West Valley made the trip last season and captured the team championship in the Division 1-2 girls individual sweepstakes race.

Led by a fourth-place finish from sophomore Ava Earl, South Anchorage took fourth in Division 1 at the 4A state championships.

Earl is one of four sophomores scheduled to run Friday for South Anchorage, along with a pair of freshmen, in the Division 4-5 girls sweepstakes race.

The Wolverines are also entered in a Division 4 boys varsity race Friday. South Anchorage, led by junior Kaleb Beloy, placed fifth in Division 1 at the 4A state final.

The Meadows NV is entered in Division 5 varsity races in both genders, with St. Stephens Episcopal TX competing in the same Division 5 boys varsity race Friday.