Wolfpack extends legacy with win over Loyola in first showdown of Division 1 rivals this season; Ayers clocks 14:56.5 and Coles prevails in 14:56.9 in respective Division 1-2 sweepstakes races to join sub-15 competitors at 73rd event

By Landon Negri for DyeStat/Chuck Utash photos

There’s been so many changes in sports and life since the last running of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational in 2019. But one thing Saturday remained the same as in many recent years.

Great Oak's boys extended their legacy by winning the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes for the seventh consecutive time, outrunning California Division 1 rival Loyola in their first head-to-head meeting of the year on the 2.93-mile course with a 78-95 victory at the meet’s 73rd edition in Walnut.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS BY CHUCK UTASH

Individually, Claremont senior Chris Coles turned in a breakout performance to win the team sweeps in 14 minutes, 56.9 seconds.Senior Zach Ayers of Davis Senior won the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes in 14:56.5.

Great Oak’s boys are the only program in meet history to win seven consecutive Mt. SAC sweepstakes titles in the highest division. Saturday added to that legacy for the boys following six in a row from 2014-19, a triumph given the state of things for the past 19 months.

Like other teams, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, all but eliminating the 2020 season. But earlier this year, Great Oak also lost longtime coach Doug Soles and assistant Daniel Noble, a jolt to a program that rose to national prominence under them.

It's been a steady progression in the first year under coach Tammy Draughon.

On Saturday, junior twin brothers Ramses Cortes and Mark Cortes – the younger siblings of former Wolfpack standout Isaac Cortes, an integral part of Great Oak's 2015 Nike Cross Nationals-title winning team – led the way by finishing sixth (15:16.5) and ninth (15:19.9). Senior Brandon Wilk was 17th in 15:33.2.

“I know it’s been tough with this last year, just with COVID and everything,” Ramses Cortes said, “and just a lot of our seniors and leadership left. And so also, with a new coach, we had to kind of regroup and figure things out, but I can’t be prouder right now. We are improving every race, and I think we’re going to be just as strong as we can at the end of the season.

“It only gets better from here, still,” he added.

And yes, while the nation's top-ranked team, Newbury Park, wasn’t at Mt. SAC, it didn’t take away from the Wolfpack’s accomplishment.

“We were just trying to keep our streak alive, and I know there was a threat with Loyola. ...,” Ramses Cortes said, “.. we had to put our heads down and grind, and the efforts paid off. We did what we needed to; we accomplished our goal. It’s crazy. It feels great.”

Great Oak’s ability to get two runners in the top 10 and keep their five-man gap to 24 seconds allowed it to get past the Cubs, who had senior Richard Moreno finish second in 15:11.9.

“We did a lot of research about the competition,” Moreno said. “As a team, we weren’t really focusing on time. We were focusing on placement. And so my job was to go out (at) around the top 10 and at ‘Poopout Hill,’ and make my move and try to finish No. 1. I got a little too disconnected with the No. 1 guy. The rest of my team had the same approach, depending on where they thought they should be.

“... Our top five were all doing that and executed almost perfect.”

Coles also bided his time, ascending into the race lead after “Poopout Hill” and finished strong.

Coles was able to gain some distance between himself and Moreno and third-place Parker Simmons of Crescenta Valley (15:14.3). Bellarmine College Prep senior Ryunosuke Yanashita was fourth in 15:16.2, while Simi Valley Royal junior Jonah Bazerkanian was fifth, also in 15:16.2.

“I figured the start would go out fast, and there’s one thing I usually see,” Coles said. “Except for the Newbury Park kids, usually when someone leads out, they’re not going to hold that from the start. So I figured I’d stay in that lead pack until I really needed to move.”

Corona Santiago senior Evan Hild placed seventh in 15:17.1, while San Clemente junior Juan Chantaca was eighth, also in 15:17.1, and Mason Ma of Ayala placed 10th in 15:22.7.

Chantaca led the Tritons, who captured the Orange County Championships team title for the first time since 1989, to a third-place finish with 139 points. Bellarmine Prep was fourth with 140.

Ayers turned what could have been a close race into a landslide victory, rallying in the second half of the individual sweepstakes to win in 14:56.5. At the 42nd ASICS Clovis Invitational earlier this month at Woodward Park – also the California state meet course – Ayers was the fastest non-Newbury Park runner, placing fifth on the 5-kilometer layout in 15 minutes flat.

Breaking the 15-minute barrier was certainly on his mind in the race’s final half-mile.

“I knew I had 400 meters (left) or something at some point,” Ayers said. “I wasn’t sure exactly what that mark was. But I know it (wasn’t) long, I’ve just got to push on the air strip. I knew I kind of had secured first place there, but I’ve just got to get this time. I’ve got to get it.

“I heard the announcer yelling, ‘close to sub-15,’ and I’m like, ‘I can’t let that slip away.”

Glendora senior John Sesteaga finished second in 15:13.3, while Grossmont senior Russell Blakely was third in 15:13.7. Valencia senior Joseph Pohlot was fourth in 15:14.

The race had figured to be a showdown between Ayers and Aliso Niguel senior Brennan Foody, who was the runner-up last week at the Orange County Championships at Oak Canyon Park. Foody ran at the front most of the race, before finishing fifth in 15:21.7.

Seniors Lance Denhalter and Brandon Calderon followed for Vista Murrieta, placing sixth (15:24.9) and seventh (15:25.5), respectively, leading the Broncos to a 96-191 victory over Rancho Cucamonga.

Concord De La Salle senior Oscar Gomez was eighth in 15:27.2, followed by Santa Ana junior Jimmy Dominguez (15:29.4) and Westlake junior KC Barber (15:33.5) rounding out the top 10.