Prep Boys Cross Country: Titans, Nighthawks qualify for state meet
Jarrett Chinn and Cameron Tomlinson came down the final stretch of their respective races at Saturday’s San Diego Section cross country championships with one thing on their minds: team.
Poway High’s Chinn powered to a fourth-place finish in Division II and Del Norte’s Tomlinson pushed through the pain in his foot to take sixth in the Division III race at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
The result was the Titans and Nighthawks snatching up the final state-qualifying spots in their respective divisions. For Poway, it is the first time since 2009 it has qualified for the state meet. For Del Norte, it is the first time since 2013.
“I was feeling really tired around the second mile,” said Chinn, a junior who finished the 3.75-mile course in 16 minutes, 50.56 seconds. “But I knew had to keep pushing for my team. I really wanted to get a spot at state.”
Tomlinson, a senior who has been battling plantar fasciitis all season, expressed a similar sentiment after finishing in 16:49.69.
“I felt my foot hurting in warmups, but I knew I had to have a good race,” said Tomlinson, who was part of the Del Norte team last season when it missed out on a state-qualifying spot due to a sixth-runner tiebreaker. “At the end I was hurting, but I knew I had to go for it for my team.”
The Nighthawks needed every bit of that strong finish. They edged University City by two points and Ramona by three points for third place. Tomlinson outkicking University City’s Allen Siegler down the stretch proved to be vital.
“I saw him and did everything I could to beat him,” said Tomlinson, who beat Siegler by less than a second. “I am not happy with my time, but I couldn’t be more happy about my place and the fact we are going to state.”
When word spread that Poway had taken fourth place - Mt. Carmel took first (85 points), San Pasqual second (94) and Steele Canyon third (100) - and qualified for state, fourth-year coach Bruce Jackson jumped for joy.
“I couldn’t be happier for our seniors,” said Jackson, whose Titans scored 102 points, 26 less than fifth-place Hoover. “I do not think of our program as boys and girls, I think of it as one big family. But the girls had success right away when I started here. It is nice to see the boys step out of their shadow.”
Of course, Tomlinson and Chinn did not do it all for their respective teams. Four of the five scorers for the Nighthawks finished in the top 23 of the Division III race. Calvin Liew (20th, 17:37.09), Matthew Earney (21st, 17:39.24), Igor Landa (23rd, 17:45.26) and sophomore Jake Kim (34th, 18:04.59) rounded out the scoring for Del Norte.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team,” Tomlinson said. “It was a pretty amazing race.”
After Chinn, junior Michael Downs (13, 17:32.51) came in for the Titans. He was followed by senior Owen Schatzlein (22nd, 17:48.96), senior Colin Jensen (25th, 17:51.59) and junior Cameron Hirsch (38th, 18:07.28).
“Our depth is what did it for us,” Jackson said. “Jensen is usually our No. 2 and he did not have his best race, but we had guys pick him up.”
Rancho Bernardo took seventh place. The Broncos were led by junior Fuyuki Kuroiwa’s ninth-place finish in 17:05.16. He qualified to run at state as an individual. The state meet is slated for Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.