PREVIEW: The Brea Varsity Athletes had an outstanding race at CIF Prelims, with the power of teamwork our team successfully got the opportunity to advance towards CIF Finals and are looking forwards towards qualifying for State. Reviewing the results from this race, Shane Gaffikin with a placement of 8th, helped lead the team towards victory. The Brave and Bold Jack Hannum held all of his strength and completely unleashed this strength against his opponents to help place second for his team and place 16th overall. Jonathan Manara, recently recovering from an injury, showed that he still has incredible speed in him and helped push the team towards receiving that 3rd placement, placing 24th overall. Ryan Daedler, Manny DeBarros, Matthew Apahidean, and Carlos Perez sticking as a pack and pushing the team along helped all of us to qualify for CIF Finals. Recovering from tough races and achieving 3rd at CIF preview is incredible and totally excites us to see how our team will perform at CIF Finals and most importantly State!
FINALS: Once Again, with the power of teamwork and compassion, our Varsity athletes successful achieved that epic StateQualifier! Placing 5th for division 3, Our CIF varsity athletes performed an incredibly, a testament towards the importance of why our team should advance to state. Shane Gaffikin helped the team place 27th through continuing to show his strength and his fondness for helping his team advance to State. Our highly reliable and invincible Senior Jack Hannum yet again proved that Riverside is no match, unleashed his quick speed as he placed 43rd for the team. Not too far behind, Ryan Daedler stepped up from last week and helped the team place 46, helping secure an important placement for our team qualifying to State. Jonathan Manara and Manny DeBarros sticking back to back helped each other finish CIF Finals together like a duo as both of them placed an important 78th and 79th place which also helped contribute towards our qualification to State. Most importantly, Carlos Perez, with his incredible Riverside peak of 16:21 at a difficult course, and Matthew Apahidean continuing to help the team be successful. Our qualification towards State came very close, to qualify among division, only the top seven teams go to state. Luckily, with the power of teamwork and an incredible training effort, our team locked in that 5th place title and our Varsity boys are taking a trip to Fresno!

Brea’s Jv Nationals Division 3 team showed their impressive effort on Mt. SAC's difficult and hilly course today! These JV boys were successful in placing an impressive 3rd place with many amazing outstanding Mt. SAC PR’s. Jordan Ostby with an incredible time of 17:22 ran his way towards sixth place as he completely abolished any hill that attempted to slow him down. Aakash Kadakia ran just under 18 minutes with an out of this world time of 17:59, proving the other teams that nothing will bring Aakash down. Working as a compacted team, Luke Stratton (18:10), Jack Livingston (18:14), and Andrew Velasco (18:16) all finished closely together and helped symbolize the importance of working as a team and of sticking as a pack to accomplish unthinkable goals. Brea’s JV team proved to be an impressive one and we are excited to see how these wonderful men are going to perform at league finals next next week.

The varsity team went up to the line short two athletes. Jonathan Manara and Carlos Perez could not compete because illness and injury, putting the pressure on the others to pick up the slack. Manny DeBarros wrapped up the team of five with a time of 17:06 - his first race on this course. Matthew Apahidean finished fifteen seconds earlier at 16:51. Ryan Daedler stuck on Jack Hannum the entire race, finishing only seconds apart at 16:18 (Ryan) and 16:15(Jack). Shane Gaffikin finished first for Brea. He finished with a time of 16:10, first for Brea, and 24th overall. The team finished ninth.

The freshman were able to show their skills at one the toughest courses in the nation. Jeremy Guerrero came in first for the team and a impressive 13th place finish with a time of 18:34. Scoring second for the team was Benji Garner, who ran a 20:53, showed how he can handle the hills. Andrew Kim and Eric Lee tagged team to the finish and ran times of 22:29 and 22:38. The other duo in that race was Joseph Dalman and Chris Landreth who both finished in 24:31 and 24:41. The team was rounded off by freshman Jayden Rios and Carson Neinhouse. The Frosh-Soph team looks bright for the future with many PR to come their way.

Orange County Championships was quite a muddy adventure that involved steep hills and slippy pathways, but that did not stop our outstanding freshman from completing and racing this incredibly dangerous course. Eric Lee, who raced through not only a difficult course but a incredibly muddy course, got a pr of 21:02 and Carson Nienhouse with a time of 23:20 not too far behind from Eric also gained a sweet and absolutely incredible PR. Jaden Rios (25:34) and Thomas Park (26:39) also accomplished an impressive race working together. This meet might have not had the best conditions nor the greatest weather, but that did not stop the freshmen from providing impressive racing results.

The varsity team went into the race without their number two man, Jonathan Manara, but still had high hopes. Shane Gaffikin finished first for Brea and twenty-fifth overall with a time of 15:25. Next for Brea was Matthew Apahidean with a time of 16:02. Ryan Daedler surged past his teammates in the last mile to finish at 16:14, followed closely by Manuel DeBarros at 16:18. Manny did a great job sticking with Jack Hannum the entire race, who, despite coming off an injury finished fifth for Brea with a time of 16:25. Carlos Perez and Luke Stratton were right behind him, finishing with times of 16:28 and 16:32. Freshman Manny DeBarros and junior Shane Gaffikin both received All-County Honors. 

Unfortunately OC Champs was canceled right before the Sophomores got to race; however, the individuals who did not get to race were given the opportunity to condition themselves more to be healthy for Mt. Sac for the weekend!

The Brea Invitational is a different race than most. Unlike most other invites, it is a full five kilometers, and includes challenging terrain and a demanding hill. Instead of the standard frosh/soph, jv, and varsity races, the field is split up into the top two, three through five, and six plus athletes of the underclassmen and upperclassmen. This gives some of the athletes who usually finish somewhere in the middle of a race the chance to lead and win. 

The Brea Invitational Proved that the frosh/soph team had capability towards reaching for success, with the frosh/soph level placing sixth out of thirty three teams during the Brea Invite. Luke Stratton with a time of 17:28 dominated the downhill stretch achieving a placement of fifth in total for the frosh/soph division. Not to far behind him was Jack Livingston with a time of 18:14 crushed his opponents and succeeded in not getting doomed by the maleficent hill. Shane Park and Brandon Kuo worked together to achieve 18:45 and 18:50, showing that both of them together truly form an unstoppable duo. Jeremy Guerrero with a time of 19:36 plus unknowingly and awesomely subbing 19 for the 3 mile at the same time truly turned out to be incredible success. Benji Garner also pulling off a similar achievement to Jeremy gained a time of 20:08 with a 3 mile time of 19:29. Evan Gomez, getting a time of 20:40, barely got close to going under 20 minutes in the 3 mile but still was successful at getting not only a pr but an incredible race. Anthony Motts (22:11), Andrew Kim (22:18), Eric Lee (22:34), Carson Nienhouse (26:40), Thomas Park (28:38) and Chris Landreth (23:54) also preformed incredible PRs, showing their capability of being elite athletes. The Brea Invite truly was a success for our younger athletes and their potential will continue to shine for the 5k in the near future. 

The Varsity team had an impressive showing even with Shane Gaffikin sitting out, coming in third overall. Jonathan Manara and Ryan Daedler ran the 1-2 race together, subbing seventeen minutes with times of 16:53 and 16:57, respectively. Jack Hannum, although in a different race, was only a few seconds behind at 17:01, which got him third in his race. Also in the 3-5 race was Matthew Apahidean, finishing only nine seconds later at 17:10. The open spot on varsity gave Manny DeBarros the chance to move up from the frosh/soph to varsity level, and he finished with a time of 17:31. Carlos Perez, determined to win and to take back his spot on the varsity level, led and won his race,6-7+, with a time of 17:28. Rounding off the varsity top 7 was Andrew Velasco, overcoming injury and the odds to finish just under 18 minutes with a time of 17:52. 

The JV squad also performed remarkably through the tough hills and grueling 5k course. With the support of past Brea runners, Vice Captain Cooper Crabtree and Group 2 founder Noah Tamagno, the JV team was able to run some incredibly fast times and outrun the competition. Miguel Andrade ran up with Velasco and kept with him to finish with a time of 18:18. Following him, Aakash Kadakia came in with a time of 18:27, finishing 21st. Jordan Ostby, the up and coming Alex Fong level photographer, ran an impressive time of 18:40. Behind him was John Root, who continued to fight through his injuries and finished strong with a time of 18:59. Chris Furumizo ran hard from start to finish coming in with a time of 19:54. Last but certainly not least, The team was rounded off by Angel Fuerte and Logan Rios with times of 21:47 and 23:59. 

Thank you to Alex Fong for coming out two times in one week to take pictures! Here are the links to the pictures he took.

Brea Invite - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmr56dA8
Preview - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmjeenYw

7:00 a.m. PARK OPENS (Trying to get a 6:00-6:15 opening-update to follow)
RACE   TIME                 LEVEL                                                  AWARDS
 
1          8:15                 BOYS F/S 6-7 OTHER                           20 MEDAL
2          8:30                 GIRLS F/S 6-7 OTHER                          20 MEDAL
3          8:50                 BOYS F/S 3-5                                       20 MEDAL       
4          9:05                 GIRLS F/S 1-5                                      20 MEDAL
5          9:25                 BOYS F/S 1-2                                       20 MEDAL
 
6          9:40                GIRLS VAR 1-2                                    20 MEDAL
7          10:00               BOYS VAR 1-2                                     20 MEDAL
8          10:15               GIRLS VAR 3-5                                     20 MEDAL
9          10:35               BOYS VAR 3-5                                      20 MEDAL
10        10:50               GIRLS VAR 6,7 OTHER (AND JV)           20 MEDAL
11        11:10               BOYS VAR 6,7 OTHER (AND JV)            20 MEDAL
 
*The following races are scored together to determine team times:

• 1, 3 and 5
• 2 and 4
• 6, 8 and 10
• 7, 9, and 11

For the first three mile race of the season the top thirteen athletes headed to Morro Bay, California for the Morro Bay invitational at Morro Bay High School next to Morro Rock. A tough course with tight turns and sand along the beach, Morro Bay is not the place to run fast.
The Varsity team rode the Morro Bay waves all the way to fourth place. Shane Gaffikin blew the competition out of the water, leading the race at the start and coming in 11th with a time of 18:24. Jonathan Manara, baiting the sharks with his red sauce, out swam them to 14th place with a time of 18:31. Jack Hannum was transfixed by the sand, but Ryan Daedler turned the tide, rallying his teammate as they worked together to finish 35th and 36th, Ryan with a time of 19:05 and Jack 19:06. Matthew Apahidean, powering through the sand and the sea with his thunder thighs, rounded off the top five with a 60th place finish and a time of 19:44. Luke Stratton and Carlos Perez washed up together with times of 20:09 and 20:16. Although the sand may have gotten the better of them, they’ll come back in force at Woodbridge Invitational on September 15, far from the sands of Morro Bay.
The Varsity Team wasn’t the only team to catch the Morro Bay waves during the Morro Bay Invite. Andrew Velasco surfed his way to 7th place with a time of 19:30 and Jordan Ostby not too far behind caught a massive wave which placed him at 13th place with a time of 19:53. Jack Livingston used his swimming techniques and swam his way into 17th place with a time of 20:10. Miguel Andrade and Manny DeBarros got into a canoe together and ultimately demolished the course scoring 21st and 22nd place with a time of 20:19 and 20:20. Shane Park also took advantage of his boogie board and rode his way into 31st place with a time of 20:46.The JV Team gained the advantage of kicking sand into nearly all of their competition which helped them score 2nd place for the day.

The second year at Riverside Showcase proved to be a massive success for our team. The Frosh/Soph team kicked off the meet with an incredible amount of energy which helped them place 2nd in the Frosh/Soph division. Luke Stratton pulled off an incredible start to his high school racing journey, going under 12 minutes in the process (2.25 Miles), with a 11:54 and a 3rd place individual finish. Not far behind him was another newcomer, Manny Debarros, who annihilated most of his opponents placing 11th, achieving his first high school medal, and an outstanding time of 12:22! Jack Livingston, Brandon Kuo, and Shane Park all proved to be great returning athletes from their freshman year finishing together in a group with times of 12:41 (Jack), and 12:42 (Shane and Brandon) improving their PR’s from last year. Evan Gomez and Benji Garner ran under 15 minutes, Andrew Kim and Anthony Motts under 16, and Chris Landreth took off more than 10 minutes from his time last year. Eric Lee, Peyton Garcia, Carson Nienhouse and Jaden Rios also proved their talented skills in running their first XC race! Brea’s Frosh/Soph team is looking quite strong this year and definitely has potential for a league championship later in the season.
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The JV team also ran an excellent opening race for the season. Made up of seven runners from the junior class, they placed 4th in a field of 11 teams. Led by the silent assassin, Jordan Ostby with a time 12:24, showing how 70 plus miles a week pays off. JV’s second and third runner, Aakash Kadakia and Miguel Andrade look promising for future races, with times of 12:37 and 13:04. John Root and Chris Furumizo raced side by side pushing each other to finish with times of 13:57 and 13:58. The team was rounded off by Angel Fuerte and Logan Rios. With each runner having significant PR’s the JV team looks to tear up the field for the rest of season.

The varsity team also had an impressive race. Five of seven made their varsity debut, with only Shane Gaffikin and Jonathan Manara returning. The team placed second, improving from last year’s seventh place. Shane led the group, coming in at a time of 11:16 at a five minute pace, and finishing third overall. Jonathan was not too far behind, with a time of 11:32. Matthew Appahidean, Carlos Perez, Ryan Daedler, and Jack Hannum all came in within ten seconds of each other, with times of 11:46, 11:47, 11:51, and 11:53. This is a promising sign for the season, as a tight pack improves the chance of scoring well when teammates work together. Andrew Velasco fell at the start of the race and worked his way back toward the rest of the team and finished with a time of 12:03. Clearly the hard work is paying off for this varsity team. Already running faster than last year’s team at this time, they hold great potential to do great things later in the season.