Walnut High School - Cayuse Yearbook (Walnut, CA)

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BOYS V. CROSS-COUNTRY WHS OPPONENT 15 45 Northview 22 34 Covina 15 45 South Hills 15 46 West Covina 18 42 La Puente 15 50 Edgewood 15 50 Workman 7 wins 0 losses Valle Vista and GIF Champions Cross-Country Sports 105

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Boys Cross Country Go» o sue Boys Cross-Country sets goals which lead them to two championship ■ It was great being there running for our team; it ' s something I ' ll never forget. Eric Christopherso?! weat pouring down faces . . . long hard climbs . . . and opponents to beat. All of these became a familiar sight In the life of a cross- country runner. The Boys Cross-Coun- try team, led by Coach Jim Polite, had two goals for the season: 1) to be number one In their new league (Valle Vista) and 2) to win CIF. Both of our goals were accomplished, said Po- lite. I ' m real proud of them. The team, led by top runner Scott Hempel, did more than just win league — they did It without a loss. Winning league was great, but going undefeat- ed made It even more spe- cial, said varsity runner Coby Polite. After accomplishing their first goal, they set their sights on the CIF ti- tle. The squad sent Its top runners, Scott Hempel, Darren Walker, Coby Po- lite, Matt Hempel, Eric Chrlstopherson, Sheldon Watson and Joey Sumner to represent them in CIF competition. It was great being there running for our team, said sophomore Eric Chrlstopherson. It ' s something that I ' ll never forget. The great thing is that we are all sophomores or juniors, so we still have an- other year to try and du- plicate our success, said junior Darren Walker. Sophomore Scott Hem- pel just missed a CIF title of his own. Scott finished second In CIF just seconds behind the first place run- ner. Even finishing sec- ond, Scott still managed to break the CIF record for sophomores. The win was even bet- ter because It was a total team effort, said senior Steve Logan, so every- one felt like they were a part of the success. As the season came to a close many of the runners set their sights on the coming year, never for- getting the success of the ' 86 season. story by Chris LaCoste: layout by Lynn Fujioka: photos by Jack Elliot. , STRAINING FOR THE EXTRA YARDS, Coby Polite struggles to pass his opponent. Goby ' s broth- er and father were also involved in cross-country. A CIF CHAMPIONS. Front row: Joey Sumner. Darren Walker. Shel- don Watson. Coby Polite; back row: Coach Gary Brittan, Scott Hem- pel. Eric Chrlstopherson. Matt Hempel. Coach Jim Polite. A BOYS CROSS-COUNTRY. Front row: David Tabaczynski. Darren Honda. Dino Mendoza. Bradon Carteen; second row: John Lydian. Shel- don Watson. Joey Sumner, Darren Walker, Roby Ortega. Robert Bridges, Sean Fiedler; back row: Daryl Walker. Eric Chrlstopherson. Scott Hem- pel, Steve Logan. Ben Chua. Ryan Polite, Coby Polite. Matt Hempel, Steven Fiedler. 104 Sports Cross-Country

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Girls Cross Country fcfc rep „ »o pf® tect Our main goals for the season were to win the Vaiie Vista title, and capture the GIF crown. — Coach Jim Polite. The Girls Cross Country Team goes undefeated for the third year in a row ard work and dedication had given Girls Varsity Cross Country a reputa- tion to protect. But to reach their main goals, they had to take one step at a time. Our mam goal for the season was to win the Valle Vista title, and then capture the CIF crown, said Coach Jim Polite. Starting out in a fresh league. Walnut met South Hills in a dual meet at Ot- terbein Park. South Hills was known to be the toughest team in league. Walnut ' s top two runners, Jamie Gunn and Sandra Acosta, went up against South Hills top two girls, and Walnut walked away with first, second, and the entire meet. T STRIVING TO REACH THE PEAK, Letha Olmos runs at Ot- terbein Park. Letha. a lunior. has been on the team for the past three years. Being known for going undefeated in league the past two years, the girls managed a replay with a 7-0 record. But league wasn ' t far enough for the team. Next step was CIF play- offs, where they placed fifth overall; Walnut had been ranked second through the season, We had expected to do much better in CIF, but the be- ginning of the season was good, said junior Jamie Gunn. According to Polite, Ja- mie and Sandra were great and led Walnut to their victories. Sandra placed fourth in CIF indi- viduals, and was awarded All League recognition. I thought the team T AS THE WHISTLE BLOWS, the pack tries to get the lead. Walnut defeated rival South Hills in the dual meet at Otterbein Park with first and second place medals. would do better, but we all did good individually, said senior Lisa Vanden- burg. The team had all their girls back from the pre- vious season, but the most significant differ- ence in the outcome was the return of senior Liz Jaime. Liz had been out her entire junior year, due to a stress fracture. Her return made all the differ- ence in the world, said Polite. We had more tough runners. The season wasn ' t what we had hoped, but we get along great, and next year will be a much better season, said San- dra. story by Julie Wishner: layout by Robbie Davis: photos by Jack Elliot. H ► STRETCHING FOR A LEAD, Sandra Acosta and Jamie Gunn run as a team. Sandra and Jamie placed first and second in the dual meet. 106 Sports Girls Cross Country