Senior Dante Maldonado earned more than just a first place finish at Wednesday’s Century Conference Preview, as he bested 110 other athletes in the boys varsity contest. With his incredible sub-15 time of 14:55.5, Dante set a new school record, edging past a 9-year standing record of 14:56.0 set by Zack Joseph in 2015. With this new PR, Dante now holds the distinction of being the fastest boys XC runner in YLHS history. Way to go, Dante! And it’s only September. Can’t wait to see what else he and the team will achieve this season!
Yorba Regional Park – Wednesday, September 11, 2024
OC’s lingering hot spell broke just in time for yesterday’s Century Conference Preview, but our Yorba Linda Mustangs never turned down the heat and placed second among the meet’s 15 schools. Within the Crestview League, Girls Varsity came in second and Boys Varsity placed third.
Mustang runners placed near the top in nearly every category, with Isabella Wroblewski (10) and Dante Maldonado (12) each taking first place overall in varsity races. In the Girls Varsity category, our Mustangs had three top-ten finishers in a field of 98 runners. Isabella finished at 17:52, Brooke Boyd (11) set a new PR of 18:10 coming in 5th overall, and Olivia Reed (12) finished 9th. Additional PRs for girls varsity runners included Penelope Fournier (12) 19:11, Katie Thompson (10) 19:30 and (10) Emily Maurer 19:56. All seven women’s varsity runners finished with sub-20-minute times.
In Boys Varsity, Dante Maldonado set a blistering 14:55 PR, a new school record, and his first sub-15 race this season. Dante placed first overall in a field of 110 competitors, and with this PR, now has the fastest boys XC time in school history–beating an existing record set in 2015. Toren Habbestad (11) finished 5th overall with a PR of 15:15. Ky Savalia (12) achieved a new PR of 15:38, while Rio Maldonado (10), Jacob Ortillano (12), Jack Karcher (12) and Ryan Olivas (11) all posted sub-17-minute times. Rio 16:11, Jack 16:55 and Ryan 16:59 all set new PRs.
Rory Hartzheim (12) and Lorelai Pohl (11) both finished strong in the top ten in Girls JV, with Lorelai setting a new PR of 21:59. Riley Yoon (12) finished strong in the Boys JV contest.
In the Girls Frosh/Soph race, our lady Mustangs had two freshman top-10 finishers: Danela Felix, finishing 5th out of 155 competitors with a time of 21:05, and Sydney Van Stralen, who finished 9th with a time of 21:42. Lizzie Clark (9) and Noosha Hassanian (10), who posted a PR of 22:36, placed 11th and 14th, respectively. Kiley Kawaja (10) set a PR of 23:56, finishing among the top 50 runners along with Luna Gu (9). Sophomore Arianna Colin achieved a PR of 28:21.
In Boys Frosh/Soph, Carlos Barry (9) placed 7th overall in a field of 194 competitors with a PR of 17:17. Daniel Hernandez (10) also set a new PR of 19:20.
Congratulations to all our runners! What a great showing among the local league schools. We’ll meet these teams again at League Finals on Wednesday, October 30.
Top YL performers for each race: Boys Varsity: Dante Maldonado Boys JV: Riley Yoon Boys Frosh/Soph: Carlos Barry Girls Varsity: Isabella Wroblewski Girls JV: Rory Hartzheim Girls Frosh/Soph: Danela Felix
Our Mustang athletes showed grit, determination and solid preparation Saturday, August 31 at the Asics Cool Breeze at the Pomona Fairplex. Despite warm temperatures, our runners served up competitive showings. In each race, runners had to finish in the top 30 to be a medalist, and several of our athletes received a medal.
JV Girls—two top ten finishes! Rory Hartzheim 3rd Lorelai Pohl 7th
JV Boys Alex Xu achieved a 20:04 and barely missed a medal despite advancing eleven places in the second half of the race. Riley Yoon with a time of 20:45 improved by 43 seconds over last year.
Sophomore Girls Ariana Colin improved her time by 2:25 from last year, and Noosha Hassanian had a strong start to her season.
Sophomore Boys Daniel Hernandez had a PR 20:56, which was 4:22 faster than last year!
Freshman Girls (race shortened to 1.5 miles due to heat) Our team finished 4th overall. Danela Felix 13th Lizzie Clark 24th Sydney Van Stralen 25th We also saw great performances by Ella Cal, Luna Gu, and Katie Pyon.
Freshman Boys (race shortened to 1.5 miles due to heat) Christopher Chiu, Kaito Pintang, Ryan Wang, Landon Dreyfus, Ezra Lui, and Oscar Barajas all did well in their debut race.
Varsity Girls Team finished 9th in the Sundown Showdown. Isabella Wroblewski 15th with 18:01 (:59 faster than last year) Penelope Fournier PR 19:39 (finished 1:26 faster than last year) Emily Maurer PR 20:02 Brooke Boyd 18:54 advanced 27 places in the second half of the race.
Varsity Boys Team finished 15th in the Sundown Showdown. Dante Maldonado 19th 15:16 (:55 faster) Ky Salvalia PR 16:08 (1:12 faster) Rio Maldonado PR 16:43 (1:42 faster) Jack Karcher PR 17:34 (:27 faster) Carlos Barry 18:20 in his first race Toren Habbestad 15:47 (1:50 faster) Jacob Ortillano 17:00 (:37 faster)
Congratulations, Mustangs, on a tremendous showing! We’re looking forward to even better performances at our next races: League Preview on September 11 and Woodbridge on September 21.
Closing out the 2023 season, our entire Lady Mustangs varsity team qualified for CIF prelims and finals and went on to finish 8th in the state. Our varsity women were also League Champions, finishing with top times in the North Hills League. Congratulations to varsity runners Brooke Boyd, Mackenzie Dalton, Penelope Fournier, Rory Hartzheim, Sydney LeBrun, Sarina Patel, Olivia Reed and Isabella Wroblewski.
Three athletes from our varsity mens team–Mason Farley, Toren Habbestad and Dante Maldonado–qualified for CIF preliminaries at Mt. SAC. Dante Maldonado scored a qualifying time to advance to CIF Finals.
Dry air and high heat assailed all runners at the Century League Finals on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, but our Mustang men and women pushed through for some impressive times that secured their spots in the upcoming CIF Prelims on October 10, 2023. Athletes, parents and friends also recognized and celebrated eight Mustang seniors, many of whom completed their final cross country race at this contest.
Women’s JV and Varsity teams both took second place out of seven teams represented. Alison Su, Rory Hartzheim and Olivia Teran each placing 9th, 11th and 13th respectively in Women’s JV. Olivia Reed, Isabella Wroblewski, Brooke Boyd, Sarina Patel and Mackenzie Dalton took 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th and 14th respectively in the Women’s Varsity contest. As a result of their achievements, our entire Women’s Varsity team will advance to CIF Prelims! Great job, ladies!
Rio Maldonado took 3rd place overall in Frosh/Soph, just behind Foothill and Canyon.
In Men’s JV, Jack Karcher, Brent Jorgensen, Connor Griffin and Riley Yoon represented Yorba Linda. This race had to be restarted after several runners tripped and fell just past the start line.
YLHS Men’s Varsity runners Dante Maldonado (14:56, 3rd) and Toren Habbestad (15:29, 9th) both ranked among the top ten finishers, and Mason Farley (15:40) completed the race in 12th place. All three runners will advance to CIF Prelims on Friday, November 10 at Mt. SAC.
Congratulations to our XC Seniors, class of 2024! Adrian Wellmeyer Mason Farley Daniel Chang Taylor Stivers Sarina Patel Brent Jorgensen Connor Griffin Sydney Lebrun
High temps at Mt. SAC didn’t prevent our Mustangs from posting excellent times at the 75th Annual Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational on Friday, October 20, 2023.
Temperatures were in the low 90s at mid-day, and race officials decided to shorten a few of the earlier races by moving them to the two-mile course. This was to help avoid heat-related distress among the hundreds of runners attending the meet. Along with the heat, Mt. SAC’s notoriously challenging course, which includes a dirt running path and several steep hills, made the event even more memorable. Sophomore Alison Su took 4th place overall in the D3,4&5 Girls Soph division, and junior Dante Maldonado placed 9th in the D3,4&5 Boys Team Sweepstakes division.
Our Mustangs pulled in some impressive numbers:
2 Miles (adjusted for heat) Jack Karcher 11:20 Brent Jorgensen 12:10 Riley Yoon 12:37 Connor Griffin 12:55
Kiley Kawaja 16:21 Arianna Colin 20:02
Rio Maldonado 11:05 Carson Black 13:19 Daniel Hernandez 13:44
Alison Su 13:26 – 4th place overall Lorelei Pohl 13:49 Olivia Teran 14:03 Sarai SantaCruz 16:44
2.93 Miles Trevor Gilson 21:31
Sydney Lebrun 22:58 Penelope Fournier 24:55 Rory Hartzheim 25:05
MT. SAC PARKING Due to continuing construction and the thousands of people in attendance at the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, we ask that you please plan your departure/arrival time accordingly. We recommend adding additional travel time in order to park, pick-up team packets, enter and set-up team camps.
Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational Parking will be available in Lot F (North of Temple Ave), the Gateway Parking Structure and Lot H (if Lot F is filled). There will be NO PARKING ALLOWED in the Champion Parking Structure, with the exception of Handicapped Parking ($10) on the upper level. Bus Drop Off – Bus Map posted in the near future Teams arriving in school vans and/or personal vehicles will park in Lot F (if space is available). Vans may also use the Lot F Drop Off area then park in an available lot.
$10 Parking Charge for ALL vehicles. No parking charge for school buses or marked school vans.
SPECTATORS View 2-Mile Course Map Here View 3-Mile Course Map Here Due to construction, attendance numbers and the nature of cross country running, individuals with mobility and health issues are cautioned that attending the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational may be a physical burden on them. Those attending are subject to walking long distances and may be subject to:
Elevation changes Uneven and unstable surfaces (if entering the course areas). Dusty conditions Heat
Due to construction and spectator safety, there is no “Drop Off” zone near the course.
GATE ADMISSION Parking Fee: $10 Spectator Fees:
Adults (12 years or older) – $12 Seniors (55 years or older) – $6 Students (with Student ID – $6 Children (12 years or younger) – $6
CIF-SS and CIF State passes are accepted for admission. League, school and other passes are not accepted for admission.
RESTROOMS As with any meet of this size, there are going to be times when restrooms are in great demand. Please plan ahead. There are numerous permanent restroom facilities throughout our new stadium and a few portable restrooms in other areas (please see map for nearest facility).
We HIGHLY recommend that you bring your own toilet paper. Although the facilities are stocked and restocked, the TOILET PAPER GREMLIN always seems to reappear each year, stealing endless rolls of papers from our restroom facilities!
Fourteen of our XC athletes, two coaches, and several adult chaperones left early Friday, October 6 to drive to Fresno for the 44th Asics Clovis Invitational, a prestigious meet that draws dozens of teams with state meet aspirations. Teams come to the invitational at Clovis to allow their runners to experience the course before the State Championships in November.
Both our YLHS men’s and women’s varsity teams competed in the medium-sized school categories, which were first to compete on Saturday, October 7 at daybreak.
Congratulations to our Lady Mustangs who placed third as a team in field of 31 schools! Olivia Reed achieved 13th place in the women’s medium varsity division, leading strong performances by the rest of the team. Here are the times for each of the women’s varsity runners:
In the men’s varsity race, Dante Maldonado took 18th place in a field of 260 competitors, crossing the finish line in just under 16 minutes! As a team, Yorba Linda placed 12th out of 38 schools. Individual performances by the men’s varsity team are as follows:
Dante Maldonado 15:59.9 Adrian Wellmeyer 17:07.7 Mason Farley 17:08.3 Toren Habbestad 17:26.8 Daniel Chang 17:29.1 Jacob Ortillano 17:47.7 Jack Karcher 18:41.9
Congratulations to all our Clovis runners! Up next is the Mt. SAC meet on Friday, October 19!
Cloudy skies and a bit of rain didn’t stop our runners from posting fantastic scores at the Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach. The three-mile course consisted of grass, dirt, asphalt, a killer hill and a loop around a lake.
Boys and girls varsity races were at 12:30 pm and 1 pm, respectively. Our varsity girls placed first as a team overall in section 2 Girls Varsity! Congratulations, ladies! Isabella Wroblewski garnered second place with 18:25 with Olivia Reed taking fourth just three seconds later at 18:28. Brooke Boyd and Mackenzie Dalton also placed ninth and 10th, giving Yorba Linda four finishers in the top ten! Senior Sarina Patel also completed the race 20th overall, while Emily Maurer and Penelope Fournier finished in the top 35 varsity girls. Kathryn Thompson and Rory Hartzheim also represented YL girls varsity in this race with excellent showings.
In the varsity boys race, our men placed second as a team overall. Congratulations, gentlemen! Dante Maldonado took fourth place over all with 15:31 followed by Mason Farley and Adrian Wellmeyer, who came in at 16:22 and 16:24 respectively. Also finishing in under 17 minutes were Kaayan Savalia, Daniel Chang, Jacob Ortillano and Toren Habbestad. Taylor Stivers and Jack Karcher rounded out the race with excellent times as well.
In the JV girls category, Alison Su took fourth place overall, followed by Sydney LeBrun in sixth place. Olivia Teran, Lorelei Pohl, Ella Stanciu and Sarai SantaCruz each followed with excellent times.
In JV boys, Trevor Gilson and Riley Yoon represented Yorba Linda with tremendous effort.
Our freshmen, Noosha Hassanian, Kiley Kawaja, Rio Maldonado and Daniel Hernandez, all had excellent races, with Rio taking fifth place overall in freshmen boys.
Great job, Yorba Linda Mustangs! Varsity runners will head to Clovis this weekend as we look ahead to the Mt. SAC Invitational on October 20.
