Category: News

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 3^rd 
Lorelai Pohl 7^th 

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 4^th overall.
Danela Felix 13^th
Lizzie Clark 24^th
Sydney Van Stralen 25^th
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 9^th in the Sundown Showdown.
Isabella Wroblewski 15^th 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 15^th in the Sundown Showdown.
Dante Maldonado 19^th 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)

Race Videos
Race Results

Did you get any photos at Cool Breeze? Add them to our photo album here!

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.

Congratulations to all on a terrific season!

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

All final results here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/235388/results/all

More photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z8nDsEPGyj49q5RdOc0GHnaf7XFJoPBF?usp=sharing

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

Isabella Wroblewski 19:37
Olivia Reed 19:40
Mackenzie Dalton 20:06
Brooke Boyd 20:27
Emily Maurer 23:49
Kathryn Thompson 24:40

Dante Maldonado 15:43 – 9th place overall
Adrian Wellmeyer 16:51
Mason Farley 16:54
Toren Habbestad 17:03
Taylor Stivers 17:44
Kaayan Savalia 18:02
Jacob Ortillano 18:49

All official results here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/224388/info

Video recaps here: https://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&mgroup_event_id=422&do=videos&folder_id=recent&year=2023

View the Mt. SAC Parking Map here.

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:

Olivia Reed 19:00
Isabella Wroblewski 19:30.2
Brooke Boyd 19:47.0
Mackenzie Dalton 20:04.0
Sarina Patel 20:22.2
Emily Maurer 21:05.2
Penelope Fournier 21:46.8

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!

View all Clovis results here.

View more photos from Clovis here.

Released Thursday, October 5, 2023

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.

Official results here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/227011/info

View more photos here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/100MYOJHgNl4ZBqdKAvyZd7yKja1vSLIJ/view?usp=drive_link

Our Mustangs had terrific performances at the Century Conference Preview on Wednesday, September 20. YLHS runners placed at the top in nearly every category, with Isabella Wroblewski finishing second overall in Women’s Varsity at at time of 18:18.5 and Olivia Reed taking third place at 18:28.6. A total of four Mustang women placed in the top ten varsity finishers, with Mackenzie Dalton taking eighth place and Brooke Boyd taking tenth.

In men’s varsity, Dante Maldonado placed third overall in a field of 57 competitors. Adrian Wellmeyer finished tenth overall, with Mason Farley and Jacob Ortillano posting impressive times in the top 30 finishers. Rory Hartzheim finished third overall in Girls JV, and Jack Karcher led the YL Men’s JV team with a time of 17:50.6.

Kathryn Thompson took first place in the Frosh/Soph category, and Emily Maurer took second place, with times of 20:21.3 and 21:03.4, respectively. Congratulations, Kathryn and Emily! Alison Su and Olivia Teran were in the top 10 Frosh/Soph finishers. Rio Maldonado received first place in the Men’s Frosh/Soph category with a showing of 17:01.2. Congrats, Rio!

Congratulations to all our runners! What a great showing among the local Century League schools. We’ll meet these teams again at League Finals on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

Top YL performers for each race:
Boys Varsity: Dante Maldonado
Boys JV: Jack Karcher
Boys Frosh/Soph: Rio Maldonado
Girls Varsity: Isabella Wrobleski
Girls JV: Rory Hartzheim
Girls Frosh/Soph: Kathryn Thompson

View all results here:
https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/231947/results/925488

View more photos here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yBh6qkLaCqgf5JVPPmMtwAi1PwK4Z82Q/view?usp=drive_link

It was a great night of racing Saturday at the 42nd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic as cool weather and hard work led to fantastic performances all around. The race has the highest number of participants in the US and our Mustangs performed well. The race featured 22 PRs from our runners and one top ten finish with Dante Maldonado finishing fourth in the boys varsity race. — Don Campbell

Top YL performers for each race:
Boys Varsity: Dante Maldonado
Boys Senior: Taylor Stivers
Boys Junior: Jack Karcher
Boys Sophomore: Trevor Gilson
Boys Freshman: Rio Maldonado
Girls Varsity: Isabella Wrobleski
Girls JV: Sydney LeBrun
Girls Sophomore: Alison Su
Girls Freshman: Emily Mauer  

PRs
Isabella Wrobleski
Liv Reed
Brooke Boyd
Kenzie Dalton
Sarina Patel
Katie Thompson
Penelope Fournier
Rory Hartzheim
Lorelai Pohl
Kiley Kawaja
Arianna Colin
Dante Maldonado
Adrian Wellmeyer
Ky Savalia
Toren Habbestad
Jacob Ortillano
Rio Maldonado
Jack Karcher
Connor Griffin
Trevor Gilson
Riley Yoon
Carson Black
Daniel Hernandez