Lauren Von Der Ahe is anything but at her best right now.
That suited the Flintridge Prep girls' cross-country team just
fine on Saturday at the 32nd annual Bellarmine/Griffith Park
Cross-Country Invitational, and it may pay dividends further on down
the road this season, as well.
Led by third- and fourth-place finishes from Ciara Gonzales and
Kathryn Iwata, respectively, the Rebels took first place in the
Division V girls' race, edging Maranatha, 33-44.
"We were happy with what we saw. We were strong at the end," said
Flintridge Prep Coach Mike Roffina of the defending Prep League
champions. "It's so great that the rest of the team has stepped up."
While only the top five scored in the event, the Rebels impressed
from top to bottom, as all six of their runners finished in the top
18, including Von Der Ahe, who ran her first race of her junior
season.
"We're bringing her back slowly," said Roffina of Von Der Ahe, who
placed 11th in 20 minutes, 11 seconds and has been nursing a knee
injury. "I think it's a huge positive [getting the experience running
without her.] We're learning how to do this without our No. 1."
On Saturday, Gonzales was the No. 1, finishing in 19:04, 18
seconds ahead of Iwata. Amanda Peterson (eighth, 19:56) and Renee Chang (ninth, 20:01) came in shortly before Von Der Ahe, with Melody
Aaron (13th, 20:47) rounding out the scoring and Kate Yandell (18th,
21:09) finishing out an all-around dominating day.
While the local highlight of the day may have been the performance
of the Rebel girls, the meet's highlight was the posthumous
dedication to longtime track and field official Paul Suzuki.
Suzuki was killed after being hit in the head by a 16-pound shot
prior to the United States Track and Field Federation Senior
Nationals in June. The 77-year-old had been an official at local
meets for years, and was the starter at the Bellarmine/Griffith Park
Cross-Country Invitational since 1980.
Suzuki's family, including wife Dorothy, were at Saturday's event,
where the meet was dedicated to Suzuki.
As far as other local highlights went, La Canada did well in the
girls' and boys' Division II/III races.
Paced by defending Rio Hondo League champion Morgan Sheppard, the
Spartans took third in the girls' race, while Spartan Will Zentmyer's
14th-place finish in 15:29 led the boys' team to sixth place.
"I'm more concerned with their times than their placement," said
Haynes, whose teams each finished in the top three last season at the
