“I really felt like this was something we had in us, it was just a matter of finding it.”
Senior Kevin Heintz led the Rebels with a sixth-place finish in 16 minutes 11 seconds, securing Division V All-State honors for the second year in a row. He also led Prep at the CIF finals meet, where the Rebels finished sixth in Division V on Nov. 21.
“We’re incredibly amped, we’ve been preparing for this the entire season and this was just the race of our lives that we all knew we had,” Heintz said. “It was a great way to end my career. That was everything I had, I put it all out there.”
Woodcrest Christian claimed its fifth straight Division V title with 109 points (1:23.54) and Pasadena Poly finished second with 115 (1:23.56), aided by top finisher Wesley DeVall (15:40).
Juniors Jason Bunn (29th, 16:56), Daniel Lazier (41st, 17:06) and Jesse Redding (47th, 17:15) and sophomore Jake Johnson (74th, 17:46) packed together well to help Prep compile a score of 143 (1:25.14) and narrowly hold off fourth-place Thacher (148, 1:25.07).
“Our original goal was to finish in the top five and we didn’t really have a plan relative to getting as high up as we did,” Hentz said. “We all just kind of went out there, knowing where we had to be and running as hard as we can.”
With Heintz the only senior set to graduate, the Rebels could be in for a few more big performances at state, as well.
“This is our last race of the season,” Herskind said, “but our first race of next year.”
Glendale resident Philip Kostelnik, a junior, finished 21st in 15:43 in the Division V race to help his Loyola squad finish sixth with 207 points (1:20.06). His teammate, junior Elias Gedyon, won the individual title in 15:00 flat, but Mountain View captured the team championship (98, 1:18.26).
Richard Lucas, who also resides in Glendale, helped Sherman Oaks Notre Dame take 10th in Division IV with 297 points (1:25.17). The junior was his team’s top finisher, placing 11th overall in 16:03. Laguna Beach won with 69 points.
