by Steve Breazeale
The Dana Hills and Trabuco Hills boys cross country teams have been battling back and forth all season long, which set the stage for what what would be a hotly contested South Coast League Finals at Irvine Regional Park on November 1.
After both teams had their top-5 runners cross the finish line the teams were neck and neck, which meant a sixth runner would be the tie-breaker for the league title.
The task of finishing ahead of the sixth Trabuco Hills runner fell to senior Zeph Alva, who posted a time of 15:24, 33 seconds clear of the Mustangs sixth finisher.
The 48-48 tie at the top was broken and the Dolphins took home the hardware.
As he has been doing for most the season, freshman standout Jake Ogden led the way for the Dolphins, finishing in second place as an individual after posting a time of 14:32. Ogden set an all-time freshman record at Mt. SAC the last time the Dolphins competed.
Junior Gavin Diem was the only other Dolphin to finish inside the top-10, placing fifth, posting a time of 14:38.
The Dolphin girls were also part of a tight race, finishing second and just one point behind San Clemente, the reigning State Champions.
Senior Paige Canterbury was the top finisher for the team, coming in fourth place with a time of 17:17. Senior Aubrey Carr and sophomore Camille Fodor finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
