CROSS COUNTRY WATCH: Bonita Girls Travel in Fast Company

Marissa "The Great" Scott, Lexi Jackson and Mikayla Flores plan to lead Bonita to the State Finals in cross country.

At 3-0, Bonita’s varsity football team is off to a fantastic start, but even Podley’s pounders will be hard-pressed to keep up with 2009 San Gabriel Valley Coach of the Year Lonny Carr’s fast high-speed harriers.

Last Saturday, at the Woodbridge Invitational Cross Country Meet at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa, Bonita’s Marissa Scott finished first (17.59) and Lexie Jackson finished third (18.17) with Mikayla Flores right behind in fourth (18.21), out of 300-plus runners. This wasn’t a sandlot sprint; it was the third largest invitational meet in the nation.

In the freshmen boys, Bonita newcomer Dillon Dobbs crossed the tape in 16:13 to finish first in his division.

Senior Heather Jackson, a senior who has already accepted a scholarship to Utah Valley State, and junior Shavonn Johnson placed third (20.25) and seventh (20:53), respectively, running for the JV girls. Sidelined over the summer, they’re expected to play important roles on the varsity as their fall training progresses.

Other notable efforts: Sophomore Sydney Russell finished eighth (21:04) in the sophomore girls and Emily Lowrie placed 10th (20:46) in the frosh girls.

In 2004 and 2005, Carr took his varsity girls to state, the first time any Bonita athletic team had done so, but Carr believes his girls this year will even exceed those two outstanding entries.

Dillon Nobbs, just a freshman, is out to shatter Bonita's all-time frosh record.

“Our girls are going to be Hacienda League champions, they are going to state, they are going to improve every meet,” he said as calmly as if were reading the ingredients on the side panel of a Wheaties box.

“This is the best team we have ever had,” he added. “They will shatter the old school record (97.22 at Mt. SAC) by two or three. The other day, this team ran in the 93s but it was on a flat course.”

Last year, Carr’s girls went 97:25, so he has ample reason to be so confident. He lost only one runner from last year’s varsity squad, but his two freshmen, Mikayla Flores and Katie Sedor, are already gritting out top finishes and will only improve with experience, Carr believes. “Sedor runs a nice 5:30 mile,” Carr said. “She has experience, and I expect her to be in the low 19s at Mt. SAC in the end.”

Carr is pushing everyone through their paces because it is the collective time and placement of the team’s top five-finishing runners every meet that determines how they finish.

With Scott, Jackson, and Flores already placing high and Jackson and Johnson working hard to round into form and his newcomers literally making great strides, Carr’s girls should be top contenders at every meet.

Scott, of course, was on the San Gabriel Valley Tribune All-Area first team last year and qualified for state, and Jackson was on the second team, so this year they bring experience to the team despite still being sophomores. It’s not inconceivable that the Bonita girls could finish 1-2-3-4-5 at some meets this year.

While his girls will grab the majority of headlines this fall, they won’t hog them all. Carr said his varsity boys are the most balanced team he’s had in several years.

It was 2004 when Carr last led his boys to a league title, but he feels this year’s squad, led by Dillon Nobbs, will be knocking on the door.

Heather Jackson, left, and Shavonn Johnson add to Bonita's unbelievable depth.

“He’s the whole package,” said Carr, an elementary school physical education teacher and Bonita coach for two decades, including the last nine as head cross country coach. “He’s going to shatter the freshman school record for Mt. SAC, which is 17.11.”

Dillon will get his first try on Oct. 9, when he faces Glendora senior Anthony Castro, the Valley’s Runner of the Year in 2009.

As a tri-athlete, Dillon brings polished skills to cross country running not normally seen in someone so young. “He knows how to prepare,” Carr said. “He’s a swimmer, he’s done track. He knows all about pressure, competition and what it takes to prepare.”

Carr, who would appear to have few problems this fall, has one. “My biggest concern isn’t Dillon; it’s finding people to stay up with Dillon.”

The ongoing season should sort this out, however.  Carr likes the early efforts of juniors Daniel Guasso and Shane Harrison and his senior captain Chris Barajas. He has another fine runner in Wyatt Deane, who “may have the best sprint speed on the team,” according to Carr.

This fall saw another first for his team. A total of 67 athletes came out for cross country this season.

“Until this year, my biggest team was 47,” Carr said. “When I first took over, I had 28, including 10 girls. Now I have 36 girls and 31 boys. For the second year in a row the girls have outnumbered the boys.”

Realistically, not everyone can be No.1. That’s doesn’t stop Carr from trying to motivate everyone, however.

“Whether you’re getting in shape for basketball or wrestling or are just out here to get in shape, know your PR (personal record) and try to improve that time each week,” he said. “Learn about the sport.”

Carr added that the discipline that running teaches will carry over into the classroom and into life. To make the team, the student athletes had to log 55 miles in one week. Hanging at the beach would have been much less exhausting.

“Life is all about improving,” Carr said. If you don’t have that as your goal, then you’re not going to make in this life.”

Carr seems to embody the self-improvement ethic.  If his team can log and emulate his same drive and dedication, they should not only be much improved at the end of the season, they just might be champions.

SERMON ON THE GRASS: Coach Carr didn't like everything he saw last week at Woodbridge. He said the team warmed up poorly and urged the team to do better in its next competition.

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