El Toro’s Bethke Gets Best of Haddan

Michael Haddan’s dominance in the Orange County cross-country championships came to an end Saturday when junior Brandon Bethke of Lake Forest El Toro defeated the Irvine Woodbridge senior to win the Division I boys’ title in the 35th meet at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

Haddan posted the fastest time of the meet while winning the Division II race as a sophomore in 2001, and he set a course record of 14 minutes 37 seconds to win the Division I title last year.

But Bethke beat him decisively this time.

Bethke had finished third -- two places ahead of Haddan -- in the sweepstakes race at the Woodbridge Invitational on Sept. 20. But there was speculation that Bethke had caught Haddan on an off day, and that Haddan would win when the county title was on the line.

It didn’t happen.

Bethke, 10th in last year’s championships, surged away from Haddan while cresting the final hill with half a mile to go and completed the three-mile course in 14:58. Haddan finished second in 15:04.

The race was run in temperatures approaching 90 degrees, but the heat did nothing to slow Bethke.

“I was pretty confident,” he said. “But I was kind of worried near the top of the hill when [Haddan] started pushing it. And I was like, ‘All right. I’ve got to go now.’ ”

The boys’ team title went to Dana Point Dana Hills for the second year in a row.

The Dolphins, ranked ninth in the Southland by The Times, were paced by the seventh-place finish of senior Taylor White in 15:38, and finished with 99 points. Dana Hills junior Scott Smith was 10th in 14:41.

Fountain Valley, ranked eighth, placed second behind the Dolphins with 112 points. Huntington Beach Marina was third with 117.

Senior Claire Kim of Fullerton Sunny Hills won her first individual title in the Division I girls’ race; Anaheim Esperanza, ranked third in the Southland by The Times, rolled to its third consecutive team championship with 67 points.

Kim broke away from co-leader Stephanie Torres of Cypress while ascending the final hill and finished in 17:45. Torres was second in 17:51.

“It was very important,” Kim said of her victory. “It was kind of like my middle mark [of the season] where I wanted to see where I was at.... I’m very happy with the results.”

Cypress, No. 7 in The Times’ rankings, scored 107 points to place second to Esperanza in the team standings. The Centurions were followed by No. 10 Woodbridge with 166 points and No. 9 Fountain Valley with 177.

Esperanza had three of the top 10 finishers. Senior Candice Proctor placed sixth in 18:10, while freshman Dani Bree Pugmire finished seventh in 18:11 and junior Joy Wilk was 10th in 18:26.

John Ortega

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Felix Munoz, the Santa Ana High junior who collapsed during a football game Thursday against Westminster and underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, has shown marked improvement, according to Athletic Director Frank Alvarado.

Munoz, 16, has regained consciousness and was communicating with family members in the Critical Care Unit at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

“He was asking about the results of the game,” Alvarado said, referring to the Saints’ 34-7 loss.

Munoz, a quarterback and defensive back, walked to the sidelines late in the first quarter, then collapsed. Coaches from both teams watched their videotapes of the game, but neither staff saw “a definitive hit” that might have caused Munoz’s injury, Alvarado said.

-- Martin Henderson