Hasvold fourth at state CIF meet

Fallbrook High School senior Bret Hasvold ended his CIF cross-country career with a fourth-place finish at the state Division I meet November 24 in Fresno’s Woodward Park.

Hasvold had a time of 15:24 on the 3.1-mile course to finish fourth among the 201 Division I runners. Chris Sanchez of Foothill won the race with a time of 15:13, Riley Sullivan of Trabuco Hills placed second at 15:14, and Brett Walters of Sultana was third with a time of 15.21.

The five divisions are determined by school enrollment size.

Hasvold’s time placed eighth among the 969 runners in all divisions.

Hasvold, who won the CIF San Diego Section Division I cross-country meet November 17 at San Diego’s Morley Field, also had the best time of any San Diego Section runner at the state meet.

“I was really proud of the way he ran. He gave it everything he had,” said Fallbrook coach Marco Arias.

Hasvold was fifth with 200 meters left in the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) race but caught and passed Tyler Valdes of Dana Hills to secure the fourth spot. “It was pretty much tight,” Arias said.

Hasvold was in the front for the entire race. “When the lead group went, he went with them,” Arias said. “Everybody just held the ground that they had.”

Hasvold had a first-mile time of 4:48. “He was right where we wanted him to be,” Arias said.

Since the top six finishers from each division at the state meet receive medals, Hasvold brought home a medal. His fourth-place finish was the highest ever at the state meet for a male runner from Fallbrook High School.

“That was kind of his personal goal, to make top five,” Arias said. “He reached that.”

Hasvold’s pre-season goals included winning the league and CIF San Diego Section races and finishing in the top five in the state meet.

He accomplished all three goals during the 2007 season, winning the San Diego Section Division I meet with a time of 15:59 on the 3.1-mile course and capturing the Avocado League meet with a time of 15:51 on the 3.1-mile Kit Carson Park course November 10, which was also the fastest time among any of the runners at the three-league North County Conference Finals.

Hasvold’s time at the state meet was also a personal best for the Woodward Park course. Hasvold finished 21st at the state meet in 2006 with a time of 15:43, and he had a time of 16:20 in the 2005 state finals.

The top three teams in each division at the San Diego Section meet advance to the state meet as a team. Fallbrook finished fourth among the 22 Division I teams, missing team status for the state meet by a single position.

The top five runners from each division not on one of the top three teams earn an invitation to the state meet as individuals.

In addition to Hasvold, Fallbrook senior Josh Smith also qualified for the state meet as an individual after finishing eighth at the San Diego Section meet with a time of 16:37.

Smith had a time of 16:30 at the state meet, which placed 98th among Division I runners and 209th among all runners.

“It’s not bad, but it’s not what he finished in the previous state meets that he ran in,” Arias said of Smith, who posted a time of 16:10 at the 2006 state meet to finish 53rd.

Smith’s 2007 time was an improvement over his 2005 state meet time of 17:18.

“It was really rewarding and a really enjoyable experience to spend time with these two young men,” Arias said of Hasvold and Smith. “I was really thankful that I had time to spend with them.”