Qualls leads the way at CIF prelims

On Saturday, Nov.13,  Mammoth High School sent two very young cross-country runners to the CIF prelims for a chance to ultimately represent Southern California in the State Championships scheduled in Fresno, Ca. on Nov. 27. Freshman Hailey Hugelman and Sophomore Toby Qualls had earned the right to race with the very best high school runners that Southern California has to offer. Senior Kristen King, who qualified for CIF, could not run due to a prior commitment.

For freshman Hailey Hugelman, it was a tough task. Running against the fastest girls in the state, most of them seniors, Hailey finished 39th, with a time of just over 23 minutes (she needed to finish in the top eight to move on). The course is considered one of the hardest in the state, and for a freshman, it was an incredible finish. As Hugelman matures and trains, she will only get better.

Sophomore Toby Qualls also needed to finish in the top eight to make it to next week’s finals. When the starting gun sounded for his race, coaches and loved ones held their breath because they knew Qualls was still healing from an injury and was not yet running at 100 percent.

After Qualls’ winning time at the Bellarmine Invitational, he came down with shin splints. Left untreated, Qualls could suffer spiral fractures to his leg bone so parents and coaches decided on a plan. Qualls did not run for six weeks, but cross-trained, instead.

Under the guidance of  Andrew Kastor, coaches Luke and Friedl, Qualls cross trained on bicycles and in the pool to maintain his aerobic capacity. This would gave time for his leg to heal, but ultimately there wasn’t enough time to get his running legs back before CIF. He was getting faster every week, but the question still remained whether or not he could he make it back in time for a go at the state finals.

At the starting gun, it quickly became clear that Qualls was ready. He led the race from beginning to end. He even had the wherewithall to slow down in the last 400 yards of the race. A competitor’s coach who was scouting Qualls stated out loud, “that is one smart kid.” Why? Because the coach knew it takes 10 days to recover from a hard race and the finals are next week in seven days. Qualls only needed to make top eight so he was saving his strength for the finals and a trip to Fresno. Ultimately Qualls finished the race in a time of 16:32 and is now one race away from the State Championships. Next week to move on, he will need to finish in the top 20 runners.