If everything falls into place, La Reina High will break its one-week-old school course record team time on the 2.91-mile Mount San Antonio College course today.

Will it be enough for the Regents to pass Oaks Christian, Maranatha and JSerra for the Division IV girls' team championship at the CIF Divisional Finals?

Only time will tell.

La Reina is one of 14 area teams and six individuals to qualify for the finals, which serves as a qualifier for the CIF State Championships next week in Fresno.

"Our confidence is higher than it ever has been," said La Reina coach Robert Lopez. "Everybody hit their personal bests, except for Sarah (Pearson), who was two seconds off, last week."

La Reina was less than a minute off the hot pace set by Oaks Christian, which blends two strong front-runners in Rosanne Fleming and Cristina Garcia with a solid three-pack of runners.

The Oaks Christian and La Reina girls' teams aren't the only area programs contending for section championships and qualifying spots for state.

Ranked high among the state's Division III elite teams all year, the Oak Park boys' and girls' teams return to a course where they've annually made trips to the awards podium. Oaks Christian and Nordhoff are among the top contenders for the Division IV boys' championship. Royal and Thousand Oaks could place among the top seven Division I boys' teams. Three Marmonte League girls' programs — Simi Valley, Agoura and Newbury Park — made the Division II final.

Oak Park is coming off rugged performances at the CIF Prelims.

In the Division III girls' prelim, two of Oak Park's runners slipped and fell shortly after the start. A teammate, believing that the starter would recall the runners, stopped to help her friends. Bruised and bleeding, Oak Park still comfortably qualified.

"I need to do better coaching," said Oak Park coach Kevin Smith. "We did not prepare for the start and protecting our younger runners."

Smith figures on returning veteran Sarah Kiner to the lineup today.

"Corona del Mar has a very good chance, so does Orange Lutheran," said Smith. "It has expanded into a five-team race. We have a long way to go to get into position to challenge."

Other than heat winner James Goldstein, the Oak Park boys didn't execute as well as they have in big meets throughout the fall.

"We need to put them into a comfortable zone," said Smith.

Among the teams Oak Park has to beat are favorite Barstow and Palos Verdes.

Oaks Christian and Nordhoff finished 1-2 in their Division IV boys' heat. Oaks Christian's strength is frontrunners Charlie Petrie, Ethan Long and Hunter Hays, while Nordhoff has a tight pack behind Joseph Finley.

Three-time defending Division I boys' champion Royal has a potential individual winner in Alex Routh and potential top 15 finishers in Travis Edwards and Otto Cipollo. Thousand Oaks had four runners with sub-16 minute, 20-second times last week.

Although Simi Valley, Agoura and Newbury Park have had measurable success this season, neither made the section's top 10 rankings. Each is capable of having a top-seven performance today and advancing.

And don't forget about Thacher in the Division V boys' final. The Toads had a 25-second gap between its top four runners in placing second in its heat last week.

Simi Valley's Liberty Miller is a contender for the Division II girls' individual title. Other area potential individual champions are Oaks Christian's Rosanne Fleming and Hueneme's Jose Alcantar.