The 33rd CIF-State Cross Country Championships on the venerable Woodward Park 5000 meter course in Fresno was held Saturday under partly cloudy skies and temperatures that were projected to be in the mid-30s by the first race, scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
The following is an initial race-by-race look in meet schedule order. This article will be updated.
DIVISION II GIRLS (8:30 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Alexandra Klos (Vista del Lago, SJ) 17:13.1
Team Champion: Newbury Park
Details:
1 Mile Mark
Klos of Vista del Lago leading the front pack through with a 5:26.3 split. Newbury Park's girls (with their top four all together) with a 59 point lead over Serrano, El Toro and St. Francis.
2.05 Mile Mark
Klos opened up a 12-second gap over Ventura's Madeleine Locher. Newbury Park's girls opened up their lead,
over Serrano to 80 points but St. Francis moving up to fourth as a team.
Finish
Klos wins handily in 17:13.1, almost 24 seconds ahead of Colony's Amber Rios
(which was a surprise). Newbury Park (McDonnell,
Golman and Hawkins) finished in the top 12 and while Mohandas fell 30 spots
back over the last two miles, freshman Ailish Hawkins and Slattum moved up a combined
30 points to close out their scoring in dominating St. Francis!
Newbury Park with a team time of 90:54!!!
DIVISION III GIRLS (9 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Riley Chamberlain (Del Oro, SJ), 17:16.0
1 Mile Mark
Defending champion, Riley Chamberlain, leading a group of three through at 5:30.
2.05 mile mark
Behind by five seconds, Savannah Scriven of Palos Verdes trying to catch
Chamberlain. Campolindo continues to dominate
over Brea Olinda. Palos Verdes' depth trying
to catch SS foe, Brea. Cathedral Catholic
came up big on the back part of the course to move up to third. But Campo is running away with this one -
now, a 69 point advantage!
Campolindo (third last year) dominates the entire race, closing with an 80 point victory while Cathedral Catholic closed well over the second part of the course to earn the runner-up plaque. Palos Verdes edges Brea Olinda by one point to get back onto the podium.
DIVISION II BOYS (9:30 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Nico Young (Newbury Park, SS) 14:28.5
1 Mile Mark
Nico through at 4:30 with teammate Jace Aschbrenner blazing as well at
4:39! NP with four in the top six and
killing it with a 77-point lead over some very good competition. Dana Hills at 117 holding off Claremont 131,
early on. Top six squads are from the
Southern Section .
2.05 Mile mark
Nico continues to crush is at 9:53 but give it up to Dana Hills to close the
lead on NP. Commend Dana Hills for
moving up into NP's team lead
Nico misses the course record but still break 14:29. The rest of the group crosses in an astounding 14:54-15:10-15:17 and 15:38 to shatter their own course record with a 75:28 (rounding up). Dana Hills finishes strong and behind at 77 points at the mile, finished 51 points behind the greatest team in course history. Claremont also finishes strong with a third-place finish to hold off Loyola. Top six squads all hailed from the Southern Section.
DIVISION III BOYS (10 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Colton Swinth (Maria Carrillo, NCS) 15:10.2
1 Mile Mark
Somewhat conservative mile with Brea's Shane Gaffikin leading the pack at
4:43. Campolindo, runner-up a year ago,
currently leading by 34 points over Maria Carrillo. Agoura a little further back
2.05 mile mark
Colton Swinth of Maria Carrillo pushes the pace on the backside of the course,
but has Moorpark's Keith Murray right there with him at 10:25 (would have been
10th in the Div 2 race). It's
anybody race. On the teamside, Campolindo
still leading, but only by 30 now with Agoura still 46 points behind. These
three should be your podium teams with Cathedral Catholic a distant fourth.
Finish
Maria Carrillo finishes 1-2, with Colton Swinth rolling to a huge second half
of the race for the 15:10 victory!
Campolindo's depth proved to be the difference. Campo placed their 6th in front of
Maria Carrillo's fourth. Campo would have placed fourth in the Division 2 Boys race!
DIVISION IV GIRLS (10:30 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Brooke Secreto (Foothill Technology, SS) 17:33.7
1 Mile Mark
Fast pace, similar to same paces we witnessed in earlier Division 2 and 3
races! Sage Creek with a huge 91 point
lead as expected with Skyler Wallace leading a strong pack
2.05 mile mark
Foothill Tech's Brooke Secreto jumped to the front ahead of the favored Audrey
Suarez. Sage Creek continues to dominate
with four in the top ten.
Finish
Upset of the day thus far as Brooke Secreto of Foothill Tech ran away from
Skyler Wallace and defending champion, Audrey Suarez in crossing just under
17:34 for the title. Meanwhile, Sage
Creek absolutely killed it. They were
the most heavily favored squad on the day but throwing their numbers up against
the Division 2 girls race, they would have easily placed runner-up to the
dominant Newbury Park squad.
DIVISION V BOYS (11 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Jackson Adelman (St. Margaret's, SS) 15:39.9
Team Champion: Viewpoint
Details:
1 Mile Mark
Jackson Adelman (St. Margaret's) led the field through in 4:53, with Michael Julian (The York School) hard on his heels. Pacifica Christian had the early team lead, narrowly ahead of St. Margaret's with Viewpoint not far behind in third.
2.05 Mile Mark
Adelman continued to lead, but it was Riley Burns (Maranatha) and Drake Prince (High Tech CV) pushing him at this point. Viewpoint had moved into the team lead, edging St. Margaret's, while Francis Parker was trying to bridge the gap to the top two.
Finish
Adelman held on for the wire-to-wire victory, clocking 15:39.9 to hold off a late charge by Jacob Lehmann Duke (College Prep NCS). Viewpoint was able to pull away ever so slightly for the team win, 128-145 over St. Margaret's. Francis Parker held onto third with 175 points, edging out San Francisco University (181), Flintridge Prep (183), and Midland (also 183).
DIVISION I GIRLS (11:30 a.m.)
Individual Champion: Carlie Dorostkar (Canyon Crest Academy, SS) 16:45.4
1 Mile Mark
Dorostkar screaming through the first mile at 5:15! The favorite, Corie Smith of Buchanan, right
behind her at 5:16 with 19 altogether going with the brisk pace and under 5:30
at the mile. Buchanan with the team lead
but Great Oak sitting back in a pack.
2.05 Mile Mark
Dorostkar NOT letting up and 24 seconds ahead of our fastest that we've seen at
this point all morning long. Smith
trying to keep up meanwhile Great Oak cutting into that lead and only down by 9
points. Saugus picking it up and in
third, well ahead of Canyon Crest Academy!
Could we see TWO huge upsets in the same race? YES! Dorostkar WINS by 15 seconds in a blazing 16:45, over a fading Smith who crosses in 17. Now the team battle...... Great Oak with their 6th ahead of Buchanan's 4th scorer - will that be the difference?? In the end, Buchanan holds on for the 67-71 upset victory and breaking Great Oak's streak if seven straight state titles!
DIVISION IV BOYS (noon)
Individual Champion: Anthony Grover (JSerra)
Team Champion: Foothill Tech (SS)
Details:
1 Mile Mark
Anthony Grover (JSerra) wasted no time getting to the front, posting a 4:45.6 on the way. Mitchell Ross (Scotts Valley) was right behind, with a wall of runners less than a second behind him. Like Grover, Southern Section champ Foothill Tech was out very strong with only 56 points, leaving Hacienda Heights Wilson and Scotts Valley to play catch-up. NCS champ Sir Francis Drake had a slow start, finding themselves 6th at this point.
2.05 Mile Mark
Scotts Valley closed over the middle section of the race, trailing Foothill Tech 80 - 126 with one mile to go. Drake also moved up strongly, but still had a lot of ground to make up with 162 points. Big surges also from Calaveras and Laguna Beach to move into the top 5. Grover continued to pace the field, opening up a nearly 10-second lead over Ross by this point.
Finish
Although Scotts Valley continued to close, it was not enough to defeat Foothill Tech, with the the final score settling in at 93-111. Drake held on to a strong third place performance, with Calaveras holding onto their fourth-place finish with a stellar effort. King City came on hard to finish 5th. Grover won his third individual title with a time of 15:03.2, with Ross second in 15:17.5. Logan Brooks (Laguna Beach) headed the first real pack with his 15:24.7, holding off Amir Barkan (Sir Francis Drake).
DIVISION V GIRLS (12:30 p.m.)
Individual Champion: Harper McClain (St. Helena)
Team Champion: Lick Wilmerding (NC)
Details:
1 Mile Mark
Harper McClain (St. Helena) took the field out in 5:20, with Mia Barnett (Village Christian) and Liesel Blau (St. Margaret's) the only two other individuals going with her - the rest were 10+ seconds back. Team-wise, St. Margaret's had the initial lead by a solid margin over San Francisco Urban. Favorites Lick Wilmerding (4th) and San Francisco University (6th) were biding their time for a later move.
2.05 Mile Mark
McClain powered through the middle mile, opening up a 25-second lead over Barnett with Blau 6 seconds further back. The two favorite teams both made their move in this segment, with Wilmerding taking over the lead at 85 points and University at 127. St. Margaret's stayed within striking range with 132 points, holding a cushion over 50 points on the remaining squads in the race.
Finish
McClain crossed in 17:13.4, dominating the D5 field while winning by almost 45 seconds. Barnett held off Blau by less than 2 seconds for second place, with Kaiya Brooks (Crystal Springs Uplands) closing in fourth. The top three teams did not change at all over the final mile, as Wilmerding brought home the title 73-114 over University, with St. Margaret's third (126).
DIVISION I BOYS (1 p.m.)
Individual Champion: Matt Strangio (Jesuit)
Matt Strangio (Jesuit) went right to the front and led a tight group of contenders through in 4:36. Chistopher Middleton-Pearson (Dublin), Daniel Rodriguez (Highland), and Isaiah Galindo (Clovis North) were close behind, narrowly ahead of a host of runners. Great Oak had already established strong team position, leading 69-105 over Bellarmine, with Dublin at 114. At this point, Jesuit was all the way back in 7th place, nearly 150 points out of second place.
2.05 Mile Mark
Great Oak's lead improved through the middle of the race as they dropped down to just 47 points. Bellarmine and Dublin stayed in 2nd and 3rd, while Jesuit moved up all the way to 4th, 51 points out of second. Up front, Strangio was doing his part by holding onto the lowest stick and beginning to pull away. Middleton-Pearson stayed in 2nd, with Collin Peattie (Bellarmine) and Galindo side-by-side not far behind him.
Finish
The top individual and team were never threatened in the final mile, with Strangio clocking 14:43.5 to win by over 16 seconds and Great Oak finishing with 46 points. It was the battles for second place that were really exciting! Galindo surged at the right time to climb to second place, getting past Middleton-Pearson and Peattie. Jesuit provided the real suspense, though, as they just barely edged out Bellarmine for second place in team scoring, 144-145! Dublin ran well, but fell victim to a determined Jesuit squad and ended up fourth.