The Scoop: Birnbaum, Bainbridge Secure Victories At State

Oct 24, 2022

Californians Put Together Strong Performances At Mt. SAC

* Chiara Dailey (left), JiaLian Mackey, and Gioana Lopizzo (right) competed Friday afternoon at the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational

Photo Credit: Stacy Soriano

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At the 74th Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, the Team Sweepstakes races showcased incredible performances from California's own during the two-day meet.

To kick off the historic meet on Friday, running in the combined division 3-4-5 races, Dana Hill's (CA) sophomore Evan Noonan and Cathedral's (CA) junior Emmanuel Hernandez faced off.

Noonan and Hernandez went all the way to the line and both broke 15-minutes. The leader of the Dana Hills team crossed the finish line first in 14:49 and helped secured the team title.

Hernandez finished three seconds afterwards with a 14:52 while his teammate Emmanuel Perez was third in 15 flat.

* Evan Noonan shares insight on his Mt. SAC performance over the weekend

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In the girls combined race, La Jolla (CA) freshman Chiara Dailey clocked a 16:58 for the victory to earn a 146 speed rating, while Gioana Lopizzo of La Costa Canyon (CA) was second in 17:14 and JiaLian Mackey of Viewpoint (CA) was third in 17:49.

In the Division 1 & 2 Team Sweepstakes race on Saturday, the boys race came down to the wire again.

Seniors Parker Simmons of Crescenta Valley (CA) and Juan Chantaca of San Clemente (CA) were the only two boys to dip under 15 minutes on the three-mile course. Simmons crossed the finish line with the victory in 14:46 to Chantaca's 14:55.

Simmons earned a 188 speed rating while Chantaca earned a 185 speed rating for their efforts that day.

Royal (CA) High School athlete Jonah Bazerkanian was third in 15 flat, just a second ahead of his teammate Noah de la Rionda.

* Kelli Gaffney after her win at Mt. SAC this weekend

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In the girls race, Kelli Gaffney of Great Oak (CA) clocked a time of 17:33 to win the title. Freshman Avery Peck of Long Beach Poly (CA) was second in 17:38 and Mira Costa's Anna Chittenden was third in 17:44.

Rancho Cucamonga earned the team title by having a 4-6-7-10-11 finish to score 38 points. Great Oak was second with 93 points and Torrey Pines was third with 110 points respectively.