California State Meet Recap
Here are the highlights from Saturday's California State Meet:
Division 4 - Girls
The first race of the day had one of the fastest individuals in the state, Payton Godsey of Oaks Christian and one of the top teams in the state, JSerra starting the meet. The morning had some cloud cover to help create perfect racing conditions. At the one mile mark Payton Godsey and Chiara Dailey of La Jolla were racing side by side. By the time the athletes returned to the same timing mat at 2.1 miles, Godsey had built a seven second cushion. Godsey continued to push the pace and win by 27 seconds over Dailey to take the first individual championship of the day in 17:00. JSerra also won the team title with 71 points and Oaks Christian, let by Godsey's first place finish finish a close second with 82 points. Later we learned that JSerra received an at-large bid to NXN.
Photos from the Division 4 race - click HERE
Division 5 - Girls
Lorelei Barrett of Buckley took the race out early and by the mile make Kaiya Brooks caught up to Barrett. By mile two, Brooks built a 20 second lead over Barrett and cruised for the win in 17:54 over second place finisher Sienna Faidi of Convent/Stuart Hall. Crystal Springs Upland won its first state title by edging 11-time state champion University of San Francisco 129 to 131.
Photos from the Division 5 race - click HERE
Division 4 - Boys
Eight boys crossed the one mile mark within a second of each other in the division 4 race. By mile two, it was a three person race with Emmanuel Perez of Cathedral, Sean Morello of Albany and Broen Holman of Sonora. Perez finished the race to take the D4 title over Morello in a time of 15:05. Perez received a bid to race at NXN on Saturday. St. Francis of La Canada of the Southern Section showed the importance of pack running as they did not have a top ten individual finisher and won with 93 points over Cathedral (114 points) and Albany (118 points).
Photos from the Division 4 race - click HERE
Division 5 - Boys
San Diego Section rivals Micah Sanchez of Liberty Charter and York Bourgeois of Francis Parker raced to the mile mark together. At the 2.1 mile mark Sanchez built a six second cushion over Justin Pretre of Menlo. Sanchez took the win over Pretre with a time of 15:13. Crystal Springs Upland won their second state title of the day with the boys edging Menlo 73-77.
Photos from the Division 5 race - click HERE
Division 1 - Girls
A pack of nine girls came within a second of each other at the one mile mark in the division 1 race. At the 2.1 mile mark, Grace Hutchinson of Buchanan took and 11 second lead over teammates Elle Lomeli and Kynzlee Buckley and Tessa Buswell of Poway and Rylee Blade of Santiago (Corona). Hutchinson faded in the last mile of last year's state meet and was looking for redemption. With about 150 meters to the finish, Buswell caught Hutchinson and won the race in 17:25. Hutchinson's second place finish helped Buchanan win its third consecutive division 1 title with 40 points. Oak Ridge finished second with 158 points and Clovis North took third at 161 points. Buchanan received the automatic bid to race in Portland at NXN and Buswell, Blade and Jaelyn Williams of Eastlake also received individual bids to race at NXN.
Photos from the Division 1 race - click HERE
Division 2 - Boys
Last year Newbury Park scored the lowest point total in division 1 and after Saturday hold the lowest point total in division 2 with 24 points. At the mile mark the Newbury Park trio of Leo and Lex Young and Aaron Sahlman took a big lead. At the mile mark, the Young brothers were alone. At the finish Lex Young won the title in a time of 14:27. Leo Young took second in 14:38 and a late charging Aaron Sahlman took third in 14:41. Anthony Fast Horse of Ventura took fourth and earned a spot to race at NXN. Granada finished second with 99 points and earned an at-large bid to race Saturday at NXN.
Photos from the Division 2 race - click HERE
Division 3 - Girls
At the one mile mark, defending state champion Hanne Thomsen Montgomery of Santa Rosa and Gioana Lopizzo of La Costa Canyon ran 5:23. By the 2.1 mark, Thomsen took control of the race with a nearly 13 second cushion. Thomsen won by almost 30 seconds with a time of 17:12. Thomsen, who won Nike Portland XC in September, will return to Portland to race NXN. Campolindo won its third straight division 3 title and seventh in program history with a team score of 63. Campolindo also received an at-large bid to NXN. San Diego Section schools Cathedral Catholic (128 points) and University City (130 points) won division 3 state trophies.
Photos from the Division 3 race - click HERE
Division 1 - Boys
Jason Parra of Millikan and Daniel Gonzalez of Lincoln decided to take the division 1 race out to a fast first mile of 4:39. By the time the race got to the 2.1 mile mark, one of the race favorites, Matthew Donis of Highland of Palmdale, took over the lead. Donis never relinquished his lead and won in in 14:51. Hometown favorite Chris Caudillo of Clovis ran a tough last mile for second in 15:03. Both Donis and Caudillo accepted bids to NXN. Great Oak captured its seventh D1 state title by edging San Clemente 67-80. Both Great Oak and San Clemente will continue their season next Saturday at NXN.
Photos from the Division 1 race - click Here
Division 2 - Girls
Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura led from the start and widened her lead throughout the division 2 race and cruised to the fastest time of the day in 16:57. Anna Chittenden of Mira Costa steadily moved up the field during the race to finish second. Chittenden accepted a bid to run at NXN on Saturday. Los Altos won a close battle with Newbury Park with the score of 92-99 and received an automatic bid to NXN.
Photos from the Division 2 race - click HERE
Division 3 - Boys
After an overcast start of the race day, by the last race of the day, it had cleared and warmed up. A pack of six boys went through the mile mark together. The pack did not include Evan Noonan of Dana Hills as he trailed the pack. Despite hanging back for two miles, Noonan ran a big last mile to win by 14 seconds in 15:04 and secured an NXN spot for Saturday. Dax Daley of Oakdale finished second in 15:17 to lead his school to a first ever state championship. Oakdale won with 56 points with Campolindo second with 109 points and Dana Hills with 127 points.
Photos from the Division 2 race - click HERE