State cross country finals are a memory-making event though success often elusive

The 2024 high school state cross country championship meet Nov. 30 in Fresno was obviously memorable for those teams and individuals who qualified but it was not necessarily as productive for San Diego Section runners as many would have hoped for.

La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey repeated as the Division IV girls champion with a time of 16:44.4 on the 5K Woodward Park course while four other runners posted top 10 finishes in their respective divisions.

Dailey won in major fashion with a 49-second bulge over J Serra Catholic junior Chloe Elbaz, the race’s runner-up.

Top 10 finishers are considered first team all-state while the next 10 runners (placers 11-20) are considered second team all-state.

First team all-star among girls runners included La Jolla’s Dailey (first, Division IV), Canyon Crest Academy senior Katja Dunayevich (ninth, Division I), Cathedral Catholic senior Jocelyn Gibson (sixth, Division III), Santana sophomore Harper Diaz (eighth, Division III) and Coastal Academy freshman Lindsey Billotte (eighth, Division IV).

Second team all-state among boys runners included Poway junior Cooper Castleberry (11^th, Division I), Rancho Bernardo senior Camden Luecht (13^th, Division I), Sage Creek junior Josiah Bowman (13^th, Division III), Santa Fe Christian senior Evan Smith (14^th, Division V) and High Tech High North County Maxwell Gibbons (16^th, Division V).

Second team all-state among girls runners included Christian sophomore Elliana Patterson (13^th, Division V), Sage Creek senior Michela Miracco (13^th, Division III), Del Lago Academy senior Taryn Warren (14^th, Division IV), Patrick Henry senior Hannah Aguirre (16^th, Division I), Del Norte sophomore Eliza Hong (20^th, Division I) and Classical Academy senior Bella Sword (20^th, Division IV).

Four section teams recorded top five place-finishes.

Point Loma, the section’s Division III girls champion, finished runner-up at the state meet while Del Norte (Division I section champion) placed fourth in the Division I girls race. Division IV section champion La Jolla, keyed by Dailey’s individual championship, finished fourth in the Division IV girls team standings at state as did Division III section runner-up Cathedral Catholic in Division III.

However, there were more than their share of disappointing finishes.

Two-time San Diego Section Division I girls champion Jaelyn Williams finished 24^th with a time of 17:59.2 in the 198-ddep field. That was an abrupt turnaround from last year’s meteoric fourth-place finish in 17:31.4.

“In general, San Diego teams are not very competitive at the state level,” noted Bonita Vista coach Dan Kettlehake, whose Barons qualified senior Sebastian Aranda as an individual in the Division II boys race.  There are a few sections that tend to dominate every year.”

Aranda, the Metro Conference’s male individual winner, placed 140^th in the field of 203 finishers in 16:40.4.

“Sebastian ran pretty well with a similar time to what he ran at CIF,” Kettlehake said. “It a was a great memory-building experience for him and his family.”

Williams, who missed much of the atart of the season because of injury and the extraction of four wisdom teeth, had to also battle back from stiff muscles in the wake of the state meet.

But the Metro running queen proved to be a battler by “hopping back on the horse,” to compete at the regional meet where she pushed the two leaders while placing third in 18:11.5.

“State did not go as expected,” she admitted. “I felt great in the beginning, but went out too fast with the leaders and fell into an oxygen debt halfway through the race which led to me falling back in place considerably.

“After that, I was determined to not make that mistake a second time. So, at Footlocker West Regionals I went out more conservatively in the beginning and did a much better job maintaining throughout my race and finishing strong. I was a little worried going into the Footlocker regional race because I had never run the Mt. SAC course before. Although it is a tough course, I really enjoyed that race and I’m excited to be moving onto nationals at Morley Field. I feel blessed to be part of this new and exciting experience and I greatly look forward to it!”

The Footlocker Nationals showcases the top 10 runners from each of four regional races (Northeast, Midwest, South and West).

The girls race starts at 9:15 a.m., followed by the boys race at 10 a.m.

Williams will be one of three San Diego Section runners in the girls race, joining La Jolla’s Dailey (second at regionals in 18:04.2) and Bishop’s junior Ayanna Hickey (seven at regionals in 18:27.6).

Eastern exposure
Diaz led East County with her eighth-place finish in the Division III girls race. Her 17:44.2 time was significantly faster than last year’s 44^th place-finish in 19:11.7. She finished one second behind seventh-place finisher Becky Osorio, a junior from West Covina and 2.3 seconds ahead of Oak Park sophomore Sophia Perez (ninth place).

South Pasadena senior Abigail Errington won the division race in 16:57.5 — 24 seconds ahead of runner-up Hanne Thomsen, a senior from Santa Rosa Montgomery.

East County was represented by 14 individual qualifiers and two team qualifiers.

Christian (Division V girls) and Liberty Charter (Division V boys) both qualified to compete as teams in Fresno.

The section champion Lady Patriots finished 13th deep among the 23 scoring teams while the Lions, third at the section finals, recorded a 14^th place-finish among the 24 scoring teams.

Elliana Patterson was Christian’s top finisher in 18:40 — one minute, nine seconds behind division winner Amelia Sarkisian, a sophomore from Brentwood.

Senior Gracie Patterson followed in 95^th place in 20:48.0 while sophomore Gracie Patterson was 118^th in 21:18.5.

Senior Payton Grosset finished 128^th in the 192-deep field in 21:33.9.

Senior Estella Kleiner (150^th) and junior Ellie Peel (152^nd) each had season bests at 22:29 and 22:34, respectively.

Senior Annaliese Pelletier placed 169^th in 23:08.4.

All of the girls had season bests or all-time bests, according to head coach Mike Kirwan.

“The trip to state was an amazing cap to an amazing season of firsts,” Kirwan said. “First place in the City League at 8-0, first place varsity girls at Mt. SAC Division 5, first-ever first place CIF San Diego Section finish, school best 13^th finish at state.

“With four seniors graduating of the seven and nine on the team, we will depend on the younger runners to rebuild our program and make another run next year.”

Liberty Charter was hoping for a top three finish at the state meet to build on its sixth-place-finish from the previous year.

“The boys came to the state meet with a competitive mindset to run tough and to finish on empty,” Lions head coach Daniel Sanchez said. “Although they ran as best they could, depleting every ounce of energy they had, sickness and lingering injuries hampered their efforts as they finished 14th in the most competitive division of the entire state meet.

“They were still the No. 1 team representing San Diego that day but went home battered and bruised. The boys had a great season and made some lifelong memories. The coaches and I are very proud of all our runners. They are truly great young men of character.”

Senior Aidan Burr led Liberty Charter across the finish line in Fresno in 53^rd place in 16:40.6, followed by junior Marcos Heers (90^th) in 17:04.7, senior Luke Mapes (104^th) in 17:18.1, senior Benjamin Wagnell (125^th) in 17:32.3, sophomore Sam Rohrer (132^nd) in 17:39.5, sophomore Ethan Acosta (151^st) in 18:00.8 and junior Caleb Acosta (152^nd) in 18:00.8.

Woodcrest Christian senior Eyan Turk won the race in 14:32.5. Santa Fe Christian’s Smith was the top section finisher in 14^th place in 15:47.5.

Individual qualifiers
Top girls runners
•Santana sophomore Harper Diaz placed eighth in the Division III race in 17:44.2.
•Helix sophomore Kate Weaver placed 34^th in the Division I race in 18:11.5.
•Grossmont sophomore Jane Telliard placed 62^nd in the Division II race in 18:59.0.
•Steele Canyon senior Dania Lopez placed 78^th in the Division II race in 19:13.6.
•El Capitan sophomore Cora Lottermoser placed 92^nd in the Division III race in 19:39.1.
•Steele Canyon junior Danica Ferrez placed 147th in the Division II race in 20:06.1.

Top boys runners
•Steele Canyon senior Micah Senn finished 54^th in the Division II race in 15;58.7.
•Grossmont sophomore Luis Naranjo finished 61^st in the Division II race in 16:02.7.
•West Hills senior Daniel Vestemean finished 67^th in the Division III race in 16:09.0.
•Steele Canyon senior Miguel Casillas finished 100^th in the Division II race in 16:21.4.
•Helix junior Tyus Jospeh finished 118^th in the Division I race in 16:18.3.
•Helix senior Joel Nickerson finished 153^rd in the Division I race in 16:48.6.
•West Hills sophomore Ryan Revak finished 157^th in the Division III race in 17:00.2.
•Grossmont junior Paul Benrud finished 168^th in the Division II race in 17:06.2.

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