Timing is everything in running sports. Not just the display on a stopwatch.
Nature follows rhythms and sometimes they can be disrupted.
Eastlake High School junior Jaelyn Williams and La Jolla High School junior Chiara Dailey experienced both ends of that cycle at last Saturday’s 45th Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals at Morley Field.
Williams, a two-time San Diego Section Division I champion, got out of her breathing rhythm to fall behind at this year’s state championship meet, ultimately placing 24th after finishing in fourth place the previous season.
Meanwhile, Dailey, the defending Division IV section champion, had few issues in cruising to this year’s individual state championship by 49 seconds.
The tables were turned, however, two weeks later.
Williams bided her time, starting in the middle of the pack of 40 elite runners from across the nation to steadily move up when the time was right to place ninth while earning All-American honors.
Dailey entered last weekend’s national showcase event, streamed live over the Internet, battling illness. She fell behind early and was unable to finish the 5K race.
It was a disappointing outcome in what was a history-making trek for the three San Diego runners who qualified in the girls race. Joining Williams and Dailey was Bishop’s junior Ayanna Hickey.
It was Dailey’s third time competing at the Foot Locker Nationals.
Dailey punched her ticket to nationals with a second-place finish at the preceding West Regional race while Williams was third and Hickey was seventh in the field of 10 regional qualifiers.
Hickey (18:52.4) placed 30th in Saturday’s finals as two of the local runners did manage to cross the finish line.
It was a tough field as Elizabeth Leachman of San Antonio, Texas, repeated as Foot Locker national champion with a time of 17:31.1, placing eight seconds ahead of runner-up Victoria Garces from Midland, Mich.
Tamrat Gavenas from Andover, Mass., won the boys championship in 15:23.9 by edging Juan Gonzalez (Fremont. Neb.) by just under four seconds. Gavenas was another return qualifier after placing third last year.
The boys field was exceptionally tight with 20 runners separated by just two seconds in the early stages.
Leachman, sidelined for six weeks this season, had some difficulty navigating this year’s field after winning in 16:50.0 last year.
Williams timed 18:04.9. She appeared in sixth place going up the final hill but had several runners charging after her. Lily Beshears (Springdale, Ark.) finished 0.9 seconds ahead of Williams in seventh place while Virginia Kraus (Bethlehem, Pa.) finished 0.3 seconds ahead of Williams in eighth place.
Williams finished 2.0 seconds ahead of 10th-place finisher Macy Wingard (Aubrey, Texas).
The top 15 place-finishers at the Foot Locker Nationals receive All-American recognition. The top five finishers receive First Team All-American honors while the next five runners (placers 6-10) receive Second Team All-American honors. Third Team All-American honors go to the next set of five runners (placers 11-15).
The ninth-place finish left Williams with a glowing smile. After the race, nationals champion Leachman came over to offer some encouraging words.
The Eastlake runner was suddenly floating off the ground.
“I came this far from the start of the season,” said Williams, smiling. “I definitely wanted to do my best with two months of training. Being an All-American at Foot Locker is amazing to me.”
This was Williams’ second consecutive cross country nationals showcase race after placing seventh at the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals.
But with an early season injury and other health concerns, this season needed an asterisk.
With three top races back-to-back-to back (section finals, state and regionals), it was a difficult road to navigate for Williams, who admitted it was physically draining with only half a season of training behind her. Despite sore muscles, she was determined to plod onward with a revitalized plan for success.
“I didn’t want to end the season with the 24th place at state,” she said. “That motivated me. I learned from state. I wanted one more race where there was no stress, just to have fun.
“I wanted to prove I could be one of the best at nationals.”
She did just that.
“I believed in myself,” she said. “I felt confident. I thank all my supporters. Every part of the race I could hear my name called out.
“I put my eyes on the next girl and went after it. I just wanted to get top 10.”
Williams finished as the top female California runner. Danville’s Trey Caldwell, a three-time Foot Locker Nationals qualifier, was 12th in the boys field.
