CIF-San Diego Section Championships Recap
Three of the top female cross country runners in the CIF-San Diego Section repeated as individual champions, with another elite competitor returning to the top of the podium following a runner-up effort last season.
A trifecta of top girls teams achieved title three-peats Saturday at Balboa Park.
And there were a trio of programs celebrating their first division crowns, all in dramatic fashion, after surviving significant challenges on the 2.96-mile layout at Morley Field.
La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey produced the fastest girls performance of the meet, overcoming illness to run 17 minutes, 19.4 seconds to capture her third consecutive Division 4 individual crown and leading the Vikings to a three-peat with 48 points.
Chula Vista Eastlake junior Jaelyn Williams, who recovered from Achilles’ pain earlier in the season as well as missing additional time to recover after having her wisdom teeth removed, held off Canyon Crest Academy senior standout Katya Dunayevich by a 17:22.3 to 17:25.1 margin to win back-to-back Division 1 titles.
Del Norte extended its Division 1 girls streak to three in a row as part of a sweep of both championships for the first time in program history.
Olivia Campos of Mt. Carmel also repeated as Division 2 girls champion, with the junior clocking 18:13.8 to edge Scripps Ranch's Olivia Liu in 18:16.1, as the freshman standout helped the Falcons secure a third straight girls crown and achieve a title sweep by the program for the second year in a row.
Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School shined in a battle of past Division 5 champions, with the junior adding to her victory in 2022 by prevailing in 17:26.2 ahead of last year’s winner Ari Llorens from Francis Parker in 18:21.3.
Crawford won its second Division 4 boys title in three years with a 55-59 victory against Classical Academy, with Liberty Charter also capturing a second Division 5 boys crown in three seasons by edging reigning champion Francis Parker by a 67-72 margin.
Cathedral Catholic ended Sage Creek’s impressive run as Division 3 boys champion by winning the team’s first title since 2019.
The Dons were also pursuing a sweep of both division crowns for the first time in five years, but Point Loma won its first Division 3 girls title in program history by securing a 56-62 triumph.
Point Loma joined Christian High in the Division 5 girls final, as well as Del Norte in the Division 1 boys championship race, among Saturday's first-time winners.
Poway junior Cooper Castleberry relied on a late surge to capture the Division 1 boys title in 15:13.8, holding off Rancho Bernardo’s Camden Luecht in 15:15.0.
Cameron Yarbrough, who didn’t compete in last year’s final after earning eighth in 2022, returned for Del Norte and took third in 15:34.0 to lead five Nighthawks placing in the top 25 to edge Poway by a 65-68 margin for the championship.
Westview, last year’s winner, was third with 104 points and also advanced to the Division 1 state final Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Luke Jin finished fifth in 15:45.3, Sean Chang achieved 11th in 16:11.7, Ben Owsley placed 22nd in 16:28.3 and Quinn Davis captured 24th in 16:30.6 for Del Norte.
Eliza Hong (17:28.5) and Emily Russo (17:46.1) were third and fourth behind Williams and Dunayevich in the Division 1 girls final, leading Del Norte to a third straight title with 33 points.
Canyon Crest Academy was runner-up with 88 points and Poway took third at 101 points to qualify for the state final, but the Nighthawks had five scorers in the top 10 to extend their championship streak.
Following a 17:56.9 effort by Kate Weaver of Helix to finish fifth, Del Norte had Lilah Enyedi secure seventh in 18:26.2, Addison Shannon achieved ninth in 18:46.9 and Olivia Bartolay placed 10th in 18:55.0.
Vista senior Jarett Cruz emerged victorious in the Division 2 boys final in 15:46.8, with Steele Canyon’s Micah Senn finishing runner-up in 15:49.6.
Scripps Ranch relied on three athletes placing in the top 10 to produce a 73-76 victory against Mt. Carmel, which had five competitors in the top 20.
Cruz helped Vista take third with 91 points and also advance to the Division 2 state championship.
Brandon Sun was third in 16:05.9, Nathan Bamford secured sixth in 16:13.4, Benjamin Stephens earned eighth in 16:16.4, Nico Cruz achieved 24th in 16:47.7 and Devin Gum grabbed 32nd in 17:02.8 to help Scripps Ranch repeat as champion.
Liu was supported by four teammates finishing in the top 15, as Scripps Ranch celebrated a three-peat with a 35-63 triumph against Mt. Carmel. Vista was third at 88 points and also advanced to the state final.
Jada Kim finished fourth in 18:47.6, Ellie Cannon captured sixth in 18:55.3, Riley Martin took 10th in 19:14.8 and Ally Van Duren achieved 13th in 19:27.9 for the Falcons.
Josiah Bowman, a junior, won the Division 3 boys title in 15:28 and Sage Creek teammate Max Marchi took third in 15:41.5, but Cathedral Catholic had five competitors place in the top 25, including runner-up Nathan Wilber in 15:36.2, to earn a 51-60 victory.
The Dons prevented Sage Creek from securing a third straight championship in the division and fourth in a row overall.
Teddy Lang clocked 15:55.6 to take fourth for Cathedral Catholic, with support from Aiden Angeles in eighth in 16:13.9, Andrew Martinez achieving 18th in 16:36.1 and Makai Labayen placing 21st in 16:40.8.
Santana sophomore Harper Diaz elevated from a fifth-place performance in her debut at the section finals to capture the Division 3 girls crown in 17:30.9, with Sage Creek’s Gabriella Peters running 17:36.4 to place second.
Despite a third-place effort from Jocelyn Gibson in 17:47.1, Cathedral Catholic couldn’t overcome illness throughout its roster and was edged by a 56-62 margin by Point Loma, halting a streak of four consecutive division championships.
Sage Creek took third at 73 points and La Costa Canyon finished fourth with 132 points to also qualify for the Division 3 state final.
Kelly McIntre led the Pointers by placing fourth in 18:06.3, with Sara Geiszler earning seventh in 18:43.6, Isabella Ramos capturing 11th in 19:04.4, Nicole Witt taking 12th in 19:06.2 and Corinne Santoro achieving 23rd in 19:59.7.
Crawford junior Leo Lorenzano clocked 15:47.1 to win the Division 4 boys individual crown, with Miles Pike of Canyon Hills finishing second in 15:53.9.
The Colts placed five scorers in the top 25 to improve from a fifth-place performance last season and knock off reigning champion Classical Academy.
Yohannes Masho was fifth in 16:15.0, Tobias Brewster finished seventh in 16:25.9, Alejandro Corrales achieved 17th in 17:06.4 and Vincent Riley placed 25th in 17:15.1 for Crawford, which also won boys team titles in 1973-74.
Following a sweep of the top four spots in last year’s Division 4 girls final, La Jolla showcased a quartet finishing in the top 10, led by Dailey extending the longest individual title streak in the section by capturing her third consecutive championship.
Navah Lipsky, who helped Francis Parker win a Division 5 team title last season, had a significant impact in the Vikings’ lineup by finishing fifth in 18:56.9, with Allison Gray earning sixth in 19:16.3 and Hannah Aalaei taking 10th in 19:30.8, before Thea Tremaine secured another championship for La Jolla by achieving 32nd in 21:38.9.
Taryn Warren of Del Lago Academy was runner-up to Dailey in 18:16.5, with Coastal Academy freshman Lindsey Billotte (18:24.1) taking third to also advance to the state meet, along with High Tech at 48 points and Classical Academy with 102 points.
Maxwell Gibbons from High Tech High in San Marcos captured the Division 5 boys championship in 15:44.3, with Kai Rottler of High Tech High Mesa improving from a 16th-place finish last season to secure second in 15:49.8.
Liberty Charter had five competitors in the top 35, led by Aiden Burr finishing fourth in 16:16.0.
Sam Rohrer placed ninth in 16:52.1, Luke Mapes achieved 13th in 17:01.4, Marcos Heers captured 18th in 17:13.0 and Noah Hogan grabbed 32nd in 18:07.4 for Liberty Charter, which took third last season.
Santa Fe Christian was third at 100 points and Maranatha Christian placed fourth with 114 points, joining Liberty Charter and Francis Parker in the field for the Division 5 boys state final.
Christian High produced five athletes in the top 25 in the Division 5 girls final, led by a third-place effort from Elliana Patterson in 18:45.6, to secure a 71-92 victory against three-time champion Francis Parker.
Hickey led The Bishop’s School to a third-place performance at 94 points, earning the final team berth to race at the Division 5 state meet.
Faith Patterson finished 15th in 21:00.7, Gracie Peterson secured 16th in 21:04.8, Estella Kliner captured 19th in 21:36.7 and Annaliese Pelletier clocked 22:07.9 to earn 23rd for the Patriots, who rebounded from a 22-74 setback against Francis Parker in last year’s Division 5 girls final to make history.
Official Results:
By Erik Boal