Dana Hills adds to boys all-time mark with 18th state podium finish, holding off last year’s Division 3 winner Oakdale by 42-66 margin; San Clemente atones for last season’s setback to Great Oak with 48-102 victory for first Division 1 championship, Santa Barbara edges rival Ventura again for Division 2 title, with St. Francis and Crystal Springs Uplands both repeating

By Pete Marshall for DyeStat

Photos by Ken Martinez

FRESNO – As much success as Orange County boys cross country teams have had in past CIF State Championships, the top two teams in county history are being showcased right now and they commanded the spotlight again Saturday at Woodward Park.

Dana Hills took home the Division 3 crown, with South Coast League rival San Clemente capturing its first Division 1 title following a runner-up finish last season.

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Ken Martinez | RACE HIGHLIGHTS

Dana Hills’ title was not only the fifth in program history – and the program’s first since 2009 – but the Dolphins’ team time of 76:18.6 was the ninth-best all-time on the Woodward Park course and the best ever for an Orange County program.

Dana Hills’ 18 top-three team finishes in state championship history are the most among all boys programs, and second only to the San Francisco University girls, who achieved their 19th podium appearance Saturday with a third-place effort in the Division 5 final.

“I think we executed pretty well,” Dana Hills junior Evan Noonan said. “I think in the future we can do better, and we have little things to work on. But I’m proud of everyone here. Everyone hit a goal today. Everyone at some point in this race hit a wall, and everyone worked through it.”

Noonan repeated as individual champion finishing in 14:35.3, the best-ever time in Division 3. He became the first male athlete to repeat in the division since Liam Anderson of Redwood Larkspur in 2017-18.

Templeton senior Joshua Bell, who was third last year, led Noonan at the mile and 2.1-mile marks, but Noonan’s kick was too strong and he won by 17 seconds. Josh Chu of Ponderosa took third in 14:58.7.

“Josh Bell’s a great runner so I know he’s going out hard,” Noonan said. “He’s going to push me to a better time.”

Dana Hills’ 42 points edged out defending Division 3 champion Oakdale, which was runner-up with 66. The Dolphins’ top five all finished in the top 18: Jayden Hernandez (sixth, 15:13.7), Logan Harris (11th, 15:25.9), Oliver Hunter (15th, 15:29.8) and Garrett Woodruff (18th, 15:33.9).

San Clemente defeated Great Oak 48-102, leading from wire to wire against the seven-time state champion Wolfpack. The Tritons had to rally Nov. 18 in the final mile to prevail by a 60-84 margin against Great Oak at the Southern Section championship meet.

Last year, the teams were reversed at the state meet with Great Oak producing a 67-80 victory after San Clemente had won a week earlier at the Southern Section final.

While Dana Hills had the top time for an Orange County team, San Clemente posted the second-best time in county history and 11th-best overall (76:27.8) at Woodward Park.

Senior Brett Ephraim, who was third last week at the section championship meet, improved to second Saturday in 14:58.6.

“It feels amazing,” Ephraim said. “I completely overachieved what my goals were. (Individual) state champ was obviously in mind, but that’s not the only focus, it’s the team and putting myself in front of the people I need to beat. And hoping my teammates do their role as well and they performed perfectly today.”

The Tritons also got top-20 performances from Taj Clark (ninth, 15:12.7) and Pierce Clark (13th, 15:17.3).

The last time Dana Hills and San Clemente went head-to-head was Nov. 2 at the South Coast League finals at Orange County Park, when Dana Hills won by a 21-34 margin.

They will compete again Dec. 2 as the two automatic qualifying teams from California for Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon. Great Oak earned an at-large team berth for next week. 

Long Beach Millikan senior Jason Parra, the Southern Section champion, won the Division 1 title in 14:56.8, earning a berth to Nike Cross Nationals.

“We came by the first mile, not my plan at all. I wanted to go 4:32, and we actually went 4:42. It was way out of what I wanted to do,” Parra said. “Because I got boxed in. And I was, ‘all right, I just need to go.’ I felt good the entire way.”

The tightest boys individual race of the day came in Division 4, where the top four finishers all received berths to NXN next week: repeat champion Emmanuel Perez of Cathedral (14:45..5), Lucas Cohen of Albany (14:45.9), Broen Holman of Sonora (14:46.4) and Eli Fitchen-Young of Santa Cruz (14:49.5).

The only other time four athletes ran sub-14:50 in the same state final was the 2021 Division 1 championship race, with Newbury Park having a quartet of competitors – Colin Sahlman, Leo Young, Lex Young and Aaron Sahlman – all achieving the feat.

“My strategy was to go out in 4:35 (first mile) and try to come back like a 9:55 then finish hard,” Perez said. “But I felt the hills and that’s when they started moving up on me. I was glad they were with me because they were pushing me a little bit.” 

The Division 4 team title went to St. Francis for the second straight year, easily defeating Southern Section rival JSerra 66-124. The Golden Knights eclipsed the mark for fastest team time in division history at 79:18.6 and became the first program to repeat since Big Bear captured three in a row from 2006-08.

In Division 2, junior Ayden Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos was the individual winner in 14:58.4, earning a berth to NXN.

Santa Barbara’s Andreas Dybdahl finished second, but his team won the team title with 91 points to beat Channel League rival Ventura for the second week in a row with a 91-114 triumph. The Dons, who captured their first title in program history, edged Ventura by an 86-88 margin Nov. 18 at the section final.

“The race was interesting, because we went out a little slower, like 4:50,” Dybdahl said. “I was a little bummed that (Anthony Fast Horse of Ventura), my buddy, couldn’t come up and help me, but that happens sometimes.”

Fast Horse, who Dybdahl edged for the Southern Section title, struggled with a leg injury Saturday and finished 14th.

In Division 5, Woodcrest Christian junior Eyan Turk took home the title in 14:59.2, improving on a third-place finish from last year.

For the second year in a row, the Division 5 team title went to Crystal Springs Uplands, which was led by runner-up Benjamin Bouie (15:04.6) and 10th-place finisher Tarik Baker (15:34.8) to prevail by a 111-130 margin against Yosemite. The Gryphons became the first boys program to repeat in Division 5 since St. Joseph Notre Dame of Alameda in 2012-13.

Crystal Springs Uplands also joined Division 1 program Great Oak as the only schools in California prep history to sweep boys and girls state championships in consecutive years. The Gryphons prevailed on a sixth-runner tiebreaker in the girls final after racing to a 97-97 outcome against Immanuel.

TEAM CHAMPIONS

Division 1: San Clemente boys 48 points - RESULTS

Division 2: Santa Barbara boys 91 points - RESULTS

Division 3: Dana Hills boys 42 points - RESULTS

Division 4: St. Francis boys 66 points - RESULTS

Division 5: Crystal Springs Uplands 111 points - RESULTS