CALIFORNIA STATE MEET

Panthers produce lowest score, largest margin of victory and fastest team time in meet history to win first Division 1 crown following a pair of Division 2 titles; Buchanan holds off Newbury Park in big girls matchup to defend championship, San Francisco University triumphs for record 11th time in Division 5, Pala gets boys record and Sannes gives Big Bear all-time mark with sixth individual win

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Chuck Utash

FRESNO – Newbury Park sought perfection once again in the Division 1 boys final, but still showcased the greatest performance by any team in California Cross Country State Championships history.

Buchanan demonstrated that even when slightly vulnerable, it still has more than enough depth and experience at Woodward Park to win another Division 1 girls title.

Max Sannes lifted Big Bear to the greatest heights of individual achievement in the meet’s 34-year existence, with Kenan Pala of Francis Parker and Alex Mader of Lick-Wilmerding battling to produce the best matchup in the history of the Division 5 boys final.

And San Francisco University remained the most decorated girls program at the state final, rallying to knock off its biggest rival in Division 5 to add to its own all-time records for championships and podium finishes.

CHUCK UTASH PHOTOS | INTERVIEWS | RACE HIGHLIGHTS

On a day when Newbury Park swept the top four spots on its way to lowering its own team time record on the 5-kilometer layout and four girls eclipsed the 17-minute barrier for the first time at the same state meet, the return of the 10-race championship schedule following a year’s absence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted by several historic achievements.

Colin Sahlman (14:26.5), Leo Young (14:28) and Lex Young (14:30.3) elevated to the Nos. 2, 3, 5 all-time performers at Woodward Park, with Aaron Sahlman running 14:46.4, just off his No. 13 effort of 14:43.5 from Oct. 9 at the ASICS Clovis Invitational, as Newbury Park improved its remarkable team performance to 73:22.7 to prevail by a 16-119 margin over six-time champion Great Oak, with Loyola third at 143 points.

Zach Ayers of Davis Senior spoiled Newbury Park’s bid for another 15-point effort after the Panthers became the first team in the 96-year history of the Southern Section finals to achieve a perfect score Nov. 20 at the championship meet at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Ayers clocked 14:55.6 to finish fifth, with Christopher Caudillo of Clovis placing sixth in 14:59.2, setting the record for the most sub-15 performances in the same race in state finals history.

Daniel Appleford was seventh in 15:11.5 and Hector Martinez took ninth in 15:15.1 for Newbury Park, which also had Dev Doshi place 26th in 15:40.6.

The Panthers not only produced the lowest score in Division 1 boys final history, surpassing a 23-point performance by Thousand Oaks in 1993, but also eclipsed the all-time mark of 18 points set by San Francisco University in the Division 5 girls final in 1997.

Newbury Park also achieved the largest margin of victory in Division 1 championship history against Great Oak, which had set the previous mark of 98 points in defeating Carmichael Jesuit in 2019.

Colin Sahlman, a Northern Arizona commit, joined Division 3 champion Jeff Wilson (1990-91) and Division 2 winner Nico Young (2018-19), becoming Newbury Park’s first Division 1 state title holder.

Newbury Park was seeking a sweep of individual and team titles in both genders, but the resilience of the Buchanan girls team and a late surge from McClatchy junior Anna McNatt spoiled both bids.

McNatt sprinted past Newbury Park’s Samantha McDonnell in the final 25 meters of the race to edge the Alabama commit by a 17:07.5 to 17:08.7 to not only become the first individual champion in program history, but the only all-state performer for McClatchy.

McDonnell ran 17:02.1 to win the championship race Oct. 9 at the ASICS Clovis Invitational, with McNatt finishing fifth in 17:33.6. But following all-time performances at the Sac-Joaquin Subsection meet and section finals, McNatt developed the belief she could contend for the individual crown and came through in the clutch Saturday.

As did Buchanan, which had usual No. 2 runner, junior Grace Hutchison struggle after being in fourth place at the 2-mile mark to finish the race in 27:01.3.

But fellow junior Sydney Sundgren took third in 17:30.4 and several underclassmen stepped up for Buchanan, which prevailed by a 51-72 margin over Newbury Park, with Oak Ridge third at 147 points.

Freshman Elle Lomeli was eighth (17:54), sophomore Stefania Sesock secured 14th (18:06.5), junior Caroline Mendyk placed 20th (18:19.2) and freshman Sierra Cornett earned 22nd (18:22.3) for Buchanan, which repeated as champion from 2019 and captured its third overall title, including a Division 2 crown in 1994. The lone senior in the lineup for the Bears was Kaylee Elliott, who was 57th in 19:02.5.

Newbury Park had freshman Tiffany Sax place 12th (18:03.8) and junior Ailish Hawkins secure 15th (18:06.6), but Buchanan had five scorers in front of the Panthers’ No. 4 finisher, allowing the Bears to secure victory for the second time in their three meetings after losing by a 124-136 margin Sept. 18 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, then rebounding Oct. 9 to win 57-65 at the ASICS Clovis Invitational.

Some of the top performances of the meet came from the Division 4 finals, with Sannes capturing the sixth individual title in the history of the Big Bear boys program, the most by any school in any gender at the championship meet.

Sannes, an Air Force Academy commit, ran 15:00.5 to triumph against Wake Forest-bound Bryce Gilmore of Sage Creek (15:08.6) and Sean Morello (15:09.9), who led Albany to its first team title by a 130-152 margin over North Coast Section rival Archie Williams, with Scotts Valley third at 160 points.

Sannes joined champions Ryan Hall (1999-2000), Chad Hall (2006) and Caleb Webb (2013-14) to help Big Bear move in front of Arcadia, Loyola and Newbury Park, each with five titles.

The top girls effort of the meet was produced by Albany senior Sophia Nordenholz, a Washington commit, who ascended to the No. 5 all-time competitor by clocking 16:46 to earn revenge against Acalanes sophomore Olivia Williams (16:56.2), the winner in their previous matchup Nov. 20 at the North Coast Section final at Hayward High.

It marked the first time in meet history that two athletes achieved sub-17 performances in the Division 4 final.

JSerra captured its first team title since winning three in a row from 2010-12 with 122 points, edging La Canada and Sage Creek at 131 points, with the Spartans prevailing on a sixth-runner tiebreaker. The Lions, led by freshman Brynn Garcia in 15th in 18:42.9 and junior Anastasia Snodgrass taking 16th in 18:43.3, matched Nordhoff for the most girls titles in division history with four.

San Francisco University rebounded from a 29-point setback Nov. 5 at the Bay Counties League West final and a 13-point loss Nov. 20 at the North Coast Section championship to edge Lick-Wilmerding by a 100-103 margin in the Division 5 championship, earning its 11th overall title and 17th podium finish, both state records, regardless of gender.

Lucinda Laughlin was 16th in 19:23.2 and Mia Giles was 19th in 19:30.5, helping offset a ninth-place finish by Amelie Maltz (18:54.9) for Lick-Wilmerding, which had won titles in 2018-19.

Pala prevailed in a showdown of Yale commits with Mader, both athletes eclipsing the previous Division 5 record of 14:58.5. Pala clocked 14:51 and Mader ran 14:56.3, the latter leading Lick-Wilmerding to the team title with 79 points.

Mark Trammell (15:12.9) and Alex Bobowski (15:17.4) were third and fourth for runner-up Santa Fe Christian, which had 107 points. Crystal Springs Uplands, featuring four freshmen, held off Francis Parker by a 148-150 margin for third.

Campolindo continued its Division 3 girls dynasty, capturing a sixth championship 20 years after winning its first with a 109-120 victory over Del Oro, which had Brigham Young commit Riley Chamberlain overcome illness to still place second in 17:41.

Campolindo repeated for the first time following an 80-point victory in 2019 over Cathedral Catholic, which took third Saturday with 157 points. Ellie Buckley led the Cougars with a fifth-place finish in 18:04.5, as Campolindo elevated to second all-time behind San Francisco University with 15 podium finishes.

Hanne Thomsen became the first Santa Rosa Montgomery standout to win a Division 3 state title since Sara Hall (then Sara Bei) captured four in a row from 1997-2000. Thomsen matched Hall’s 1997 feat by winning the division as a freshman, clocking 17:38 to deny Chamberlain from becoming the first female competitor in Division 3 to win three career championships.

Caden Carney became the first Tamalpais athlete to capture a Division 3 individual crown, following back-to-back victories by Daniel Milechman in Division 4 in 2009-10.

Carney clocked 15:04.6 to triumph against Conor Gibson (15:12.9), who led West Torrance to its first team title since 2017 with a 57-70 victory over 2019 champion Campolindo. Maria Carrillo took third with 174 points.

San Luis Obispo produced one of the most impressive turnarounds of the meet following a 33-34 loss Nov. 18 to Sanger at the Central Section Division 2 final. The Tigers relied on five scorers in the top 50, including Milo Skapinsky placing 12th in 15:45.9 and Luke Holland finishing 14th in 15:47, to defeat Livermore Granada by a 105-112 margin, with Mira Costa placing third at 125 points.

Jai Dawson became the second state champion in the illustrious history of the Dana Hills boys program, clocking 15:19.1 to hold off Roland Ruckmann-Barnes of Granada (15:22.9) in the Division 2 final. Tyler Valdes captured the Division 1 title for the Dolphins in 2008.

Mira Costa relied on an individual victory from Duke-bound Dalia Frias in 16:52 and three athletes placing in the top six to secure its first Division 2 girls team title in program history with an 86-123 victory over Anaheim Canyon. Granite Bay took third with 149 points.

Ella Parsley was fourth in 17:45.5 and Anna Chittenden secured sixth in 17:57.1 for Mira Costa, which had achieved three runner-up finishes and a third-place effort before Saturday under veteran coach Renee Williams-Smith.

Frias elevated to the No. 6 all-time performer at Woodward Park, with Ventura freshman Sadie Engelhardt becoming only the second ninth-grader to eclipse the 17-minute barrier by clocking 16:58.7 to ascend to the No. 13 overall competitor. Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley ran 16:57 in her state debut in 2010.

Sixteen female athletes have run under 17 minutes all-time on the 5-kilometer layout, including six from the Southern Section and four from the North Coast Section following the efforts Saturday of Nordenholz and Williams.

Team champions

Division 1 - Newbury Park boys 16 points, Buchanan girls 51 points - RESULTS

Division 2 - San Luis Obispo boys 105 points, Mira Costa girls 86 points - RESULTS

Division 3 - West Torrance 57 points; Campolindo girls 109 points - RESULTS

Division 4 - Albany boys 130 points; JSerra girls 122 points - RESULTS

Division 5 - Lick-Wilmerding boys 79 points, San Francisco University girls 100 points - RESULTS