Five Bakersfield teams capture titles, along with a Division 1 repeat by Stockdale star Marcus Mota; Corie Smith, Meagen Lowe lead Buchanan girls to third consecutive championship, 20th overall

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

It was a memorable day for five teams and one defending champion from Kern County.

It was an impressive showcase by several Central Coast Athletic Association newcomers from the Mountain and Ocean leagues.

And it was another remarkable achievement for the Buchanan High girls cross country team Thursday at the CIF Central Section Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Despite graduating four athletes from last year’s Division 1 championship lineup, Buchanan reloaded and placed six runners in the top 11 and its entire team among the first 20 finishers to secure its third consecutive title and 20th overall with a 24-92 victory over Tri-River Athletic Conference counterpart Clovis West.

Madera South placed third with 96 points, earning its first girls team trip to the Nov. 24 state final at Woodward Park.

Just like the past two seasons, Corie Smith and Meagen Lowe led Buchanan with a 1-2 finish at the section championship. Smith covered the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 15.1 seconds, the fastest female time run at the section final since Buchanan’s Hagen Reedy clocked 17:11 in 2012, and Lowe clocked 17:32.75 after winning last year’s title in 17:18.3.

Freshman Kaylee Elliott (18:56.97) took fifth, junior Mia Jauregui (19:02.75) was seventh, sophomore Morgan Hutchison (19:07.44) placed ninth, junior Rachel Culver (19:11.72) secured 11th and junior Amanda Dolberg (19:30.75) finished 19th for Buchanan, which will seek a third straight state podium finish and eighth in program history after producing a team time of 91:55.

Making its debut at the section final, Paso Robles was impressive in capturing the Division 1 boys title with a 65-72 victory over Clovis North. Buchanan also qualified for the state meet by placing third with 80 points.

Bakersfield Stockdale senior Marcus Mota repeated as individual champion in 15:25.9, with Paso Robles following right behind with junior Damian Gavilan (15:27.26) in second and senior Pablo Cortes (15:42.07) in fourth.

The Bearcats, who finished fifth in Division 2 at last year’s Southern Section finals, had four athletes place in the top 14 to offset three in the top 12 by Clovis North, including junior Isaiah Galindo (15:38.57) taking third.

Following Mota’s victory, several Bakersfield teams grabbed the spotlight, winning boys championships in Divisions 2, 3 and 4, along with girls titles in Divisions 3 and 4.

None were more impressive than the title defense for Bakersfield Ridgeview in the Division 3 boys final. The Wolf Pack swept the top four spots, led by junior Alex Cuevas in 15:40.68, to secure a 20-105 victory over Corcoran.

Ridgeview was the fastest boys team overall for the meet, clocking 79:47, ahead of Paso Robles at 80:21.

Bryan Gaxiola (15:42.47), Ased Adus (16:00.57) and Gerardo Moreno (16:01.03) followed Cuevas, with Jonah Molina (16:21.64) placing 10th for Ridgeview, which is looking to improve on last year’s sixth-place state performance.

Bakersfield Liberty prevailed by a 48-60 margin over San Luis Obispo in the Division 2 boys final, with Atascadero senior Xavier Gonzales capturing the individual title in 15:46.81.

Gonzales rebounded from a 53rd-place finish at last year’s Southern Section Division 4 finals to earn the championship, holding off Liberty senior Jacob Resendez (15:47.15) and Monache senior Ivan Mendez (15:49.99). Liberty had four athletes in the top 11 and all five scorers among the first 21 finishers.

West Bakersfield had all five scorers in the top 25, led by senior Victor Chavez taking second in 16:53.99, to win the Division 4 boys crown with a 77-116 victory over Lindsay.

Cameron McFarlin became Coalinga’s second individual champion in three years, following Ivan Ayala in 2016, clocking 16:45.31.

Chowchilla repeated as Division 5 boys champion with a 39-113 victory over California City, but the Redskins also added an individual title, with junior Michael Eggert improving from last year’s fourth-place finish to secure the victory in 17:05.89.

San Luis Obispo, eighth in Division 4 last season in the Southern Section, not only won the Division 2 girls title in its section debut, but placed five athletes in the top eight in the process to defeat defending-champion Monache by a 24-106 margin.

Madera junior Unique Ford captured the individual title in 18:50.37, with San Luis Obispo sophomores Grace Rubio (19:18.35), Shaylee Grimm (19:20.31) and Grace Greenelsh (19:25.54) finishing second, third and fourth as all seven Tigers placed in the top 25.

Sunnyside junior Jessica Valles repeated as Division 3 girls champion in 19:21.86, but senior Sayra Raya finished second in 19:36.8 for Wasco, which secured the team title with a 67-87 victory over Morro Bay.

Lindsay senior McKaylie Caesar also captured back-to-back titles in Division 4, winning in 18:16.05 and leading her team to a state berth with a third-place finish with 67 points. Bakersfield Highland, led by sophomore Haley Ulloa finishing second in 19:35.25, won its first title with a 60-63 victory over Corcoran.

Matison McCombs and Sophia Napier swept the top two spots for Liberty Madera Ranchos, which prevailed in the Division 5 girls final by a 57-61 margin over Sierra Pacific. McCombs clocked 20:08.29 and Napier ran 20:22.03 for Liberty Madera Ranchos, which finished eighth in Division 4 at last year’s finals.