Canyon Crest Academy standout Carlie Dorostkar, Newbury Park star Nico Young produce top individual efforts, with Panthers producing fastest team time ever in Woodward Park history to secure back-to-back Division 2 crowns

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

FRESNO – There had already been title sweeps by Newbury Park in Division 2 and Campolindo in Division 3, in addition to an all-time Division 4 girls record by Sage Creek, before the race with the most history at stake grabbed the spotlight Saturday at the 33rd CIF State Championships.

And the day concluded at Woodward Park with second team titles for both Foothill Tech’s boys in Division 4, along with Lick Wilmerding’s girls in Division 5, with the schedule punctuated by another demonstration of dominance by Great Oak in a record-setting Division 1 boys final.

RESULTS | PHOTOS | INTERVIEWS

But in between, the Division 1 girls final created the most buzz for the past winners that didn’t prevail and the persistent challengers who finally celebrated their long-awaited championship moments.

Buchanan halted Great Oak’s bid for a record eighth consecutive Division 1 crown with a 67-71 victory, capturing its first championship since winning Division 2 in 1994 and handing the Wolfpack a loss at Woodward Park for the first time since the 2011 final.

Although Buchanan senior Corie Smith achieved a career goal by leading the Bears to a team title, her quest for a second individual crown was denied by Canyon Crest Academy senior Carlie Dorostkar, who elevated to the No. 4 all-time performer on the 5-kilometer course by clocking 16 minutes, 45.4 seconds.

Dorostkar also eclipsed the San Diego Section record of 17:06 set in 2009 by Rancho Bernardo’s Molly Grabill and now trails only Malibu’s Claudia Lane, Simi Valley’s Sarah Baxter and Santa Rosa’s Julia Stamps – athletes with a combined nine individual state titles – among the fastest girls ever to race in Fresno.

Great Oak battled valiantly in the absence of senior Tori Gaitan, who was in attendance but did not race because of illness, but despite a closing a 48-point deficit after the first mile to a nine-point gap at the 2.1-mile mark, the Wolfpack couldn’t complete the comeback.

Smith, the 2017 Division 1 champion who missed last year’s final because of illness, placed second in 17:00. It marked the 14th time in 15 career 5-kilometer races at Woodward Park that Smith finished in the top four.

Freshmen Sydney Sundgren (17:45.7), Grace Hutchison (18:02.9) and Caroline Mendyk (18:21.7) were sixth, 14th and 33rd for Buchanan, which had junior Morgan Hutchison (18:34.3) as its fifth runner in 40th place. Senior Mia Jauregui clocked 18:44.1 for 48th and sophomore Kaylee Elliott took 76th in 19:05.2 for the Bears, who secured an automatic berth at Nike Cross Nationals for the second time in three years.

Great Oak, which earned its eighth straight bid to race in Portland, had senior Audrey Dang finish 10th in 17:50.6, freshman Kelli Gaffney (17:56.6) place 12th and senior Aubrie Nex (18:10) take 20th to become the sixth girls program in state history to make at least 10 appearances on the state podium and the only team to achieve the feat all in Division 1.

Freshman Aishling Fabian (18:17.3) and senior Arianna Griffiths (18:18.2) were 27th and 28th for the Wolfpack, with sophomore Divine Torza (18:21) in 32nd and freshman Melinda Dang (19:31.4), Gaitan’s replacement, finishing 108th.

Saugus, which won seven straight titles from 2006-12 to establish the standard of excellence equaled by Great Oak, placed third in its first appearance in the Division 1 final in 13 years. The Centurions, who had 136 points, began their streak with Division 1 championships in 2006-07, followed by five more in Division 2.

Saugus also achieved its 13th all-time podium appearance, trailing only San Francisco University with 16 in Division 5 and Campolindo with 14 in Division 3.

Great Oak did achieve history in the Division 1 boys championship, extending its title streak to six in a row to surpass the state record of five straight set from 2005-09 by Woodcrest Christian in Division 5.

The Wolfpack had all seven athletes in the top 30 to prevail by a 46-144 margin over Jesuit, led by senior Matt Strangio capturing his second consecutive championship in 14:43.5 to help the Marauders hold off third-place Bellarmine Prep by one point.

Strangio became the first back-to-back winner in Division 1 since Arcadia’s Philip Rocha in 2014-15, elevating to the No. 10 all-time performer at Woodward Park.

Seniors Chris Verdugo (15:09.4), Gabe Abbes (15:11.1), Aric Reza (15:14.5) and Cole Sawires Yager (15:21.4) were seventh, eighth, 12th and 15th for the Wolfpack, with junior Mateo Joseph (15:26.1) placing 17th. Junior John Worthy (15:31.5) and sophomore Leandro Candray (15:34.6) finished 24th and 29th for Great Oak, which extended its winning streak at Woodward Park to 12 in a row.

Newbury Park became the 10th program in state history to sweep boys and girls championships in the same year with its Division 2 victories, followed by Campolindo as the 11th school by securing a pair of Division 3 titles, including its first boys crown.

Newbury Park repeated as boys state champion with 37 points, with senior Nico Young also defending his individual title in 14:28.5, a slight improvement over his 14:28.9 effort from Oct. 12 at the ASICS Clovis Invitational that elevated him to the No. 2 all-time performer at Woodward Park.

The Panthers had four athletes in the top 10 and five scorers in the top 25 to produce the fastest team time ever at Woodward Park by clocking 75:26.7.

Senior Jace Aschbrenner took second in 14:53.7, sophomore Colin Sahlman placed fifth in 15:09.8 and junior Nick Goldstein took 10th in 15:17 for Newbury Park, which had sophomore Daniel Appleford in 24th in 15:37.7. Freshman Leo Young became the No. 12 all-time ninth-grader at Woodward Park, finishing 32nd in 15:41.6, with junior Tommy McDonnell placing 74th in 16:11 for the Panthers, who became the first Division 2 boys team to repeat since Loyola in 2007-08.

Dana Hills, led by senior Carrick Denker placing third in 14:59.9 and Jai Dawson finishing sixth in 15:09.9, took second with 88 points and Claremont was third with 143 points.

Dana Hills equaled the all-time state record for most podium appearances with 16 – tying the Flintridge Prep boys and San Francisco University girls in Division 5 – including its seventh straight year with a top-three finish, but the Dolphins’ first in Division 2.

Newbury Park’s girls, who finished 10th at the Southern Section final last season and didn’t qualify for the state meet, captured their first championship with an 82-161 victory over St. Francis Mountain View. Serrano finished third with 185 points.

A year after Vista del Lago won the Division 3 team title, the Eagles crowned their first individual champion, with sophomore Alexandra Klos clocking 17:13.1 to become the first Sac-Joaquin Section winner in Division 2 since 2012.

Newbury Park had sophomore Sam McDonnell (17:56.4) finish ninth, senior Hailey Golmon (17:57.7) place 11th and junior Fiona Hawkins (17:58.5) secure 12th, with freshman Ailish Hawkins (18:27.4) in 36th and senior Gretchen Slattum (18:31.9) earning 40th. Senior Archana Mohandas (18:47.7) took 53rd and freshman Hannah Round (19:01.9) was 81st for the Panthers, who also joined the boys team in qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals.

Campolindo captured its fifth Division 3 girls title with a 74-154 victory over Cathedral Catholic, securing its second championship in three years. Del Oro sophomore Riley Chamberlain clocked 17:16 to become the first female athlete in the division to repeat as champion since Carrie Verdon of Campolindo in 2010-11.

The Cougars atoned for a 25-point setback to Maria Carrillo at the North Coast Section final Nov. 23, winning the rematch by a 47-64 margin to secure their first Division 3 boys title and complete the sweep.

Campolindo had six athletes in the top 40 in the girls race, led by senior Paloma Hancock finishing fifth in 18:04.7 and freshman Ellie Buckley securing 11th in 18:19.1.

Despite Maria Carrillo taking the top two spots with seniors Colton Swinth (15:10.2) and Rory Smail (15:22.8), the Cougars responded by placing five scorers in the top 18 in the boys race, with junior Dylan Gunn earning fifth in 15:33.6 and senior Dylan Cronin finishing ninth in 15:39.1.

Sage Creek not only smashed the Division 4 record of 93:55 set in 2015 by Santa Cruz, but also lowered the all-time San Diego Section mark by clocking 90:58.6 to eclipse the 2010 standard of 91:05 established by La Costa Canyon on its way to repeating as champion with a 44-121 victory over Menlo.

Foothill Technology junior Brooke Secreto secured the program’s first individual state championship by clocking 17:33.4, with Sage Creek senior Skyler Wallace leading four Bobcats in the top nine placing second in 17:48.2.

Senior Lavanya Pandey was fourth in 18:00.6, sophomore Stormy Wallace placed sixth in 18:04.5 and freshman Malia Leupold finished ninth in 18:13.9 for Sage Creek, which had senior Natalie Huestis in 31st in 18:51.4. Menlo, which competed without senior Charlotte Tomkinson because of a foot injury, was led by senior Kyra Pretre placing 13th in 18:27.2.

Foothill Tech added a boys team title to Secreto’s success, earning its second Division 4 championship in four years with a 93-111 victory over Scotts Valley, led by runner-up Mitchell Ross in 15:17.5. Junior Josh Villasenor led the champion Dragons by placing fifth in 15:28.1.

JSerra senior Anthony Grover became only the fourth male athlete in state history to win three consecutive championships, but the first individual regardless of gender to achieve the feat in Division 4.

Grover ran 15:03.2 to join Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth, Redding Liberty Christian’s Tim Nelson and Loyola’s Elias Gedyon in producing the three-peat.

Lick Wilmerding repeated as Division 5 girls champion with a 73-114 victory over San Francisco University, the last North Coast Section team to win consecutive titles in the division from 2009-12.

St. Helena junior Harper McClain became the 11th straight athlete from the North Coast Section to prevail in Division 5, clocking 17:13.4, pulling away from two-time runner-up Mia Barnett of Village Christian (17:58.3) in the last two miles.

Senior Mira Terdiman (18:47.4), junior Maya Lacamp (18:59.9) and senior Elliot Singer (19:09.5) finished 11th, 14th and 15th for Lick Wilmerding.

Viewpoint rebounded from a third-place finish Nov. 23 at the Southern Section final to win its first Division 5 boys championship, holding off St. Margaret’s and individual champion Jackson Adelman (15:39.9) by a 128-145 margin.

Senior Ronnie Orosky finished seventh in 15:50.3 and junior Miles Clark placed 10th in 15:58.3 for Viewpoint, which had waited 20 years since Tom Kubler captured a Division 5 individual crown in 1999.

STATE CHAMPIONS

Division 1 – Great Oak boys 46 points, Buchanan girls 67 points

Division 2 – Newbury Park boys 37 points, Newbury Park girls 82 points

Division 3 – Campolindo boys 37 points, Campolindo girls 74 points

Division 4 – Foothill Technology boys 93 points, Sage Creek girls 44 points

Division 5 – Viewpoint boys 128 points, Lick Wilmerding girls 73 points