Newbury Park gets championship victories from Colin Sahlman and Samantha McDonnell, with boys team sweeping top four again to lower all-time Woodward Park record to 73:36.6, but Bears rebound from 12-point Woodbridge setback to edge Panthers by 57-65 margin and secure first Clovis crown since 2012 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos by Chuck Utash

The 42nd ASICS Clovis Invitational not only provided athletes, coaches and spectators the return of one of the country’s most prestigious cross country meets Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif., following a year's absence as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also showcased a thrilling finish in the Bill Buettner girls championship race, the first team title for the Buchanan girls in nearly a decade and the most dominant performance to date by the Newbury Park boys, the deepest cross country lineup in U.S. prep history.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS

Newbury Park matched its strength up front from the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Sept. 18 at SilverLakes Sports Complex in Norco by sweeping the top four spots in the Rob Brenner boys championship race Saturday.

But the real indication of the Panthers’ depth came when Hector Martinez finished 12th and Daniel Appleford, the team’s No. 6 runner, was 15th.

With senior Colin Sahlman elevating to the No. 3 all-time competitor at Woodward Park by covering the 5-kilometer layout in 14 minutes, 29.4 seconds, Newbury Park lowered its own team time record from 75:26.7 to 73:36.6 to triumph with 19 points.

Juniors Leo Young (14:33.2) and Lex Young (14:34.6) ascended to Nos. 5 and 6 in course history, with fellow 11th-grader Aaron Sahlman (14:43.5) improving to the No. 13 all-time competitor.

Only one other school, Arcadia, has multiple athletes in the top 15 performers in history at Woodward Park, with Newbury Park now boasting five, as Nico Young ran 14:28.9 to rank second all-time behind German Fernandez of Riverbank and his 2007 course record 14:24.

Martinez, who was 25th in the Doug Speck sweepstakes race at Woodbridge, clocked 15:15.9 and Appleford ran 15:18.4. Only four times in the 33-year history of the California state meet would Appleford’s time not have earned all-state honors at the Division 1 final, as Newbury Park has aspirations of placing six athletes under 15 minutes when the Panthers return Nov. 27 for the state championship meet.

Great Oak, which had won the past six championship races from 2014-19, was second with 154 points.

Ramses Cortes (15:25.9) and Mark Cortes (15:28.6) were the top two finishers for the Wolfpack, placing 21st and 22nd overall.

Zach Ayers of Davis Senior and Christopher Caudillo battled all the way to the line, both being credited with 15-minute performances to place fifth and sixth behind the Newbury Park quartet.

Alex Mader of Lick-Wilmerding, a Yale commit, was the top Division 5 competitor in seventh in 15:04.3.

Adin Dibble of Sonora produced the fastest time among Division 4 athletes, placing ninth in 15:10.3 and Isaiah Givens of Pasadena was the top Division 3 athlete, finishing 11th in 15:15.6.

Jai Dawson of Dana Hills led all Division 2 entries by securing 13th in 15:17.9.

Although the Rob Brenner boys championship race turned into a runaway, the Bill Buettner girls championship race was decided by less than a second among the leading individuals, and only by an eight-point margin among the top teams.

Newbury Park senior Samantha McDonnell, an Alabama commit, relied on a dynamic surge in the final 25 meters to edge Ventura freshman Sadie Engelhardt by a 17:02.03 to 17:02.28 margin.

McDonnell elevated to the No. 15 all-time female competitor at Woodward Park, with only one freshman ever running faster than Engelhardt, former Simi Valley star Sarah Baxter clocking 16:57 at the 2010 Division 1 state final.

McDonnell became the first Newbury Park female athlete to triumph in the championship race, joining Colin Sahlman and Nico Young as boys winners. But Buchanan finished ahead of the Panthers at every other spot in the lineup to prevail by a 57-65 margin.

Sydney Sundgren (17:36.5) was sixth and fellow junior Grace Hutchison (17:41.9) took eighth for Buchanan, which atoned for a 124-136 setback Sept. 18 in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at Woodbridge.

Freshmen Elle Lomeli (17:56.3) and Sierra Cornett (18:15.4) were 16th and 26th overall for the Bears, with sophomore Stefania Sesock clocking 18;27.7 to place 33rd. Buchanan also showcased more depth with senior Kaylee Elliott finishing 40th in 18:32.9 and junior Caroline Mendyk clocking 18:42.2 for 46th.

Newbury Park benefited from McDonnell to run a program-record 89:42.1, ascending to the No. 4 all-time program at Woodward Park and becoming just the fifth girls team to eclipse the 90-minute barrier.

Ailish Hawkins was ninth in 17:45.9, freshman Tiffany Sax finished 17th in 17:57, with Lexi Darley (18:25.1) and Morgan Nygren (18:32) earning 30th and 38th overall for the Panthers, who achieved their best performance in meet history.

Sophia Nordenholz of Albany (17:28) took third and was the top Division 4 competitor, with freshman Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery placing seventh in 17:39.9, achieving the top mark by a Division 3 athlete.

JiaLian Mackey of Viewpoint, a junior, secured 25th place in 18:13 and was the top Division 5 performer in her Woodward Park debut.

In the four additional girls varsity races, Ashlyn Boothby of Scotts Valley won the small school competition in 17:57.2.

San Francisco University placed five athletes in the top 25 to hold off Oaks Christian by a 67-86 margin. Grace Geyer (18:35.1) and Sarah Colebrooke (18:50.7) secured second and fourth place for Oaks Christian, competing without top runner Payton Godsey.

Sydney Rome of Yorba Linda prevailed in the girls medium school race in 18:26.4.

Archbishop Mitty, led by a third-place finish from Evie Marheineke (18:34.4), captured the team title with a 119-131 victory over Orange Lutheran.

Elizabeth Fetter of Palo Alto edged Tatiana Cornejo of St. Francis High in Sacramento 18:08 to 18:08.1 in the girls large school race. St. Francis, despite competing without top runner Cate Joaquin, still emerged victorious by a 78-142 margin over Palo Alto.

Amaya Aramini of Bishop Manogue in Nevada won the extra large girls race in 18:35.7.

Roosevelt High of Eastvale secured a 154-164 victory over Ayala, with Hannah Wrathall leading the Mustangs with a ninth-place finish in 19:06.8.

Mario Giannini of Chico secured victory in the medium school boys race in 15:26.6.

Newark Memorial, led by a fifth-place effort from Chance Tokubo (15:36.5), posted a 96-147 win over Santa Margarita.

Daniel Winter of St. Mary’s High in Stockton clocked 15:28.8 to triumph in the small school boys race.

The Nueva School, with Emerson Lange finishing seventh in 16:28, held off Laguna Beach by a 99-118 margin to capture the team title.

Grant Morgenfeld prevailed in 15:30.2 to help Palo Alto also secure the team championship in the large school boys race with a 92-132 victory over Torrance.

Aidan Dimick of Carlmont clocked 15:27.5 in the extra large boys race, with Ayala placing five scorers in the top 45 to earn a 118-140 win over Folsom.