CALIFORNIA STATE MEET

Lex Young helps Newbury Park become first program with four straight individual and team champions after Division 2 triumph, Buchanan steps up again to make it three in a row in Division 1; Campolindo girls, Great Oak boys both secure seventh titles and Crystal Springs Uplands sweeps Division 5

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Ken Martinez

FRESNO – Four of the most successful programs in California prep cross country history added to their legacies Saturday at the CIF State Championships at Woodward Park, with four other schools enjoying titles for the first time, including one achieving a rare sweep in Division 5.

Great Oak captures seventh Division 1 title by Landon Negri

Newbury Park became the first team in state history to capture four consecutive team titles and have four straight individual champions as well, with Lex Young leading a sweep of the top three spots in the Division 2 boys final, as the Panthers prevailed by a 24-99 margin against Livermore Granada.

Newbury Park set the record for the lowest winning total in Division 2 after producing the all-time record in Division 1 last year at 16 points.

Lex Young covered the 5-kilometer layout in 14 minutes, 27.9 seconds to produce the No. 4 all-time performance at Woodward Park, Leo Young ran 14:38.4 and Aaron Sahlman clocked 14:41.1 for the Panthers, who also won Division 2 crowns in 2018-19 and the Division 1 championship last year.

Nico Young won titles in 2018-19 and Colin Sahlman prevailed in Division 1 last season for Newbury Park.

Dev Doshi secured seventh in 15:17.2 and Brayden Seymour, a transfer from Hagerty High in Florida, finished 13th in 15:29.1, as Newbury Park clocked 74:33.7 for the third-fastest team performance at Woodward Park.

Ventura, led by Anthony Fasthorse finishing fourth in 15:08.5, took third overall with 129 points.

Buchanan made it three Division 1 girls championships in a row with a 40-158 win against Oak Ridge, eclipsing the record for the lowest scoring performance in victory of 41 points previously achieved three times by Agoura in 1990 and 1991, along with Yucaipa in 1997.

Clovis North, the Tri-River Athletic Conference rival of Buchanan, earned its first podium appearance in program history by taking third with 161 points, as senior Ashlyn Leath earned all-state honors again by taking 10th in 17:54.1.

Although Poway junior Tessa Buswell sprinted past Buchanan senior Grace Hutchison in the final 200-meter stretch to capture the Division 1 individual crown in 17:25.0, the Bears had five scorers in the top 30 overall.

Hutchison ran 17:30.3 to place second, sophomore Sierra Cornett finished fifth in 17:41.6, freshmen Tayler Torosian (17:47.8) and Kynzlee Buckley (17:58.7) were ninth and 11th, respectively, and senior Sydney Sundgren achieved 26th in 18:33.6 for the Bears, who won their fourth state title overall, along with Division 2 in 1994.

Buchanan joined Palos Verdes (1987-89), Agoura (1990-92) and Great Oak (2012-18) as the only Division 1 girls programs to win at least three in a row.

The Bears also eclipsed their own program record of 89:33.4 from last year’s TRAC final by clocking 89:32.0, elevating to No. 5 all-time at Woodward Park.

Great Oak knocked off San Clemente by a 67-80 margin to win the program’s seventh Division 1 boys championship, with Crescenta Valley taking third at 167 points.

Palmdale Highland senior Matthew Donis became the program’s first boys state winner by clocking 14:51.3, as the Bulldogs last champion was Andrea Neipp capturing the Division 2 girls crown in 1996.

Mark Cortes, a senior, was ninth in 15:23.5 for Great Oak, which won six straight titles from 2014-19 and placed runner-up last year.

Senior Juan Chantaca placed 10th in 15:25.5 for San Clemente, which joined Crescenta Valley in making its first podium appearance. The Falcons were led by a third-place effort from Parker Simmons in 15:09.7, just behind Clovis senior Christopher Caudillo in 15:03.9.

Campolindo achieved its third straight Division 3 girls championship and seventh in program history with a 63-128 victory against Cathedral Catholic, which held off University City at 130 points.

The North Coast Section continued to demonstrate its strength in the division, with Santa Rosa Montgomery sophomore Hanne Thomsen repeating as individual champion by clocking 17:12.8.

Thomsen is the first Division 3 back-to-back winner from the North Coast Section since Campolindo’s Carrie Verdon in 2010-11.

Campolindo had senior Ellie Buckley (17:53.9) and junior Shea Volkmer (17:56.3) finish third and fourth, trailing junior Gioana Lopizzo from La Costa Canyon placing second in 17:41.5.

The Cougars became the fifth girls program in state history to secure at least seven championships and remained second all-time among girls teams with 16 podium appearances.

Crystal Springs Uplands, which had never won a state team or individual championship in school history, enjoyed a memorable two-hour stretch by sweeping both Division 5 titles in addition to senior Kaiya Brooks capturing the girls crown.

Brooks clocked 17:54.2 to help Crystal Springs Uplands hold off 11-time champion San Francisco University by a 129-131 margin, with Viewpoint earning its first podium appearance by taking third at 185 points.

University, led by Mia Giles (19:10.1) and Lucinda Laughlin (19:16.4) placing 17th and 19th overall, achieved its state-record 18th podium appearance.

Crystal Springs Uplands survived another thrilling showdown in the Division 5 boys final to edge Menlo School by a 73-77 margin, with Yosemite earning its first podium appearance by taking third at 120 points.

Liberty Charter senior Micah Sanchez triumphed in 15:13.6 to secure the first state championship in program history.

Justin Pretre (15:24.6) and Landon Pretre (15:34.8) placed second and fourth for Menlo School, which produced its first boys podium finish to go along with a runner-up effort by the girls team in Division 4 in 2019.

Benjamin Bouie, a sophomore, was fifth in 15:36.0 and senior Furious Clay took 11th in 15:46.4 for Crystal Springs Uplands, which elevated from a third-place finish last year.

Crystal Springs Uplands joined Flintridge Prep in 2015 as the only teams in Division 5 history to win both championships in the same year.

JSerra won back-to-back Division 4 girls titles to start the day with a 71-82 victory against Oaks Christian, led by individual champion Payton Godsey in 17:00.1.

It marked the fifth overall Division 4 crown for JSerra, including three in a row from 2010-12, and the first podium appearance for Oaks Christian since winning the championship in 2007.

La Canada followed its runner-up effort last season by taking third with 133 points.

Maya DeBrouwer led La Canada with a fifth-place performance in 17:50.1, just ahead of fellow sophomore Brynn Garcia of JSerra in 17:57.6.

La Jolla freshman Chiara Dailey took second in 17:27.3, Laguna Hills sophomore Holly Barker was third in 17:43.7 and Alhambra junior Renae Searls finished fourth in 17:45.3.

Los Altos achieved its first Division 2 girls state championship in program history with an 80-93 triumph against Newbury Park, which had won the 2019 title before placing second in Division 1 last season.

St. Francis Mountain View, which placed second in 2019, took third at 106 points.

Sadie Engelhardt, a sophomore, won the individual crown in 16:57.9 for the first girls state championship in program history, with freshman teammate Aelo Curtis taking third in 17:42.1.

Anna Chittenden, who helped Mira Costa win the Division 2 team title last year, placed second in 17:32.0 to earn all-state honors again.

Los Altos was led by sophomore Emily Soobrian (18:03.9) and senior Lauren Soobrian (18:16.1) finishing 10th and 13th, respectively, to help the Eagles complete their ascent from finishing sixth in Division 1 last year.

Oakdale improved from fourth last season to capture its first Division 3 boys title with a 56-109 victory against Campolindo.

Evan Noonan, a sophomore, earned the individual title championship in 15:04.3 for Dana Hills, which took third overall with 127 points. The Dolphins broke a tie with Flintridge Prep for most boys podium finishes in state history with 17.

Senior Dax Daley (15:17.9) was second, junior Omar Alsaidi (15:19.8) finished fifth and senior Caleb Cavanaugh (15:28.4) secured seventh for Oakdale, which achieved its first podium appearance.

Noonan joined Tyler Valdes in 2008 in Division 1 and Jai Dawson in Division 2 last year as Dana Hills state individual champions.

La Canada Flintridge St. Francis improved from 12th place at the Division 4 state final last year to capture the program’s first championship with 93 points.

Cathedral, the 2017 division winner, was runner-up with 114 points and defending champion Albany took third at 118 points.

Emmanuel Perez, a junior, became the first state individual winner for Cathedral, which also had Emmanuel Hernandez finish fifth in 15:27.6. Sean Morello was second for Albany in 15:08.8 and Sonora sophomore Broen Holman took third in 15:12.4.

Hayden Owen was 14th in 15:41.0 for St. Francis, which also prevailed against Cathedral by an 86-103 margin Oct. 8 at the 43rd ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park.

Team champions

Division 1 - Great Oak boys 67 points; Buchanan girls 40 points - RESULTS

Division 2 - Newbury Park boys 24 points; Los Altos girls 80 points - RESULTS

Division 3 - Oakdale boys 56 points; Campolindo girls 63 points - RESULTS

Division 4 - St. Francis boys 93 points; JSerra girls 71 points - RESULTS

Division 5 - Crystal Springs Uplands boys 73 points; Crystal Springs Uplands girls 129 points - RESULTS