FRESNO >> Sarah Baxter was all alone at the finish line for the fourth year in a row at the state cross country championships.
But when it came time for the Division II girls awards ceremony Saturday at Woodward Park, Baxter was finally surrounded on the podium by the company of her Simi Valley teammates, a moment she had desired her entire career.
Baxter clocked the second-fastest time in course history, covering the 5-kilometer layout in 16 minutes, 42.7 seconds — just off her record mark of 16:39.7 last season — to lift Simi Valley to its first state championship in program history in a thrilling 97-102 victory over seven-time champion Saugus.
Although Baxter became only the third female runner in state history to capture four state titles — joining Mission Prep’s Jordan Hasay (2005-08) and Santa Rosa Montgomery’s Sara Hall (formerly Sara Bei when she won from 1997-2000) — she was moved to tears over the magnitude over the Pioneers’ achievement.
“It’s so exciting because I have waited for a team title like this since freshman year,” Baxter said. “I’m excited to share something like this with my team.”
The Pioneers’ performance also secured them another trip to Nike Cross Nationals next Saturday in Portland, Ore., giving Baxter an opportunity to win a third consecutive national title.
Simi Valley girls coach Roger Evans was overwhelmed with pride, not just over winning the first state title in his 23-year tenure, but over the significance of defeating Saugus, which rallied from fifth place and a projected 54-point deficit in the final mile to nearly extend its championship reign another year.
“(Saugus coach) Rene Paragas is a master and a gentleman and I am humbled to be a colleague of his, and that’s why we take no pleasure in breaking their string,” Evans said. “It is an honor for us to hold off a fantastic Saugus team and we are privileged to stand here as a state champion.
“You don’t win seven state titles without everyone being on the same page and that’s why they came as close as they did. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them and what they’ve accomplished.”
Samantha Ortega was third in a program-record 17:26.3, with Sabrina Janes passing 17 runners in the final mile to move up to 13th in 18:05.6 for the Centurions, who regrouped following a sixth-place finish Nov. 23 at the Southern Section Division II final with an inspiring effort.
“(The last mile) has been called the ‘Saugus surge’ before and we wanted to dig down deep and challenge as many people as we could,” Ortega said. “We knew it was now or never. Like I said before, start to finish, it was going to be a fight and I couldn’t be any more proud of my team.”
Saugus’ Mackinzie Moncibais (18:28.5) finished 22nd, holding off Simi Valley’s Desirae Jones (18:28.7), who was followed by freshman teammate Kaitlyn Wood (18:33.3) in 28th.
But the Pioneers were able to survive the late scare from Saugus when freshman Samantha Barajas (18:39.4) and senior Charlotte Utash (18:43.4) placed 35th and 40th, ahead of the Centurions’ final two scorers Ashley Heys (18:44.9) and Amanda DeJesus (18:57). Simi Valley’s Olivia Rosellini (18:49.7) and Sarah Riggs (19:08.3) also finished ahead of Saugus’ sixth and seventh runners Darby LaPlant (19:29.8) and Megan Tuinstra (19:37.4).
“It wasn’t about time. It wasn’t about place. It was about our effort,” Saugus coach Rene Paragas said. “With the year we’ve had, this group had been knocked down and we had been beaten in league and we had been counted out, so for them to come out and run the way they did, especially the last mile, I couldn’t be more proud of them.
“There is a lot of pride here and even though we didn’t extend our streak, it definitely feels like we won because of the effort the girls gave. And this only creates more motivation for next year. This group will be back again.”
