10 Championships & 4 NXN Berths on the Line

This is a very interesting division and one where the Southern Section schools might be unlikely underdogs heading to Saturday's race. The very slight favorite might be San Diego Section champion, Sage Creek. They won the SDS over fellow top 10 contender Valley Center by a score of 34 to 46. Up north, Sir Francis Drake (NCS) (a severely under ranked team all season) handily won the North Coast Section championship and will be aiming squarely their first ever podium finish on Saturday. The surprise winner of the Southern Section meet was Harvard-Westlake which finished ahead of pre-race favorites Santa Ynez, Bishop Amat, and Foothill Technology. Central Coast Section champion Half Moon Bay seems to be rolling at the right time and has the depth to withstand an off day or two by one of their top 7. From past experience in this division, look for a surprise winner which may be one of the listed teams above or not. It has happened before.

The race for the individual title in this division should be quite competitive and fast. The pre-meet favorite will be Southern Section champion, Andrew Burkhardt of JSerra. He finished a few seconds ahead of Moses Bojorquez of Foothill Technology and these two will be upfront once again, each chasing their first state individual title. NCS champ Jeremy Leary of Sir Francis Drake is battle tested with tough races at his own league (MCAL) as well as the section final. El Molino's Brian Schulz was leading Leary at the NCS MOC meet when he was mislead by a course monitor. 2-time Central Coast Section champion Roman Munoz of King City looked fantastic at his section final and seems to be trending upwards after a few mid-season losses. Two more runners that will be aiming for a low individual finish to help their team scoring are Robbie Santoyo of Bishop Amat and Johnny Jimenez of Santa Ynez.

The most consistent team in this division has been Mayfield (SS). They finished in 2nd place last year while competing in Division V and will hope to follow the same blue print established by last year's Division IV champion, Central Valley Christian (CS). In 2013, CVC finished in 2nd place in Division V behind Branson School (NCS). Moved up to Division IV by their own section in 2014, CVC didn't let the larger schools deter them and won the state championship. Last year, Mayfield finished in 2nd place behind Flintridge Prep (SS) in Division V and this year will be chasing their school's first state XC championship here. Last week, Mayfield won the coveted CIF SS title edging out Bishop Amat (SS) by 30 points, 50 to 80. Earlier in the season, Mayfield lost a narrow 2 point contest to Santa Cruz (CCS) at the Stanford Invitational but won the Division IV sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational. Mayfield also steamrolled the field at the Clovis Invitational with their typical tight pack. Central Coast Section champion Santa Cruz has had individual success at the CA state XC meet but will be looking for a team podium finish here. They are led by one of the best runners in the state, Cate Ratliff. The 2nd place team at CCS, the San Lorenzo Valley girls, have certainly achieved success at this meet with 5 state team titles (99, 00, 04, 05 and 13). The North Coast Section champion, the Piedmont Highlanders, finished in 5th place last year and will be aiming for a top 3 finish here. Two teams that are dangerous underdogs are JSerra and Foothill Technology. JSerra has finished in the top 5 since 2009 including 3 straight state tiles (2010-2012). They finished in 6th place at the SS final but teams have finished in this spot before and moved up mightily at the CA state XC meet (ie. 2013 Saugus girls). Foothill Technology is now led by coach Ken Reeves, who aside from being one of the voices at Mt. SAC Invite, has achieved more success previously at Nordhoff (19 podium finishes including 11 state titles) than most coaches can dream of in their sleep.

The individual favorite will be Santa Cruz senior, Cate Ratliff. She finished an undefeated campaign that included a course record at Toro Park and the 2nd fastest times ever on the Pinto Lake and Crystal Springs courses. She also recorded a 16:49.7 solo effort at the Stanford Invitational and will be looking to claim the top spot after her 4th place finish last year. Her main competitor will be McKinleyville senior, Morgin Coonfield. At last week's NCS MOC, Coonfield recorded the fastest time for any division on the Hayward course with her 17:01.7 winning time. She is a fearless racer and will give Ratliff all she can handle. Niki Iyer of Harker finished in 5th place last year at the state meet and was more than competitive at the CCS final. Section champions Gabby Satterlee of Central Valley Christian (CS) and Cassi Land of Sonora (SJS) will also be in the mix for a top 5 finish as will Ratliff's teammate, Mari Friedman.