DIVISION III
BOYS
1. Agoura (SS) -- Held plenty back at Section Prelims Heat 1 while packing the 1-5 split at 47 seconds, 16:06 average.
2. Maria Carrillo (NC) -- Had a week off following dominant victory at league finals (16 points, 15:23 average). Showdown with Campolindo comes Saturday.
3. Campolindo (NC) -- Week off after 31-point victory over College Park in the league final. As with the girls, this division could come down to survival of the fittest between the teams in NC and SS. We'll see this weekend who forces a rankings shake-up heading into State.
4. Royal (SS) -- First in Heat 1 at section prelims, with 1:17 spit and 16:03 average.
5. Palos Verdes (SS) -- Third to Agoura, St. John Bosco in prelim heat with 20-second 1-5 gap, 16:12 average.
6. St. John Bosco (SS) -- Placed second to Agoura in prelims heat 1, running 57-second split and 16:08 average.
7. Brea Olinda (SS) -- Second to Royal in section prelim heat with 24-second gap and 16:06 average.
8. Chico (NS) -- Mario Giannini and Hunter Dougherty led NS team championship, State Meet berth.
9. Cathedral Catholic (SD) -- Senior Max Wilson and sophomore Blake Levy led a convincing Western League victory with Wilson winning the title. El Cap may be the only threat to the SDS title.
10. East Union (SJ) -- Youthful team from Manteca beat Atwater, Placer, Del Oro and Nevada Union, among others, to win the SJS title with 64 points (35 second gap, 17:19 average). Sophomore Johnny Sandoval (pictured), freshman Alex Cuevas, sophomore Cooper Freeman and sophomore Maury Ortiz were the top four scorers all among overall top 17.
Others: Arroyo (SS), Atwater (SJ), Fresno Central (CS), College Park (NC), Del Oro (SJ), El Capitan (SD), Esperanza (SS), Torrance (SS), Moorpark (SS).
GIRLS
1. Brea Olinda (SS) -- Hard to gauge a section prelim heat with a 2:26 1-5 gap yet fastest average (19:23) among both heats. Saturday's section final will determine fact and fiction.
2. Palos Verdes (SS) -- Cruised to second behind surprising Corona del Mar in Heat 2 at prelims with 1-5 separated by 20 places at 28 seconds.
3. Campolindo (NC) -- Week off since Diablo Athlete League title (18 points, 38-second gap) while gearing up for NCS Championships on Saturday. Will be interesting to weigh NCS battle with Maria Carrillo versus SS battle among seven teams listed here for next week's pre-State rankings.
4. Cathedral Catholic (SD) -- League title for junior Trang Woolridge and dominant team victory (24 points). SDS final is Saturday.
5. Yorba Linda (SS) -- Junior Siena Palicke was first to cross in section heat while team out-pointed Brea Olinda. But, can they do it again this week?
6. Maria Carrillo (NC) -- As with Campolindo, week off since runaway at league finals with 19 points but 1:51 gap after Nicole Morris, Jasmin Hirth and Ashley Busienei-Jepkoech all ran sub-18:54.
7. Del Oro (SJ) -- Second consecutive SJS D-III title for sophomore Riley Chamberlain in leading her team to victory. Junior Hannah Wirth was only 0.10 behind Champerlain as Del Oro went 1-2-3 and beat runner-up Nevada Union.
8. Chico (NS) -- Flip-flopping with PC Foothill ends with narrow NS team title and section's only State Meet berth.
9. Torrance (SS) -- Third in prelims heat behind Yorba Linda and Brea Olinda as top three runners among top 14 before drop-off to back end to 2:04 1-5 gap.
10. El Capitan (SD) -- The sleeping enigma that is these Vaqueros put up a 16:28 average for second place in a league with larger schools as freshman Amber Chase led the way, capturing the league title.
Others: Arroyo (SS), Corona del Mar (SS), Palo Cedro Foothill (NS), Highland (CS), Nevada Union (SJ), St. Ignatius (CC), South Torrance (SS)