21. St. Francis (Sacramento)
After finishing 3rd in Division 1 last year (losing only to powers Great Oak and Bella Vista), the Troubadours took a small hit from graduation, losing their top two runners. Never fear though, because the returning top 5 is still very strong - although depth is a question that needs to be answered over the summer, or any injuries could be pretty devastating. Our database ranks St. Francis 3rd in the Sac-Joaquin section and second among Division 1, putting this squad in position to return to the state meet. Chase Worthen and Ava Nkadi both had good times during track season, but the overall team results were too thin to really judge the offseason progress the Troubadours have made. Still, this is one of the stronger programs in the state when it comes to developing from year to year, so expect the 2015 St. Francis team to be strong.
| 1) Chase Worthen | 18:48.99 | ||
| 2) Ariane Arndt | 18:55.00 | ||
| 3) Ava Nkadi | 19:10.00 | ||
| 4) Sydney Vandegrift | 19:36.00 | ||
| 5) Gabrielle Dyer | 19:50.00 | ||
| Average Time: 19:16.00 Total Time: 1:36:19.99 1-5 Split: 1:01.01 | |||
| 6) Juliet Batturaro | 20:51.00 | ||
| 7) Alanna Appel | 21:32.00 | ||
22. Bishop Amat
Despite graduating 2 of their top 4 runners off the squad that finished 2nd in Division 4 last year, the Lancers have enough returning talent to be a contender again. That's due in large part to the depth of the program, although this team definitely needs to continue to develop young runners to go with the 4 9th- and 10th-graders they ran at Woodward Park in November. If Jessica Gallarda runs this fall, that would help: in her first running season, she ran 5:00 for the 1600! Along with Ally Palomino and Samantha Cabrera, she led the Lancers to a strong set of team results during the spring. The 2014 Bishop Amat girls put 2 athletes into the top 10 at the CIF meet, and the 2015 squad has a good chance to get three, making them serious title contenders.
| 1) Ally Palomino | 18:00.00 | |||
| 2) Samantha Cabrera | 18:50.00 | |||
| 3) Ashley Garnica | 18:51.00 | |||
| 4) Maddie Perez | 19:55.00 | |||
| 5) Ashley Gomez | 20:02.00 | |||
| Average Time: 19:07.60 Total Time: 1:35:38.00 1-5 Split: 2:02.00 | ||||
| 6) Evie Alberico | 22:28.70 | |||
23. Yucaipa
The Thunderbirds finished 8th in Division 1 at Woodward Park last fall, but they lost 4 of the runners in that race to graduation. Despite that, Yucaipa has enough returning talent to crack the top 25 in the countdown, especially with their top 2 runners back. This team also put 5 runners under 12 minutes in the 3200 during track season, with returning #4 Madison Parr leading the way and #3 Delaney Ellsworth also showing good improvement.
| 1) Mackenna Mason | 18:54.69 | |||
| 2) Sarah Gee | 19:00.00 | |||
| 3) Delaney Ellsworth | 19:29.00 | |||
| 4) Madison Parr | 19:47.98 | |||
| 5) Rachel Gee | 20:10.19 | |||
| Average Time: 19:28.37 Total Time: 1:37:21.86 1-5 Split: 1:15.50 | ||||
| 6) Kara Hunt | 20:37.11 | |||
| 7) Carolina Samano | 21:43.70 | |||
24. Flintridge Prep
The Rebels are the defending CIF Division 5 champs, although they lost two seniors from that squad. On the other hand, the other 5 runners that brought the trophy home from Woodward Park were all sophomores and juniors, and they picked up a key transfer in 18:40 runner Sophie Gitlin, who moved from Bryn Mawr, Maryland. She will join the top two runners from the 2014 Flintridge squad, Natalie O'Brien and Maia Cohen, to make a potent trio up front. The Rebels need to cultivate some depth - after their top 6 there is a pretty significant drop-off - but this is a team that can definitely earn a repeat title.
| 1) Natalie O'brien | 18:55.00 | |||
| 2) Maia Cohen | 19:15.00 | |||
| 3) Gabriella Bennett | 19:43.00 | |||
| 4) Marisa Langley | 20:46.00 | |||
| 5) Willow Scott | 20:47.00 | |||
| Average Time: 19:53.20 Total Time: 1:39:26.00 1-5 Split: 1:52.00 | ||||
| 6) Isabella Williams | 22:31.00 | |||
| 7) Catalina Ruiz | 22:51.68 | |||
25. Canyon Crest Academy
Out of the 40 girls teams that I evaluated using the last 3 years of cross country data, the Ravens rank 15th for year-to-year improvement. Couple that with solid team track results (Canyon Crest ranked 16th in the state for team 1600 this past spring) and you have a formula for progression. After running 4:51 and 10:46 during the outdoor season, Kelly Bernd appears to be on the verge of individual stardom. The Ravens also had a pair of runners that were NOT in their top 7 last fall that both broke 5:20 on the track, Claire Bernd and Kira Loren; if those two compete for spots in the top 5 this fall, this will be a formidable team. The 2014 season didn't end the way Canyon Crest wanted - after finishing 2nd in the Division 3 race at the San Diego Section Finals, the team ended up 13th at Woodward Park. The good news? The Ravens had only one upperclass runner in that race, that being Kelly herself, and therefore they return all 7 runners to try for a better finish. It's worth noting that they will have 6 of 7 back again after this year, although their #1 gun does graduate in the spring.
| 1) Kelly Bernd | 18:01.00 | |||
| 2) Corinne Chapkis | 19:08.00 | |||
| 3) Nicole Estess | 19:22.99 | |||
| 4) Erin Beck | 20:18.00 | |||
| 5) Naomi Smitham | 20:33.00 | |||
| Average Time: 19:28.60 Total Time: 1:37:22.99 1-5 Split: 2:32.00 | ||||
| 6) Ann Ryan | 21:01.00 | |||
| 7) Hannah Gonzales | 21:02.28 | |||