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Claudia Lane, Malibu HS just completed one of the finest sophomore cross country seasons in California history that included the Foot Locker National Championship individual title. Some historians might even go as far as the best season ever as she established some of the fastest times on established courses like Woodward Park and Mt. SAC. Comparing her season with some of the other all-time best sophomores is quite difficult so I will take on the easier task of rating her 2016 season.
This past fall, Lane competed in 14 races with victorious efforts in 13 of them. Her lone loss took place early in the season at the 36th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic to Grandview HS's (Colorado) Brie Oakley. It should be noted that Oakley was undefeated this past season while winning the NXN individual championship. She raced to a 17:10.1 winning time and finished ahead of the field by 28 seconds. Lane won the following week at the Foot Locker National Championship although she didn't get her rematch with Oakley who was unable to race due to the conflict between NXN and Foot Locker for some athletes.
Back to Lane, I wanted to get the feedback of several Southern Section coaches on Lane's best races and with their help, here are her 5 performances.
5) TCAA Finals-When an athlete records a season that includes a national championship, the choices for top races are quite high. Among Lane's best efforts, some coaches included Ventura County, Palos Verdes Invite (new course record), Woodbridge, Twilight Meet and Foot Locker West Region. The buzz about Lane started in early September and by late October, it was well established that Lane was going to be a national contender. At the TCAA Finals, Lane roared to victory running 17:04.0 on the 3 mile course. She passed one of the all-time CA greats, Jordan Hasay, to establish a new course record. The new mark was set despite a concerted controlled effort over the last mile.
4) CIF SS Finals-The road to the state meet in the Southern Section has run through the rugged Mt. SAC course. This year, the Riverside City Cross Country course was the host with many interesting results both individually and team wise. Lane raced in her customary Division IV race but by now was the unquestioned best runner in California. Despite going off course momentarily, Lane established another new course record at 16:31 which surpassed her own mark from the previous week by 20 seconds. I believe it was already established by now but after this performance, the race at the state meet was going to be for 2nd place.
3) Mt. SAC Invitational-Lane was starting to string together some impressive races by mid October even if a few of them were tempo efforts. She was ready to test herself at the legendary invitational and course and hoping to get more of a push in a larger race, Lane was moved from the Division IV race to the Division I/II Individual Sweepstakes race on Saturday. She had company through the first mile (5:10) but sped away in recording the 5th fastest time (16:32) on the Mt. SAC course trailing only Sarah Baxter '12 (16:00), Amber Trotter '01 (16:16), Jordan Hasay '08 (16:27) and Marie Lawrence '05 (16:29). Her time was the fastest sophomore time ever recorded and a 3 minute personal record from her freshman time.
2) The Woodward Park course has been used as the state meet course since the first California championship meet in 1987. Some of the fastest girls in California history have staked their claim on the top 10 list on this course. On Saturday, November 26th, Lane ran in the 3rd race of the day following the Division IV and V boys races. She was aiming squarely for the win in a race that she had finished in 13th place as a freshman. She sprinted to the lead immediately and was never challenged. Her final time of 16:45.0 established a new sophomore mark and was clear of the field by nearly a minute. The only two girls that have run faster than Lane are Sarah Baxter at 16:40 (2012) and Julia Stamps at 16:43 (1996). Considering both runners won at least one national cross country championship in their career, this performance was quite promising for Lane as she turned her attention to the next two Foot Locker meets.
1) Foot Locker National Championship-If anybody had any doubt about her talent, determination and/or race savvy, those questions were answered at Balboa Park. Lane sprinted to the lead from the gun and quickly distanced herself from the field. Stanford University bound Nevada Mareno had her own race plan which included racing her own race early, tracking down the leader in the middle mile and using her 2:08.51 speed in the last mile. Mareno finally caught Lane around the 13:45 mark and shadowed her as they headed toward the final stretch drive. Lane maintained her composure and eventually pulled away from Mareno in the final downhill and locked up her first individual national title with a final surge to the finish line.
