Ranking the Top 20 Girls Teams in the CIF-SS

Milesplit CA - Top 20 Southern Section Girls' Teams

1) Great Oak (Div. 1)
Great Oak's girls have dominated all California competitors but received a wake-up call when upset by Boise High at the Bob Firman Invite several weeks ago.  Juniors Tori Gaitan and Arianna Griffiths have been tearing it up while senior Fatima Cortes had a great last mile and passed Griffiths at Clovis two weekends ago.  Audrey Dang has been a stalwart in that fourth slot while moving newcomer, Aubrie Nex into the varsity lineup paid dividends as she will only get better from here on out.  Brianna Weidler and Nex will work together and close that gap up to Dang from here on out.  Coach Doug Soles has built a culture of depth unlike any other ever experienced in California as their 'B' squads easily captured the Inland Empire Challenge this past weekend!  

2) Claremont (Div. 2)
The other 'wolfpack' had earned impressive victories at Cool Breeze, Stanford and this past weekend at the Manhattan Invite in New York against a national-class field.  Sydney Hwang has been a solid force up front but it was freshman Maddie Coles that was their frontrunner in their victory last weekend.  Azalea Segura-Mora has helped form a trio that finishes within a 20-second gap.  Kalinda Reynolds, Angie Gushue have held form in those fourth and fifth slots with Julia Marriott breaking into the top five this past weekend.   With their victory this past weekend, they have basically assured a spot to NXN (but they will earn an automatic spot next month).  
 
3) Vista Murrieta (Div. 1)
Freshman Devyn Candaele has become the catalyst up front for the Broncos but the sophomore duo of Aniya Pretlow and Emily Bourque have become shadows of one another in competitions and only 20 seconds behind Candaele.  Seniors Gaby Hubarth and Peyton Candaele have shored up the last two scoring slots.  The depth we were hoping to see hasn't quite materialized yet but Paige Haynes (1^st Team All-CIF last year) made her season debut in a controlled effort last week.  Coach Coley Candaele is one of the best at getting his athletes to run their best when it matters most and next month will not be any different!

4) Mission Viejo (Div. 2)
Coming off winning their first-ever Orange County Championships, Kelli Hines has put injuries behind her and has been rolling thus far.  After navigating the slippery terrain in its earliest phases, Hines surged ahead for the county title!  She is one of the favorites to capture the division crown next month, but Emma Hicken has been huge for the Diablos this season, eclipsing past efforts on similar courses by over a minute in 2018.  The all senior-crew of Morgan Calcagnie, Sophie Mendelson, Lauryn Simons, and Patricia Hopkins have lived up to expectations thus far while they hope to get Ashley Johnson (1^st Team All-CIF last year) 100% healthy for the November run to the podium!  

5) Canyon, Anaheim (Div. 2)
Canyon impressed in what became a two-team battle, matching Mission Viejo all the way to the finish in finishing six points behind at the Orange County Championships.  Emma Hadley is one of the best freshmen in the state but it was Sarah Paino who ran her best race yet in finishing fourth last weekend!  Ashling Carr and freshman Isabella Frisone have interchanged between those third and fourth slots while Isabella Rubalcalva was their No. 3 last weekend in running only 40 seconds behind Hadley (whereas her closest had been 70 seconds at Woodbridge).  No seniors in their top six while the early season coaching change hasn't affected them one bit.  Aside from all of that -- there is still some upside to this young group!

6) Saugus (Div. 2)
Another strong crew, regardless of graduations, step up for Coach Rene Paragas' Centurions, yet he has admitted that this is one of his youngest yet.  Front-running senior Jacqueline Cascione will represent her squad all four years at the California state meet!  But, moving up the ranks within the squad, freshman Brooklyn Bendrat was their No. 2 this past weekend at the Manhattan Invite and right up there with a fellow ninth grader, Isabella Duarte.  Bendrat was not in their top 10 as of a month ago!  Julia Pearson, Amaya Aguilar, Hannah Fredericks, and Shayla Cruz help comprise an interchangeable lineup as they possess some of the best depth in the section.   

7) Serrano (Div. 2)
Coach Ken Quinn continues to churn out great girls' squads up in Phelan, hidden in the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains!   A freshman 'mighty-might' that personally reminds us of a past state champion from the Inland Empire, Tiani Goeson is the real deal and will vie for the individual Div. II title next month.  Sisters Maribel and Marisol Aguilar have been solid along with Elizabeth Martin while Samantha Ulloa is finding her groove that we saw in 2017. Ulloa continues to close that gap on Goeson with every race.  

8) Mira Costa (Div. 1)
Always producing some of the best squads in the section, Coach Renee Williams-Smith has another state meet squad here.   Freshman Dalia Frias has asserted herself as their top gun as we saw at last week's Bay League Meet on the tough Palos Verdes course.  Brooke Inouye has been consistent while Pnina Tofler, Lucy Atkinson, and Carmen Mel have shored up the remaining slots.  Atkinson possesses tons of upside but the key to this squad competing with Vista Murrieta for that runner-up plaque next month will be getting Olivia Hacohen back (she was their top girl at last postseason). 

9) Capistrano Valley (Div. 2)

The Cougars continue to move up more than any other squad, especially after their third place finish at the Orange County Championships!  Carly Corsinita has been consistently strong up front all season and one of the best in the division!  But their success can be traced back to Samantha Fulkerson and Shannon Trueman both finishing within 40 seconds of their frontrunner last Saturday.   The key now is getting Hailey Kroger with those two and see more consistency from Isabella Jin.  Freshman Midori McConathy continues to improve as she was their fifth scorer last Saturday and has cut her personal gap to Corsinita by over 40 seconds this past month!  

10) West Ranch (Div. 1)
One of the most improved squads in the section, freshman Alexis Fernandez has been a huge reason why.  Abigail Welch is having another solid season but we would like to see Sophia Hoelzel and Hayden Washington finish closer to her, unlike what we saw at last week's Foothill League meet.  As strong as they are in the four scoring spots, to ensure a trip to the state meet may mean getting more consistency from their fifth slot.  Samantha Breitbach shined well at Clovis but had a tough race last week.  Tracy Sterkel stepped in to complete the scoring ahead of her.  Not much separates West Ranch and the next three squads.  

10) Ayala (Div. 1)
Coach Tony DiMarco has been very optimistic toward this group and they've proven thus far to be a state meet-type squad.  We feel that they still haven't fully clicked altogether in the same race, but Mikaela Ramirez continues to be one of the best in Division I.  Shaina Berk bounced back from a tough race at Woodbridge to run well at Clovis, but seeing the remaining three scorers finish within 25 seconds of her was a first for them this season.  Erin Facenda, Cadence Chang, and Emily Garcia now need to keep this pattern intact as we can see this squad finishing as high as fourth at next month's Division I finals.

12) El Toro (Div. 2)
A fourth place finish at the Orange County Championships dropped them down a notch but another sub-30 second scoring gap remains very encouraging.  Alexis Neuville has been up front all season but freshman Kasey Lynd finished right on her heels this past weekend.  Grace Griffin, Taylor Slouka and Jessica Martinez continue to finish within 20 seconds of another.  Despite the lack of depth beyond these five, the tight pack is a spark while this group still has tons of upside.  Don't overlook this squad!    

12) Fountain Valley (Div. 1)
The Barons stayed off the radar for most of the season until their somewhat disappointing fifth place finish at the Orange County Championships.   But we suspect they will be sharper from here on out as Ashley Faller was unable to stay up with Sara Feitz last weekend while freshman Ashlee Gallegos ran well.  A huge boost came from freshman Leah Ferris while Julia Svartstrom was their fifth scorer last weekend.  The crew will get an added boost with the return of Isabella Guerra, who was their No. 3 last month at Mt. Carmel.  
  
14) Walnut (Div. 1)
This group is almost a carbon copy of what it was in 2017.  Keep in mind that they were in fourth place after four scorers at last year's divisional finals, but slipped to eighth after all five scorers were in.  Two-time divisional champ, Chloe Arriaga will earn another top-three finish at next month's finals.  Emma Arriaga, Anastasia Sloan and Amanda Ghibaudo have all finished in that exact order every race this season.  The key is to get Naomi Nakamura as close as possible to that quartet.  What was a daunting 93 seconds at Woodbridge was down to 61 seconds on a tougher course several weeks ago!   Walnut has incredible upside but it does rest on the legs of that fifth scorer!

15) Foothill Technology (Div. 4)
It's a challenge reading into a Ken Reeves' coached squad at this point in the season but our money will always be with them finishing higher than what the numbers indicate!  But this crew's numbers from the Clovis Invite were not too far off from last year, where they eventually dominated to capture the Division IV title!  Lauren Kearney and Hana Vrablik have interchanged up front.  Meanwhile, the quartet of Brooke Secreto, Hannah Dearman-So, Kennedy Gomez and Blythe Blakeman have all secured scoring spots this season.   Secreto stepped it up at Clovis while we suspect that Blakeman has her best waiting in November! 

16) Palos Verdes (Div. 3)
We had this group heavily favorited to capture the divisional title back in August and that prognostication has only increased.   Coach Robert Shapiro has patiently brought along one of the best for Division 3 in Samantha Steman from a late summer injury.  Meanwhile, Savannah Scriven returns after a year off as one of the division's best and has been their No. 1 all season!  McKenna Paulson, Claire Hardesty have been joined by freshman Anna Terrell to complete a solid five thus far.  Isabella Martinez looked great last week at the league meet to provide additional depth.   

17) El Segundo (Div. 4)
Going into the season, we highlighted how this squad how a very impressive quartet up front.  They've now secured that fifth slot and may actually be under-ranked here.   James Matlosz is one of the best in Division IV while Sophia Zago is not too far behind her.  Nicolette Fulcomer and Gabriella Lee have interchanged positions this season as this squad won't be too far behind Foothill Tech after four.  The Achilles heel was the lack of a fifth but freshman Tyler Matlosz has emerged, moving this squad into our top 20 over the past month.  

18) Burbank (Div. I)
Pacific League -- welcome to Burbank's girls!   In the preseason, we referenced how the group has improved but they have now become a serious contender for the wide-open state meet race in Division I.  Shalom Mejia has become a solid force up front while Sol Fernandez has been right behind her the entire season.  McKynzee Kelley has emerged as a solid #3 but Jaime Levin ran, by far, her best race of the season last week at their dominating team performance at the Pacific League meet!  Lydia Forsyth, Natalie Danao and Megan Lacamera have all been amongst the scoring five this season.  

19) Redondo Union (Div. 1)
This is a squad that can sneak into the top five at the Division I finals next month!   They continue to improve as evidenced at the Central Park Invite.  Isabella Landry has emerged as their true #1 but we suspect that Molly Ann Hastings still has another gear in her.  Coach Bob Leetch shared the improvement of Montgomery Allison this summer with us and she has been joined up with Kasey Bohney.  Watch out for Peyton Heiden and Domenica Villegas and those two have the talent to boost this squad up this list in the next 4-5 weeks!   

20) Chaparral (Div. I)
Off the radar to most, the Pumas hide in the shadow under the Southwestern League powerhouses.  But they have quietly stayed consistent since shining at Mt. Carmel last month.  Cynthia Martin continues to prove why she's one of the best in Division I, as she is backed up by Grace Handler and Alicia Hernandez.  Johana Hunck has been solid and now it's about getting their fifth scorer, Guiliana Duron, to get a close as possible to the all-senior quartet ahead of her.  This squad may fall short of the state meet but we could easily see them as a third team in that league within the top ten at the divisional finals!  

Right off the Cusp: Harvard-Westlake, La Canada, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Santiago.

Others: Bishop Amat, Dana Hills, JSerra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Oak Park, San Clemente, Valencia, Ventura, Westlake, Yucaipa.

Top Ten Individuals as of 10/15/18:
1) Tori Gaitan (Great Oak)
2) Chloe Arriaga (Walnut)             
3) Sarah Shulze (Oak Park) 
4) Fatima Cortes (Great Oak) 
5) Arianna Griffiths (Great Oak) 
6) Mikaela Ramirez (Ayala) 
7) Jill Walker (Simi Valley) 
8) Tiani Goeson (Serrano) 
9) Kelli Hines (Mission Viejo) 
10) Jacqueline Duarte (Chino Hills) 

Others: Hana Catsimanes (San Clemente), Maddie Coles (Claremont), Carly Corsinita (Capistrano Valley), Emma Hadley (Canyon), Sydney Hwang (Claremont), Hailey Kirsch (Valencia), Natalia Quintero (Harvard Westlake), Daniela Quintero (Harvard Westlake), Amber Rios (Colony), Savannah Scriven (Palos Verdes), Nadia Tabrizi (JSerra).