MILESPLITCA SOPHOMORE GIRLS ALL-STATE TEAM
Audrey Suarez (823) and Natalia Quintero (607) placed 1, 4 in the State D-IV race. (DeAnna Turner photo)
FIRST TEAM
(Listed alphabetically)
HOPE BERGMARK (Amador Valley/NC) - Her season was highlighted by her 13th place finish at the State Meet for Division I. Her 17:59.2 performance was the fourth fastest of all sophomores at the State Meet. On her way to that effort, she was the North Coast Section champion. This was after working her way through the tough East Bay Athletic League where she was fourth place. Other strong efforts from Bergmark included her 17:35 effort at the Mt. SAC Invite and 11th place finish at the Clovis Invite in 18:04.1. Crossing at the eighth fastest underclassman at the Division I State Meet, this propelled her squad to a 14th place team finish.
JACQUELINE DUARTE (Chino Hills/SS) - The Baseline League champion started her season with back-to-back sub-16:50 efforts at the Cool Breeze and Woodbridge Invites. Moving onward to run a 17:42 at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Duarte advanced to her second straight State Meet with a fourth-place finish at the Division I CIF-SS Finals. Her 16:57.4 effort there was the fastest of any sophomore at the Southern Section Finals. At the State Meet, Duarte crossed in 15th place in the Division I race with an 18:04.3 effort, 15 seconds faster than what she ran in 2017 as a freshman. She was the sixth fastest sophomore at the California State Meet.
MADISON KACKLEY (Gregori/SJ) - She was one of the big surprises at this year's California State Meet with her 12th place finish in the Division I race. Her time of 17:58.4 performance was the third fastest of any sophomore at the State Meet. After rolling to a 5:01 this past track season, we were ready to see the incredible improvement from her freshman year. But, her effort at the State Meet moved her up into the top tier of sophomore girls in California. Before advancing, Kackley was eighth at the Sac-Joaquin Sectionals Finals.
BELLA LONGO (Mission Vista/SD) - One of the most improved sophomores in California, Longo was undefeated for the all of 2018 until the State Meet. There, she rolled to an impressive fourth place in the Division III race. Her 18:04.6 performance yielded Longo the seventh fastest time of any sophomore but perhaps, more impressive was that it was two minutes faster than what she ran a year earlier! Take into consideration that she was 22 seconds behind third place but yet 27 seconds ahead of fifth, she was without any contact from other athletes during the second half of the race. At the San Diego Section Finals, she was also two minutes faster and won the title by 52 seconds.
NATALIA QUINTERO (Harvard Westlake/SS) - Starting her season by capturing the sophomore section of the Seaside Invite, Quintero moved on to run 16:59.5 at the Woodbridge Invite and a 17:40 at the Mt. SAC Invitational. She began her postseason run by capturing the Mission League finals before moving on to take fourth place at the Division IV CIF-SS Finals. This helped her team capture the runner-up spot and advancing to the State Meet. In Fresno, she took fourth place once again in 17:54.7, which was the second fastest time of any sophomore at the State Meet.
AMBER RIOS (Colony/SS) - In 2017, Rios crossed in 11th place in the Division 2 State Meet. One spot away from making the podium, this season Rios ran her best race at the State Meet, with a sixth-place performance. Rios was the fourth fastest sophomore at this year's State Meet. A week earlier, she was seventh at the CIF-SS Finals in 17:13.1 (third fastest sophomore at the SS Finals). She was also the runner-up at the Inland Empire Championships and broke 17 minutes on the Cool Breeze and Woodbridge courses in September.
AUDREY SUAREZ (Mayfield/SS) - Based on postseason alone, Suarez was California's top sophomore. After not racing for seven weeks to heal from injury, Suarez trained her way back into shape at the perfect time of the season. After coming back to capture the Prep League Finals, she came back three weeks later to take the runner-up spot at the Division IV CIF-SS Finals and propel her squad to another trip to the State Meet. A week later, Suarez held on for the Division 4 state title with a determined effort. Her 17:44.7 was the fastest time of any sophomore at the State Meet. But, she was not done! Suarez returned a week later to take sixth place at the Footlocker Western Regionals before moving onward to take 30th place at the Footlocker National Championships.SECOND TEAM
(Listed alphabetically)
Mia Barnett (Village Christian/SS) -- Captured the CIF-SS Division V individual title for the second straight year. Taking 12th place in 2017, Barnett moved up to second place at the California State Meet, with an 18:19.7 performance. This was the 11th fastest time of any sophomore at the State Meet. She was pivotal in helping her team qualify for their first State Meet trip in school history.
Makayla Browne (Riverside North/SS) -- Despite struggling at the State Meet, with an 18:49.9 effort, Browne still held on to a Second Team selection here. A week earlier, against the toughest division in the nation, she rolled to a second place, 17:05.2 at the CIF-SS Division II Finals. This was the second fastest time of any sophomore at the CIF-SS Finals.
Melissa Cichon (Leland/CC) -- 11th place in the Division 2 State Meet competition. Her 18:07.1 was the eighth fastest sophomore at the State Meet. She was also the Central Coast Section Division 2 champion while this was her first year of Cross Country.
Ashley Learn (Rancho Bernardo/SD) -- She was a huge catalyst for her squad advancing onto the California State Meet, where her 24th place finish landed her a spot in our top 14 sophomores in California. Her 18:23.9 was the fifth fastest sophomore in the Division 1 race. Finished third at the San Diego Section Finals.
Julia Pearson (Saugus/SS) -- Running her best race at the State Meet, she was 12th place in the Division 2 race. She moved up from 21st place with less than a mile to go, helping her squad to a sixth-place finish in that tough Division 2 competition. Huge rebound from the previous week, where she finished 72nd place at the CIF-SS Finals!
Jill Walker (Simi Valley/SS) -- She was 16th place (18:15.4) in the Division 2 State Meet race. Walker was the tenth fastest sophomore at the State Meet after taking tenth place at the CIF-SS Finals. Her 17:53.8 at the Clovis Invite made it very tough to not include amongst the top seven!
Trang Woolridge (Westview/SD) -- After taking fifth at the San Diego Section Finals, Woolridge placed 23rd at the California State Meet. Her 18:23.7 was the fourth fastest sophomore in the Division 1 State Meet race. She was 20 seconds faster than 2017 as this was her second straight State Meet berth.
HONORABLE MENTION