State Meet Preview: Division V

• Runner to beat: Jackson Adelman, St. Margaret's
• Team to beat: S.F. University
• Entries

Individual competition

The favorite to win the individual title is last year's second-place finisher at the CA state XC meet, St. Margaret's senior, Jackson Adelman. He recorded bests of 2:00.40/4:21.94/9:47.80 last spring track and field season and just won the Southern Section Division V individual for the second year in a row with a best of 15:20.2. At this year's Clovis Invitational, Adelman finished in 3rd place in the varsity small school race. The 2nd place finisher was College Preparatory senior Jacob Lehmann Duke (Bib No. 935 running with Adelman in the DeAnna Turner photo above) and he should also be in contention for a state individual title. Lehmann Duke won last Saturday's NCS MOC meet and recorded bests of 4:27.56 and 9:28.22 in the spring. Francis Parker's sophomore Kenan Pala won the SDS individual title and has finished in the top 3 of every race he has competed in this season. York sophomore Michael Julian was impressive in winning the CCS individual title. He just missed making the top 10 last year (11th) as a freshman and will certainly make the podium this Saturday. Other runners that will vie for top 10 finishes are Victory Christian Academy (SD) freshman Jude DeVries, Lick-Wilmerding sophomore Alex Mader, Viewpoint senior Ronnie Orosky and Midland junior Will Goddard.

Team competition

Last year, St. Margaret's won their 3rd state team title (also won in 2010 and 2011) as they handily outdistanced the field. In 2017, San Francisco University won their first state team title after 7 previous podium finishes. In 2018, the state meet for Division V teams and individuals seemed relatively sluggish and that may have been due to the interrupted training for many competing teams due to fires around the state. This year's state meet appears to be quite competitive and several teams will enter the Fresno area with state title hopes. At this point, the slight favorite will be the University boys. They were the top Division V team in the Div 3, 4 and 5 Sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational, won the BCL West championship and secured their 17th section title last Saturday. Another team with state title aspirations is Flintridge Prep. They have been flying under the radar for most of the season but last Saturday made their intentions very clear as they won the SS Division Final. They have won 5 state titles and have been on the podium at state a record 16 different years. St. Margaret's finished second behind Flintridge Prep and will also be in the mix along with Viewpoint. Francis Parker has been highly ranked throughout the season and just won the SDS team title over also highly ranked Santa Fe Christian. Two other teams in the mix are Viewpoint (SS 3rd place team) and Crystal Springs Uplands School (CCS champions).