State Meet Preview: Division I

Nov 28, 2019

Girls Division I Preview

Runner to beat: Corie Smith (Buchanan/CE)
Team To beat: Great Oak (SS)
Entries

Individual Competition

Woodward Park is Corie Smith's home course and favorite training ground. The Buchanan senior rolled to a 16:54 at the Clovis Invite last month! Keep in mind that Smith was unable to compete at last year's State Meet because of illness after winning the division title as a sophomore. So, she also steps on the line with added motivation.

Canyon Crest Academy's Carlie Dorostkar seeks some redemption on this course as well. October's Clovis Invitational turned out to be her only 'off' race this season. Dorostkar placed fifth a year ago.

In a very conservative first half of the race, San Clemente's Hana Catsimanes moved away to capture the

Southern Section title a year after placing seventh. She was 16th last year at State and is the No. 11 returner, however five of those girls are either injured, not running or just not able to match their 2018 times. Plus, Smith wasn't in the field. So, in other words, last fall isn't this fall.

Mira Costa's Dalia Frias earned runner-up honors behind the San Clemente senior at the SS Final, while Saugus junior Hannah Fredericks should earn a podium spot as an individual. Taylor Jones of Arroyo Grande has become accustomed to the Woodward Park course while Sofia Abrego of Granada Hills also seeks a top-ten finish. Aubrie Nex of Great Oak shined on this course in October while Buchanan should also see their second scorer, Sydney Sundgren competing for a spot on the podium.

Team Competition

No surprise here that Great Oak is the favorite to capture its eighth consecutive title and ninth overall. Defending State Champion, Tori Gaitan leads her squad once again but she will have lots of familiar faces right behind her as they have mastered a slim team-time scoring gap as well as any team in the nation.

Buchanan, with one of the best freshman classes in the nation, is slated for the runner-up spot and are

currently ranked in the top 20 nationally. Meanwhile, Saugus, the SS runner-up, is in line to earn another podium spot and are competing in Division I for the first time since 2007.

The fight behind these three is up for grabs: Canyon Crest Academy is trying to regain its early season form, while Vista Murrieta and San Clemente elevated their game last weekend in placing third and fourth, respectively, at the SS Finals. Both SS squads still have another gear in them while keep in mind, Vista Murrieta almost pulled off the upset in placing second to league foe, Great Oak, in 2018, but will be missing its top returner from a year ago.

Oak Ridge comes in at the Sac-Joaquin team champions and will be also competing for a top-five team finish. Third place a year ago, Mira Costa looks to rebound from a tough performance last week, while Tesoro pulled off a huge upset in placing fifth at the SS Finals. Yucaipa, sixth a week ago in the SS, actually performed better two weeks ago. They, too, should earn a top-ten finish. Looking to leapfrog the Southern Section monopoly, watch for two sectional runner-ups, McClatchy (SJ), Arroyo Grande (CS). Finally, North Coast Section champion, Amador Valley will also be in the mix.

Inserted photos by DeAnna Turner and Jeffrey Parenti

State Girls 5K Individual Leaders in Division I (Full list)

RANK	TIME	ATHLETE/TEAM	GRADE	MEET DATEPLACE
1	16:53.90	CORIE SMITH Buchanan High School (CS)	2020	Clovis Invitational1st Oct 12, 2019
2	17:26.30	CARLIE DOROSTKAR Canyon Crest Academy (SD)	2020	Clovis Invitational5th Oct 12, 2019
3	17:45.60	DALIA FRIAS Mira Costa High School (SS)	2022	Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational7th Oct 12, 2019
4	17:48.10	HANA CATSIMANES San Clemente High (SS)	2020	Clovis Invitational9th Oct 12, 2019
5	17:49.30	LAUREN SOOBRIAN Los Altos High School (CC)	2023	Capital Cross Challenge3rd Sep 28, 2019
6	17:50.50	TORI GAITAN Great Oak High School (SS)	2020	Clovis Invitational12th Oct 12, 2019
7	17:55.40	MAKAYLA FICK Vista Murrieta (SS)	2020	Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational9th Oct 12, 2019
8	17:57.90	TAYLOR JONES Arroyo Grande High (CS)	2023	CCAA Mountain League Championship1st Nov 6, 2019
9	17:57.91	HILDA GONZALEZ McFarland High School (CS)	2021	McFarland/Jim White Invitational1st Nov 2, 2019
10	17:59.10	HANNAH FREDERICKS Saugus High School (SS)	2021	The Master's University XC Invitational2nd Sep 28, 2019

State Girls 5K Team Leaders in Division I (Full list)

1	Great Oak High School (SS) (CA)		59
	1) Tori Gaitan	17:50.50	5
	2) Aubrie Nex	18:00.40	11
	3) Arianna Griffiths	18:02.50	12
	4) Melinda Dang	18:06.10	14
	5) Divine Torza	18:08.60	17
	Average Time: 18:01.62 Total Time: 1:30:08.10 1-5 Split: 18.10
	6) Joelle Upshur	18:11.10	18
	7) Audrey Dang	18:14.80	20
2	Buchanan High School (CS) (CA)		111
	1) Corie Smith	16:53.90	1
	2) Sydney Sundgren	18:07.20	15
	3) Grace Hutchison	18:17.90	26
	4) Caroline Mendyk	18:25.67	31
	5) Kaylee Elliott	18:34.38	38
	Average Time: 18:03.81 Total Time: 1:30:19.05 1-5 Split: 1:40.48
	6) Mia Jauregui	18:39.50	45
	7) Morgan Hutchison	18:43.31	50
3	Saugus High School (SS) (CA)		212
	1) Hannah Fredericks	17:59.10	9
	2) Hailey Rutter	18:17.00	25
	3) Dani Salcedo	18:40.20	47
	4) Isabella Duarte	18:42.30	49
	5) Kaela Berretta	19:13.20	82
	Average Time: 18:34.36 Total Time: 1:32:51.80 1-5 Split: 1:14.10
	6) Macy Bryant	19:34.10	122
	7) Ryan Vasquez	19:40.10	142
4	Vista Murrieta (SS) (CA)		229
	1) Makayla Fick	17:55.40	6
	2) Aniya Pretlow	18:16.60	23
	3) Devyn Candaele	18:38.00	43
	4) Emily Bourque	18:56.90	60
	5) Isabella Smith	19:22.20	97
	Average Time: 18:37.82 Total Time: 1:33:09.10 1-5 Split: 1:26.80
	6) Jahdai Vasquez	19:30.40	115
	7) Kasey Magana	19:36.40	131
5	Oak Ridge High School (SJ) (CA)		318
	1) Abigail Fletcher	18:23.10	28
	2) Ava Maier	18:24.70	30
	3) Tiana Oliver	18:59.60	63
	4) Kayla Rutz	19:20.80	93
	5) Quinn Walker	19:24.40	104
	Average Time: 18:54.52 Total Time: 1:34:32.60 1-5 Split: 1:01.30
	6) Dylan Wright	20:02.30	196
	7) Abby Gladwell	20:50.40	335

MileSplitCA editor Jeffrey Parenti contributed to this report.