XC PREVIEW Southern Section Division 1

Senior Samantha McDonnell, third at Cool Breeze girls Sundown Showdown elite race, leads a talented Newbury Park team as it moves up to compete in Division 1. (Daniel Hernandez photo)

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With the girls, the headliners look very familiar to what we saw with the boys. Newbury Park moving into the division was NOT a welcome to the rest of the division. As much as some were smiling with Mira Costa moving out -- the girls of Newbury Park and three new additions look even stronger and project as the top team in California. Meanwhile, two of the most successful programs in the nation over the past 15 seasons witnessed both coaching legends move on.  

Samantha McDonnell is coming off one of the strongest seasons in years (4:41.41/10:38.99), but yet competing unattached in most affairs -- she almost falls under the radar.   Almost ...  With Lexy Darley (5:16.18/11:20.93) coming over from Simi Valley along with incoming freshman Tiffany Sax (5:06.65c/11:06.81c), joining the group, the Panthers have their eyes on much bigger prizes than just a divisional title. Ailish Hawkins (5:00.31/11:32.21) had a breakout performance at the Cool Breeze (17:07.9).  Morgan Nygren (5:05.14/11:35.58), Danielle Brotcke (5:14.13) and newcomer, Samantha Spaulding provide that backend depth that will push the squad to greater heights.   

Coming out of the gates, Newbury Park crushed all competitors at the Cool Breeze Invite last Friday night under the lights at the Rose Bowl. With that, their greatest threat to the divisional title is, of course, Great Oak.  

Great Oak placed second in the Sundown Showdown and will face the tough task of defending their unprecedented EIGHT consecutive Division 1 titles.  The Wolfpack have actually earned 10 titles over the past 11 seasons in achieving something no other team, regardless of division, has ever achieved. 

As referenced with the boys, the challenge of adapting to a new head coach only adds to the task at hand.  With that, Great Oak returns a solid crew that during most other years, would be favored to win the title. Overall depth is still the best you will find in the section as they saw 10 girls break 19:00 last Friday night at the Cool Breeze Invite.  But, it's that top-end scoring they want to improve and get the rest of the group closer to what we saw last Friday in Kelli Gaffney's 17:24.3 performance. The rest of the team all crossed within an eye-popping 14 seconds of one another with Meilani Castillo coming in at 18:13.0. Ameya Teli (pictured) and Aishling Fabian are both coming off strong track seasons as well.  

Redondo Union seeks a State Meet berth for the first time since 2014 but from what we witnessed this past Friday night, Bob Leetch's crew looks to end that streak! Opting to compete in the Division 1/2 varsity race, the Seahawks impressed as sophomore Lyla Fedio rolled to a 17:55.6 while Vivian Martinez crossed in 18:23.6. With their following four coming in only 24 seconds apart, in our merge of Division 1 squads only - Redondo Union came out third, despite being in a less competitive race.  

Isabella Duarte (pictured) leads the Saugus team, who, like Great Oak, will adapt to the departure of one of California's most successful coaches ever in Rene Paragas. The Centurions have qualified for the State Meet every year since 2005, the year that Paragas took over the program. Duarte, coming off a stellar track season, shined last Friday with a 16:57.9, fourth-place finish. With Brooklyn Bendrat providing support, the main question will be improving their depth over the next few months.

Not surprisingly, we are noticing a lack of depth across the board with so many programs.  With that, when Beckman closes that gap between their fourth and fifth scorers, they will challenge for a top-three spot at November's finals. The crew is poised for their first State Meet appearance in 2021 as they expected to accomplish that goal in 2020.  The front four shined last Friday featuring Estella Knobbe, Joy Weber, Isabella Tasser along with an improved Melanie Pakingan.   

Not much separated the Quartz Hill and Chino Hills squad last Friday night.  The Huskies of Chino Hills, headlined by Karis Brown and Jenna Gallegos, displayed improved depth across the board with nine girls crossing under 20-minutes.  The group is seeking a first-ever State Meet berth in Division 1. Quartz Hill, led by 2019 State Meet qualifier, Brianne Smith, looked strong as well.  

Two squads that surprised us Friday were Santiago (Corona) and Rancho Cucamonga. Santiago welcomed incoming freshman Rylee Blade to the squad as she came in from a successful club-track campaign, rolling to a 17:48.7 to lead the Sharks.  Meanwhile, Rancho Cucamonga head coach Terry Tierney shared with us that freshman Nicole Alfred just joined the sport a week earlier and with no experience, ran an 18:28.0 in her debut in the Division 1/2 varsity race while the Cougars displayed much-improved depth as well.    

Adding to an already crowded field seeking for last remaining spots to the State Meet, do not overlook San Clemente.  The Tritons finished fourth at the 2019 Finals and based on this past track season, and aside from Great Oak, no other squad boasted the depth they presented for the 3200 meters. With four girls under 12:15 and seven under 12:35, headlined by Madison Kerrigan's 11:47.05.  

Roosevelt's girls look to return to the State Meet for the first time since 2014.  Twins Hannah Wrathall and Kayla Wrathall are coming off strong track seasons with sophomore Madyson Nakamura (11:46.39) continuing to improve. 

We would be fools to overlook Vista Murrieta, keeping in mind that the Broncos have qualified for the State Meet in the past 11 postseasons!  With Isabella Smith leading them up front, do not be surprised to see this group break into the top seven once November rolls around. 

Also, do not dismiss Yucaipa.  The Thunderbirds finished sixth in 2019 and have qualified for the State Meet in six of the past eight postseasons.  And, yep- there's another!  Watch for Fountain Valley as the Barons return solid depth behind one of Orange County's best in Kaho Cichon. The 800-meter specialist was 25th as an individual at the 2019 finals and will be one of those to watch in qualifying to the 2021 State Meet.  

Individually, coming into the season, Newbury Park's McDonnell is the favorite.  Her credentials and high-level race success over the past year places her above the competition. She placed third last Friday at the Cool Breeze Invite (16:53.0).  

Saugus' Duarte was right behind her at 16:57.9.  The seasoned senior was eighth at the 2019 divisional finals and brings with her tremendous State Championship success.  She was their top scorer on the State Meet podium squad from 2019. 

Great Oak's Gaffney is the top returner from the 2019 Division 1 finals when she placed seventh overall in helping lead her squad to another championship.  

Quartz Hill's Smith (pictured) shined last Friday and reminded us of her 18th-place finish (18:07.3) at the California State Meet. She placed ninth at the divisional finals as a freshman in 2019.   

A new face to watch for is Katella's Ashlynn Viramontes.  As she has not ever advanced to the Divisional finals, she was impressive in running on the Mt. SAC course for her very first time. Coming off a tremendous track season (2:211.47/5:00.12), the senior looked controlled in her 12:06.0 winning performance in the senior race (where temperatures also got up into the 80s).