XC IN REVIEW Central Section

XC SEASON IN REVIEW - CENTRAL SECTION

Buchanan's girls team ran out front all season, winning at Woodbridge, Clovis, Central Section, and State before placing second at the RunningLane Nationals and earning a No. 3 final national ranking by MileSplit. (DeAnna Turner photo)

* * *

It didn't quite go as planned but the Buchanan High girls cross country team repeated as CIF-State Division I team champions and then went on to place second at the Garmin RunningLane National Championships. 

Sanger was a surprise winner in Division 2 at the Central Section Championships but San Luis Obispo closed with a strong final mile to win the State Division II title. 

Individual highlights included an impressive overall season by a pair of juniors, Buchanan's Sydney Sundgren, and Clovis High's Chris Caudillo. 

BOYS TEAM

Sanger, led by senior Emanuel Salas and David De Loera, won the CS title by one point in an upset of favored SLO. The fellas from the coast put it all together over the second half of the D-II race at State to upset favored Granada (NC), by seven points. 

At the State Final, SLO was sitting 13th at the mile split and fifth at the 2.1 on the 5K Woodward Park course. Over that final mile, they made up the difference to win the title. 

Milo Skapinsky made up 23 overall position points to place 12th (ninth among team-scoring runners), Luke Holland made up 18 spots to place 14th (11th), Lewis Westwood was plus-9 to cross 25th (18th), Quinn White went plus-7 to cross 40th (30th) and Weston Greeneish made up 43 positions over the final mile to cross 48th (37th) as SLO won the title. 

Sanger, led by Deloera's 10th place finish, placed 12th. 

Tulare Western was 12th at State in D-III and Frontier was 19th, Yosemite placed 14th in D-IV and Matilda Torres was 18th, and Liberty Madera Ranchos was 22nd in D-V.

GIRLS TEAM

Buchanan not only defended its title from 2019 but went on to place second at the RunningLane Championships in Huntsville, Alabama, and earn the No. 3 overall ranking in the final MileSplit50 National list. 

The Bears managed to beat Newbury Park by 20 points at the CIF-State Final despite losing No. 2 runner Grace Hutchison over the final mile and having No. 5 scorer Sierra Cornett lose her footing just before crossing the finish line. 

Still, the ever-steady Sundgren placed third (17:30.4), freshman star Elliana Lomeli was eighth (fourth among team-scoring runners), sophomore Stefania Sesock was 14th (10th), junior Caroline Mendyk was 20th (16th) and freshman Cornett was 22nd (18th). 

Although senior Kaylee Elliott lost 10 scoring spots over the final mile and Hutchison dropped from fourth to dead last (minus-176), the Bears 2-3-4-5 scorers made up a combined 17 positions over the final mile. Sesock, who was 35th after the first mile, picked up eight positions late, and Mendyk, who was 42nd after the first mile, was plus-seven late in helping overcome the loss of Hutchison. 

At RunningLane, Sundgren was 20th (12th among team-scoring runners), Hutchison was back in her usual No. 2 spot, crossing 48th (24th), Lomeli was 64th (31st), Sesock was 69th (34th), and Cornett was 75th (39th) as Buchanan gapped just 41 seconds for a solid runner-up spot behind winner Niwot. 

At State in D-II, Sanger, led by Leah Mendibles, Nia Lamas and Nereyda Alvarez, placed ninth. Highland, led by Mia Torrecillas (the CS D-3 champion) and Lianna Guerra, placed 18th in D-III, Nipomo was 21st in D-IV and Central Valley Christian was 22nd in D-V. 

BOYS INDIVIDUALS

Caudillo's impressive season included a Central Section D-1 title, a sixth-place finish in a sub-15 PR at State, and a new PR and title at the Team Nationals regional -- all three on the Woodward Park course in Fresno. 

Whereas Caudillo and Avila went 1-2 in the CS D-1 final, Sanger's Salas and De Loera went 1-2 in the section D-2 final. Avila was 14th at the State Final in D-I. Salas struggled late and finished 63rd at the State D-II Final. 

In D-III, Templeton sophomore Joshua Bell placed 18th. Central's Guillermo Lopez was 35th, and Tulare Western's Carter Mendes made up 18 positions over the final mile to place 40th. 

In D-IV, freshman Jack Olney was 47th in leading Yosemite's 14th-place performance. CS D-4 champion Patrick Thomas was 30th at State and teammate Anthony Erikson placed 45th for Mission Prep. In D-V, Summit Charter's Raul Acevado, the CS D-5 champion, was the top finisher, placing 87th. 

GIRLS INDIVIDUALS

Sundgren and Lomeli were the top CS girls across the line at State in leading Buchanan. CS D-1 runner-up Clovis North, placed eighth at State, led by Ashlyn Leath (10th, sixth among team scorers), Gianna Bomarito was 36th (29th) and Miliana Perez was 47th (35th). Arroyo Grade's Jenna Lenay placed 43rd overall. 

Palos Robles senior Charlotte Castelli won the section title in Division 2, Farmersville senior Julissa Avila won in D-3 and Mammoth sophomore Sierra Wight on the D-5 title.

Torrecillas was seventh in the D-III race at State (third among team-scoring runners), and Guerra (14th/ninth) for Highland. Avila was 31st at State, followed by Bishop Union's Ashley Fitt (52nd) in D-IV. Caitlin Chea of Central Valley Christian placed 56th (40th).