Girls 1600 Meet Record - Sophia Nordenholz - Albany - 2021 - 4:53.26
The first sombrero race of the day is going to be a SCORCHER! Included in the field of 23 runners are FOUR past California state cross country champions. From the fall 2021 season, Anna McNatt of McClatchy was the Division I state champion, Montgomery freshman Hanne Thomsen won the Division II state championship and Albany senior Sophia Nordenholz won the Division IV individual title. Del Oro senior Riley Chamberlain (file photo above) finished in 2nd place in the Division III race this past fall but also won 2 state individual titles in 2018 and 2019.
Nordenholz is the meet record holder and will be looking to dictate the pace of this race. Along with the runners above, Acalanes sophomore Olivia Williams will definitely be in the mix. This past Saturday, Williams ran 10:24.85 for 3200m and had a breakout XC season this past fall including a victory over Nordenholz in the NCS MOC XC meet. Scotts Valley Ashlyn Boothby dipped under the five-minute mark last season and was nearly undefeated in XC this past fall. St. Francis, Sacramento senior Cait Joaquin ran 4:54.79 in a time trial in 2019 and should not be overlooked.
A few other girls will also be vying for a sub 5 minute time including Emma Dunmire of Tamalpais, Carly Foster of Granite Bay, Kaiya Brooks of Crystal Springs Uplands School, Katie Kopec of Whitney, and Ava Maier and Quinn Walker of Oak Ridge.