30 Girls XC Teams to Watch this Fall: Clovis East (CS)

CA 2022 XC Preview

Aug 02, 2022

It's time to get fired up for cross country! Our traditional XC countdown is back, although it may look a little different this time around - our longtime data analyst Jeff George has moved on, leaving this energizing project to the MileSplit team in CA. Our collective goal is to briefly highlight 30 boys and 30 girls teams that we think will have an impact this fall. We will spotlight one team per gender per day over a 30-day period. Similar to past countdowns, we will provide a cross-sampling of teams from all 10 sections without regard to statewide or even division ranking (those will come later, as will articles previewing each section, and returning athletes to watch). As always, if you catch an error or have updated information for us, email CA state editor Jeffrey Parenti (jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv) and we'll make the corrections.

Clovis East (CS/Division I)

The Timberwolves girls cross country team runs in the ultra-competitive Tri-River Athletic Conference (TRAC) league, but it can be a blessing in terms of running against some of the best in the state and, in the case of the past few seasons, the nation.

In 2021, Clovis East finished third in the league finals, third in the Division I Central Section final, and was third among the TRAC teams in the Division I CIF-State Championship, placing 17th overall.

As the 2022 season turns to the fall calendar, Clovis East is aiming for a top finish in all three major races again. There are five key returning runners who will be instrumental to this goal.

Gone via graduation is last year's consistent No. 1 runner Ariana Womack, as well as the depth provided by Sasha Lopez and Sam Parilla.

The 2022 team has varsity returners in seniors Ayane Isleta (pictured above), Kylie Ward, and Erika Nyberg, junior Jazlin Diehl, and sophomore Bella Soyinthisane.

Isleta was a regular in the No. 2 spot, especially in the postseason. She was 17th in the TRAC final in 19:36.56, 16th in the Division I Central Section final (19:11.22). She finished fourth among the Timberwolves' runners in the State Division I Championship race.

Diehl was a solid third runner, taking 19th at the league final, 21st in the section final and she was the second Timberwolves' runner to cross the finish line at the State Meet. Soyinthisane was 21st in the TRAC final, 25th in the section final and third among the team's State runners. Ward and Nyberg contributed depth. Her best performance was a 17th place mark at the section final in 19:16.99.

2021 Returning Times for 5000 Meters

Clovis East (CS)
1) Erika Nyberg	18:52.60	95
2) Ayane Isleta	19:10.00	142
3) Jazlin Diehl	19:52.30	256
4) Bella Soyinthisane	20:05.50	308
5) Kylie Ward	20:27.83	406
Average Time: 19:41.65 Total Time: 1:38:28.23 1-5 Split: 1:35.23
6) Haylie Metler	21:50.59	738
7) Nevaeh Beltran	22:07.97	809

Scoring is against all returning girls in CA.

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Ryan Blystone is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to MileSplit.

Photos by DeAnna Turner