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Chico once again is the top high school cross country team in the Northern Section.
The Panthers swept the large school division team titles at the CIF-NS Cross Country Championships on Thursday at West Valley High School in Cottonwood.
Chico edged rival Pleasant Valley in the boys competition, 51-63, and low-pointed Foothill in the Varsity Girls race, 60-92. Pleasant Valley had won the boys large school division last season. Chico last swept the large division titles in 2019, which was the first time since three consecutive sweeps in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Shasta sophomore Elizabeth Merrill was the Varsity Girls overall winner and Yreka junior Henry Baun won the Varsity Boys race.
The Northern Section is allotted one auto qualifying team into the CIF-State Meet in their largest school division, which at the State level is Division III. The NS gets two qualifying teams in State D-IV, and one per gender for the top team from a combined D-5/D-6 competition into State D-V.
The NS is unique in that its championship meet consists of one varsity final per gender and two open races per gender. The varsity finals include all athletes regardless of school size-based divisions. Team champions and qualifiers for the CIF-State Meet are determined after the meet.
In winning the Varsity Boys race, Baun also defended his Division 4 individual title while leading Yreka to the second of two team qualifying spots for the State Meet. The Northern Section is allotted one team qualifying spot out of Divisions 3 and 5, and two from D-4 schools.
Baun ran the 3-mile course on and around West Valley HS in 16:05.93 and held off Pleasant Valley sophomore Jackson Hein, who placed second overall in 16:11.28 while claiming the section D-3 title. He also earned one of four individual at-large spots into the State Division III Championship race.
Sophomore Carter Murphy and junior Charles Brennen ran 5-6 to lead Chico to the D-3 title. Murphy ran the course in 16:41.28 and Brennan was just back in 16:42.70. Junior Matt Anderson was ninth overall running No. 3 for Chico (17:00.74). Junior Carson Sasaki placed 13th in running No. 4 for the winners (17:42.47), and junior Diego Gonzalez-Carbajal closed it out for Chico in 22nd place (17:54.78).
It is the Panthers first section title since 2019 and fifth dating to 2016.
Pleasant Valley, champions a year ago, will also be represented at the State Meet by at-large qualifiers sophomore Mark Doud (10th in 17:11.04), senior Mark Velazquez-Patino (11, 17:15.19), and junior Austin Hein (15th, 17:44.69).
Senior Elijah Magrini placed third overall in 16:31.98 to lead D-4 team champion Enterprise, followed by seniors Jacob Wagner (25th, 18:01.85), Aliden Leachman (32nd, 18:14.21), Ryan Bray (34th, 18:24.09), and Casey Dishong (83rd, 20:04.04).
Yreka scoring behind Baun: junior Benjamin Trujillo (16, 17:47.38), senior Victor Lujan (47th, 18:45.58), senior Tyler Faultner (52nd, 18:56.60), and junior Alex Reusze (56th, 19:05.06).
D-4 at-large qualifiers: Stephan Chapdelaine (Live Oak), Owen Collver (West Valley), Jesse Hicks (Orland), Brennan McLuckie (West Valley), and Wyatt Stanhope (Oroville).
D-5 at-large qualifiers: Jackson Poburko (Trinity), Kyle Cleek (Providence Christian), Kyle Cox (Trinity), Owen Severne (Hope)
In winning the Varsity Girls race, Merrill covered the 3-mile course at West Valley in 19:13.45, just 3.1 seconds in front of Foothill sophomore Jasmine Corliss (19:16.46). Another sophomore, Lillian Jeffords, led Chico's title team, placing fourth overall in 20:13.10. Senior Dot Clemente was ninth overall running No. 2 for Chico (20:41.65). Also scoring for the champions: senior Kim Navarrette (15th overall in 21:24.96), junior Claire Edwards (19th, 21:44.39), and sophomore Rosalie Brown (23rd , 21:59.24).
Corliss, joined Merrill, Pleasant Valley senior Chloe Alchin, and the Foothill duo of Erin McKinnon and Alana Hart earning at-large individual berths into the State D-III final.
Junior Mattie Whipple won the Division 4 race, placing third overall in 19:55.05 while leading Yreka to the section title and one of the two State Meet qualifying berths from that division. Junior Augustine Mylan ran No. 2 for the winners, placing seventh overall in 20:26.28. Sophomore Paris Esther placed eighth overall (20:27.46) in leading Orland to the other State qualifying spot out of D-4.
Also scoring for Yreka: Freshman Linnea Baun (34th, 22:30.56), sophomore Ava Shackleford (41st, 23:06.10), and frosh Haley Hopkins (47th, 23:21.99).
Also scoring for Orland: juniors Ariana Garcia (38, 22:43.66), and Cameron Phillips (39, 22:46.99), and seniors Abigail Johnson (65, 24:51.75) and Itzel Esquivel (73, 26:02.53).
Tobi Dendas (Enterprise) and Addyson Taylor (West Valley) earned at-large berths into the State D-IV race.
Junior Isabella Santillan of Williams placed 10th overall in 20:46.12 as the top finisher from super-small school Division 6. Freshman Isabella Stephenson placed 11th overall (20:55.57) while leading the top D5/D6 team, University Prep to the small division title and the lone State Meet berth. Sophomore Lyndsey Schuster placed 21st overall (21:51.26) for UPrep. Also scoring for the team champs: Frosh Joanna Mieling (28th, 22:15.07), and sophomores Amelia Rocca (37th, 22:39.37) and Zoe Taylor (43rd, 23:15.12).
Freshman Iris Severne of Hope placed 12th overall and qualified as an at-large entry to the State D-V race. Central Valley freshman Tea Kaizen, 14th overall, Durham junior Jennifer Johnson, 16th overall, and Etna senior Jenna Justice, 17th overall, also earned D-V State Meet berths.
Photos by Sahil Pandit