Pleasant Valley sophomore Jackson Hein (left) and Yreka junior Henry Baun set the trend as young champions emerged across both boys and girls races at the Northern Section Finals.
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Northern Section Storyline
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 addition, although the CIF-State recognizes enrollment-based divisions I-V, the NS conducts its section final for schools in divisions 3-6. Divisions 5 and 6 are awarded individual and team titles by the NS but then combined to determine small school representation into the State Championships.
BOYS
All-Northern Section Boys XC Team
Henry Baun (Yreka/Jr.) - The fastest boy at the Northern Section Finals, running the 3-mile West Valley HS coach in 16:05.93. He also won the individual Division 4 title and went on to place 11th at the State Meet, running the 5K Woodward Park course in 15:36.3. He won four of seven races, ran his 3-mile PR of 15:25.78 for third at Bill Springhorn, and his 5K PR at State.
Charles Brennen (Chico/Jr.) - (pictured) He ran No. 2 for section and Division 3 team champion, Chico, running the 3-mile course at West Valley HS in 16:42.70. He was the team's top runner at the State Meet, placed 81st overall in 16:47.5. In 11 meets, Brennen ran No. 1 for the Panthers six times and No. 2 five times.
Jackson Hein (Pleasant Valley/So.) - He placed second in the NS championship in 16:11.28 while winning the Division 3 individual title. He won four of nine races, which included sweeping all three EAL-SRL meets. He also won at the Chico Autumn Invite.
Noah Gaido (University Prep/So.) - He placed seventh in the NS race, running the 3-mile course in 16:56.00 while winning the Division 5 individual title. He went on to placed 53rd overall at the State Meet (16:59.5) and placed among the top 18 in his class in the D-V race.
Elijah Magrini (Enterprise/Sr.) - He placed third overall at the Northern Section Championship, running the West Valley 3-mile course in 16:31.98. He won two of eight races, placed second twice and third twice. He ran his 5K PR of 16:48.81 at the State Meet and his 3-mile PR of 16:18.13 for third in a league meet at Foothill HS.
Carter Murphy (Chico/So.) - Ran No. 1 for the overall team champions at the Northern Section Finals, covering the 3-mile West Valley HS course in 16:42.70. He ran No. 3 for the Panthers at State (17:01.1). In 11 meets, he ran No. 1 for the Panthers five times and No. 2 five times.
Jackson Poburko (Trinity/Fr.) - He placed fourth overall in the NS Final in 16:34.69 while leading Trinity to the Division 6 team title. At State, running in D-V, he placed 52nd overall in 16:58.4 as the No. 3 freshman in that race. He won three of eight races with one third-place and three fourth-place finishes. He ran his 5K PR of 16:51.93 for fourth at the Chico Autumn Invite and his 3-mile PR at the NS Final.
Northern Section Boys Team of the Year
Chico - The Panthers avenged a section title loss to Pleasant Valley with a 12-point victory over their rivals. Sophomore Carter Murphy led the all-non-senior scoring group, placing fifth. He was followed by juniors Charles Brennen, Matt Anderson, Carson Sasaki, and Diego Gonzalez-Carbajal. It was Chico's first title since 2019 and 10th dating to 2006.
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GIRLS
Northern Section Storyline
Future Is Young - Girls cross country in the Northern Section has a bright future, especially if this trend holds. Of the top 20 girls at the NS Finals, only five are seniors. Of the top 30, only seven are seniors. Of the top 40, only eight are seniors. Of those top 40, six are freshmen and 14 are sophomores.
All-Northern Section Girls XC Team
Chloe Alchin (Pleasant Valley/Sr.) - One of only three seniors among the top 14, Alchin was best in class as she placed fifth overall in the NS Final, running 20:19.53. She placed among the top five in six of nine races.
Jasmine Corliss (Foothill-Palo Cedro/So.) - She placed second at the NS Championships, running the 3-mile West Valley HS course in 19:16.46, as she and Shasta sophomore Elizabeth Merrill ran away from the all-division pack and battled within three-seconds of each other to the line. At State, Corliss was the top NS runner, placing 41st in the Division III race in 19:14.85 as the No. 10 sophomore in that race. In nine races, she was either first or second with the exception of the State Meet.
Lillian Jeffords (Chico/So.) - The top runner for the section's overall team champion, Jeffords ran the course in 20:13.10 in leading a dominating performance by the Panthers. She ran her 5K PR of 20:01.12 at the Woodward Park course at State.
Elizabeth Merrill (Shasta/So.) - Northern Section individual champion, running the venerable West Valley HS 3-mile course in 19:13.45 to win by 3.01 seconds. In addition to the section's overall champion, she also was the Division 3 individual champion from a race that involves four divisions at the same time. She ran her 5K PR of 19:32.21 for 53rd at the State Meet and a top-17 sophomore in that race.
Isabella Santillan (Williams/Jr.) - She placed 10th in the overall race but was first across to capture the Division 6 title in 20:46.12, a 2:10.56 year-over-year improvement at the NS Finals. She won four of seven races and ran her 3-mile PR of 20:06.09 to win the league title, and her 5K PR of 20:45.41 at the State Meet.
Isabella Stephenson (University Prep/Fr.) - The first freshman across the line, she ran 20:55.57 on the West Valley HS course to place 11th overall and win the Division 5 title at the NS Championships. She was well back in the D-V race at State in 21:34.6 but ranked among the top 30 in the freshman class in that race. That was a 5K PR for her and nearly an 11-second improvement on her previous best.
Mattie Whipple (Yreka/Jr.) - (pictured) One of only three girls to run under 20 minutes on the challenging 3-mile layout in and around West Valley HS in Cottonwood. Her time of 19:55.05 was good for third overall and the Division 4 individual title. Whipple placed 47th at the State Meet in 19:27.9, her PR for 5K.
Northern Section Girls Team of the Year
Chico - The Panthers split at 1:46 in a 32-point victory at the Northern Section Championships at West Valley HS. It was Chico's third consecutive large division title and 14th dating to 2004. Sophomore Lillian Jeffords, was fourth overall in 20:13.10 leading the way. Senior Dot Clemente placed ninth (eighth among scorers), senior Kim Navarrette was 15th (13th), junior Claire Edwards was 19th (16th), and sophomore Rosalie Brown closed out the scoring in 23rd (20th).
Photos by DeAnna Turner and Sahil Pandit
Jeffrey Parenti is a the California State Editor for MileSplit