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The run of distance running dominance for two of San Juan Capistrano’s private schools continued at the CIF-SS Cross Country Finals last Saturday, Nov. 18, at Mt. San Antonio College.
JSerra’s girls team captured its third consecutive section championship by obliterating the Division 4 field, and St. Margaret’s girls earned their third Division 5 championship in five seasons. JSerra’s boys also took runner-up honors in Division 4, and St. Margaret’s boys earned state qualification for the seventh consecutive season in Division 5.
Both teams of Lions and Tartans will now compete at the CIF State Championships this Saturday, Nov. 25, at Woodward Park in Fresno. JSerra’s girls will be on the hunt for their third straight state title.
Last Saturday, JSerra’s girls team put up yet another dominant chapter in its recent run of success for its third consecutive CIF-SS championship. The Lions placed three in the top five and four in the top seven. JSerra scored 31 points to far outpace second-place Oaks Christian with 79 points.
Junior Sophie Polay (16:35) and sophomores Kaylah Tasser (16:38) and Summer Wilson (16:50) finished in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, to lead JSerra. Junior Brynn Garcia (17:12) came in seventh, and freshman Reese Holley (17:44) finished 12th to round out the scoring. Sophomore Chloe Elbaz (17:45) was right behind Holley in 13th.
As a team, the Lions ran the second-fastest girls time across all divisions.
JSerra’s boys finished second in Division 4 with two runners in the top 10. Senior Saul Orozco (14:27) finished fifth, and junior Bradley Arrey (14:47) finished 10th.
Three sophomores rounded out the scoring five for the Lions boys, with Luke Friedl (15:20) in 28th, Jack Burnett (15:33) in 40th and Alden Morales (15:38) in 42nd.
In Division 5, St. Margaret’s girls team won a tight battle for its third CIF-SS title in five seasons. The Tartans held onto an early lead built on two runners in the top 10 and three in the top 15 to beat second-place Thacher by 11 points.
Sophomore Joyce Li was just off championship pace in second at 17:58, and junior Sarah Bendzick came in sixth at 18:24. Junior Coco Johnson finished in 14th at 19:18. Sophomore Catherine Chou came in 43rd at 20:31, and freshman Catherine Pappas rounded out the scoring five in 47th at 20:36.
St. Margarets’ boys finished sixth in Division 5 to continue a seven-year streak of state qualification for both the Tartans boys and girls cross country teams.
In addition to JSerra’s and St. Margaret’s success, it was a banner day for South Orange County cross country.
In Division 1, San Clemente’s boys earned their second consecutive CIF-SS championship after winning their first section title last season. The Triton boys placed two runners in the top 10 and four in the top 25 for the second-fastest team time across all divisions.
San Clemente was only beaten in the overall team times by a cannonball run by the Dana Hills boys.
In Division 3, the Dolphins boys repeated as CIF-SS champions with a repeat individual title by junior Evan Noonan, three runners in the top five, four in the top 10 and all five scoring runners in the top 15.
Dana Hills’ girls also repeated as CIF-SS champions in Division 3, with two top-10 runners.
