Eastlake’s Williams speeds to state cross country title

The 38th California Interscholastic Federation state cross country championship meet last Saturday in Fresno’s Woodward Park was a record-setter as Irvine senior Summer Wilson ran the fastest time in girls championship history with a course record mark of 16:20 in the Division II 5K race.

Eastlake senior Jaelyn Williams wasn’t far behind with a Division I all-time record time of 16:29 in the 197-deep race.

She surpassed the previous division record of 16:30.30 by Malibu’s Claudia Lane in 2017.

Additionally, La Jolla senior Chiara Dailey became only the 11th girls runner in championship history to win three individual state titles with a time of 16:53 in the Division IV race, fifth-nest all time in the division.

Sage Creek senior Josiah Bowman won the Division IV boys race in 15:03.4 while Classical Academy senior Gunner Silva was second in 15:10.0.

Overall, Poway senior Cooper Castleberry posted the fastest time on the day among section boys runners with a time of 14:19.1 (sixth place in Division I). Mt. Carmel junior Jaxon Northcutt was the next fastest in 15:01.4 (10^th place in Division II) while Bowman’s time was third overall.

Running royalty

Williams, a four-year state qualifier, had finished 24th in last year’s Division I cross country finals after posting fourth place finishes both as a freshman and sophomore.

Now completely healthy, Williams has let her feet do the talking after posting breakaway wins by two minutes at the Metro Conference championship meet and by 44 seconds at the San Diego Section finals.

She continued to stretch the course by finishing 29 seconds ahead of Corona Santiago senior Braelyn Combe at the state meet. The petite Eastlake harrier, who is headed for Stanford University, finished 32 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher at state, Trabuco Hills senior Millie Bayles, and 58 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher in the race, Bullard senior Isabella Ramirez.

Southwest juniors Esteban Aguilera and Carlos Martinez joined Williams as state meet qualifiers from the Metro Conference this year. Aguilera finished 108th in the 219-deep Division III boys race with a time of 16:26.5 while Martinez placed 123rd in 16:34.4.

 Runners will now line up for the West regional qualifier in Walnut for the Brooks XC national championship meet Dec. 13 in Balboa Park. Williams placed ninth (first among West qualifiers) at last year’s Footlocker Nationals on the same Morley Field course. It was the final nationals sponsored by Footlocker.

Williams will be competing in the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) this weekend in Portland.

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Eastern exposure
Santana junior Harper Diaz, a two-time Division III section and Grossmont Conference individual champion, finished ninth in the 216-deep Division III girls race in 17:51.8 — just shy of last year ‘s eighth-place finish in 17:44.2.

A three-time state qualifier, she finished 44^th in 19:11.7 as a freshman after finishing fifth at the section meet.

Christian junior Elliana Patterson, the reigning Division V girls section champion, finished third in the 201-deep Division V girls race in 17:17.5 — a half-second behind Branson junior Farah Allen (17:17.0). Lick Wilmerding senior Ella Morgannam won the individual division title in 15:54.2.

A two-time state qualifier, Paterson finished 13^th among individuals last year after placing third at the section finals.

Helix Charter qualified two individuals for the state meet: senior Tyus Joseph in the Division I boys field and junior Kate Weaver in the Division I girls field.

Joseph, making his second trip to Fresno, finished 104^th in 16:08.6 in this year’s appearance after placing 113^th in 16:18.3 in 2024. He finished first at this year’s conference finals after recording a runner-up finish the year before.

Weaver, the runner-up to Diaz at this year’s conference finals, did not compete in Fresno after placing 34^th (18:11.5) there as a sophomore and 62^nd (19:04.7) as a freshman as the conference champion.

Lion’s main
Liberty Charter led East County with one team qualifier and one individual qualifier to this year’s state meet.

The Alpine school made history when its girls cross country team qualified for the state meet by placing third in the Division V section finals. The top three teams in the division qualified to compete in Fresno. Santa Fe Christian finished first with 60 points, followed by Bishop’s with 75 points, Liberty Charter with 86 points and Christian with 95 points.

The trip to the state meet was a season-ending reward for the high achieving Lady Lions team.

“Our girls team had a solid first showing at the California state meet,” program director Daniel Sanchez said. “It was a day full of emotion, excitement and unforgettable moments. The conditions were perfect — crisp air, clear skies and a fast surface at the prestigious Woodward Park, a complete contrast to the muddy San Diego course we raced on two weeks earlier.”

Liberty Charter finished 20^th out of 24 scoring teams in Fresno with 468 points. Section division champion Santa Fe Christian finished ninth with 283 points while section division runner-up Bishop’s was 13^th with 375 points.

Among individuals, Liberty Charter senior Cadelyn Belasco (20:24.2) led Liberty Charter with an 83^rd-place finish in the 201-deep race, followed by junior Cambrey Belasco (103^rd, 20:49.8), sophomore Gabrielle Barba (124^th, 21:18.1), freshman Stella Klingshirn (148^th, 22:04.7), junior Ezri Wagnell (183^rd, 23:15.3) and seniors Emma Figueroa (194^th, 24:57.3) and Amelia Primmer (195^th, 25:14.3).

Junior Sam Rohrer led the Liberty Charter boys team as an individual qualifier. He placed 94^th in a field of 203 runners in Fresno in 17:00.5 — a “steady improvement,” Sanchez said on his 134^th place-finish in 17:39.5 last year as a sophomore.

“It was truly an ideal day to race and an incredible experience for all athletes who competed,” Sanchez said

There is more.

Christian senior Jacob Lyons finished 88^th at the state meet as an individual qualifier in 16:56.6.

Rohrer finished fifth and Lyons finished sixth at the section finals.

Christian freshman Brooklyn Drips finished 63^rd in the Division V girls race in 19:52.4.

West Hills junior Ryan Revak finished 136^th in the 219-deep Division III boys race in 16:40.3 after finishing eighth at the section finals and fifth at the Grossmont Conference finals. A two-time state qualifier, he finished his first trip to the state meet in 157^th place (17:00.2) after placing sixth at the section meet (eighth at the conference finals) as a sophomore.

Golden state notepad
As a team, Jesuit won a state-record 11th team boys title with a third best all-time DII team time of 75:36.

Individually, senior Conor Lott of Clovis North won his second consecutive State title with a sixth best all-time DI time of 14:44. Junior Cooper Stream of Vacaville won the boys DII crown with a seventh-best all-time divisional time of 14:49. Senior Gretchen Yakaitis of Carondelet ran a DIII girls third-best all-time divisional time of 17:10. Dana Hills senior Oliver Hunter took the DIII boys championship with a seventh-best all-time divisional time of 14:56. Senior Ella Mogannam of Lick Wilmerding won the girls DV title with an all-time best divisional time of 16:55. Viewpoint senior Olly O’Connor won the Division V state crown with a third-best all-time mark of 14:53.

In girls team competition Buchanan won their fifth State Championship with a seventh-best all-time DI team time of 89:30. Whitney won their first state crown with a ninth-best all-time DII time of 91:21. El Toro won their second state title with an all-time DIII best team time of 91:23. JSerra Catholic claimed their eighth State Championship with a third-best all-time DIV team time of 90:23. In Division V, Crystal Springs Uplands won their third state title with an all-time divisional best team time of 94:01.

On the team side for the boys, Redondo Union (DI) won their first State Championship with a sixth-best divisional time record of 76:36. Campolindo (DIII) took home their third state title with a third-best divisional time record of 77:33, while JSerra Catholic claimed its first State Championship with a second-best DIV time record of 77:47. In Division V, SF University won their second state Championship with a second-best division record time of 79:18.

For complete results visit https://www.rtspt.com/events/cif/xc2025/

San Diego Section Top Performers

Boys Teams
2nd — Sage Creek, Division IV
9th — Poway, Division I
9th — Cathedral Catholic, Division III
10th — Mt. Carmel, Division II
10th — Crawford, Division IV
13th — Francis Parker, Division V
15th — Scripps Ranch, Division II
16th — San Marcos, Division I
16rh — San Diego, Division IIII

Girls Teams
3rd — Point Loma, Division II
3rd — Sage Creek, Division IV
4th — Cathedral Catholic, Division III
5th — La Jolla, Division IV
9th — Cancyon Crest Academy, Division I
9th — Scripps Ranch, Division II
9th — Santa Fe Christian, Division V
11th — High Tech High San Diego, Division IV
12th — Mt. Carmel, Division III
13th — Bishop’s, Division V
14th — Del Norte, Division I
15th — Poway, Division I

California State Top Performers

Division I Boys
Individual: Conor Lott, 12, Clovis North, 14:44
Team: Redondo Union (101, 1:16.36)

Division II Boys
Individual: Cooper Stream, 11, Vacaville, 14:49
Team: Jesuit (52, 1:15.36)

Division III Boys
Individual: Oliver Hunter, 12, Dana Hills, 14:56
Team: Campolindo

Division IV Boys
Individual: Josiah Bowman, 12, Sage Creek, 15:04
Team: JSerra Catholic (69, 1:17.47)

Division V Boys
Individual: Olly O’Conner, 12, Viewpoint, 14:53
Team: SF University (70, 1:19.18)

Division I Girls
Individual: Jaelyn Williams, 12, Eastake. 16:28
Team: Buchanan (76, 1:29.30)

Division II Girls
Individual: Summer Wilson, 12, Irvine, 16:20
Team: Whitney (136, 1:31.21)

Division III Girls
Individual: Gretchen Yakaitis, 12, Carondelet, 17:10
Team: El Toro (88, 1:31.23)

Division IV Girls
Individual: Chiara Dailey, 12, La Jolla, 16:53
Team: JSerra Catholic (59. 1:30.23)

Division V Girls
Individual: Ella Morgannam, 12, Lick Wilmerding, 16:55
Team: Crystal Springs Uplands (100, 1:34.01)