76th Mt. SAC Invitational: Friday Sweepstakes Preview
Chiara Dailey produced the fastest time by a female athlete in the final Mt. SAC Invitational showcased on the former 2.93-mile layout last season in Walnut, Calif.
Now, the La Jolla High junior will have an opportunity to add to her legacy by highlighting a new era on the revised 3-mile Mt. SAC course that will conclude inside Hilmer Lodge Stadium at the meet’s 76th edition, presented by Nike, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Dailey, the reigning Division 4 state champion, is expected to square off against a pair of athletes who also celebrated wins last season at the Mt. SAC Invitational.
Lindsay Zimmer, fourth in the Division 3 state final last year, contributed to Cathedral Catholic winning the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes for the third consecutive season.
Cathedral Catholic has an opportunity Friday to become the first Division 3 girls program in meet history to win sweepstakes titles four years in a row, competing against a field that also includes South Pasadena, Yorba Linda, Point Loma, Canyon Country Canyon, Laguna Beach and Palos Verdes.
La Costa Canyon has won four consecutive years in girls competition at the Mt. SAC Invitational, but the Mavericks prevailed in Division 2 in 2014, then captured three straight Division 3 sweepstakes titles from 2015-17.
Ari Llorens of Francis Parker, 13th place in the Division 5 state championship race last season, was victorious in the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC last year. She is scheduled to participate Friday in the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes competition.
Maya de Brouwer of La Canada – fourth in the Division 4 state final last season – and Rio Hondo League rival Abigail Errington of South Pasadena, who has moved to Division 3 this year, are also scheduled to compete in the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes race.
Errington, de Brouwer and Zimmer finished second, third and fourth behind Dailey in the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC last year.
St. Francis won the Division 3-4-5 boys team sweepstakes title last year, but the Golden Knights – also the reigning Division 4 state champions – will be challenged to achieve a repeat at 5:13 p.m. Friday, with Canyon Country Canyon, West Ranch, West Torrance, Foothill Tech, Palos Verdes, Viewpoint and Yosemite also scheduled to participate.
Auge Martin leads St. Francis, with Corona del Mar expected to showcase Max Douglass and Kevin Steinman, Andrew Quast entered for West Torrance, Nathan Wilber leading the way for Cathedral Catholic, Adrian Miller scheduled to compete for Palos Verdes, Ford Stegge participating for Yosemite and Viewpoint’s lineup highlighted by a potential race favorite in junior Olly O’Connor.
Although the top three athletes eligible to return from last year’s Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes field are all scheduled to run Friday in other races at Mt. SAC, there is still plenty of depth in the 5:31 p.m. competition, highlighted by Dana Hills senior Annie Ivarsson, runner-up last season at the Southern Section Division 3 final and ninth at the state championship.
Ivarsson didn’t compete at the Mt. SAC Invitational last fall, but is familiar with concluding the race on the Hilmer Lodge Stadium track based on her experience at the section championship meet last year.
Audrey Heath of Capistrano Valley, fifth in the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes last year, is the top returning athlete in the field, with Sage Creek’s Gabriella Peters also expected to compete following a ninth-place performance in the race last season.
Brentwood’s Amelia Sarkisian and Ayanna Hickey from The Bishop’s School are two of the top Division 5 athletes in the field, with Monrovia freshman Isla Terrill and Calabasas senior Sofia Francini also looking to gain valuable experience racing at Mt. SAC ahead of the Southern Section postseason.
University City’s Darcy Ray, Marlborough’s Maddie Giorgio, Santana’s Harper Diaz and Moorpark’s Jenna Murray are also expected to compete in the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes race.
Despite the top seven finishers from last season’s Division 3-4-5 boys individual sweepstakes field all having graduated or being injured this year and unable to race, a remarkable competition is still expected to close out Friday’s schedule at 5:50 p.m.
Wildwood’s Theo Udelson-Nee and Burroughs Ridgecrest’s Zion Ortiz both placed in the top 10 in last year's Division 3-4-5 boys individual sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational and are expected to return Friday, along with Ryan Fitzpatrick from The Nueva School and Evan Smith of Santa Fe Christian.
Simi Valley’s Elijah Rojas, Servite’s Emmanuel Lopez, Moorpark’s Hunter Lee, Kimball’s Andres Lomeli, Sage Creek’s Josiah Bowman, Carmel’s Mack Aldi, Cathedral’s Omar Fabila, Crawford’s Leo Lorenzano, Lancaster Desert Christian’s Mehari Winheim, Mary Star of the Sea’s Finn Babbitt, Oliver Clippinger-Zimmerman of Thousand Oaks and Lyon Craig from Health Sciences High and Middle College are also expected to compete in the final event on Friday's schedule.
Ahead of the four sweepstakes races Friday, there is an expected matchup involving two of the top competitors in Division 3 in a girls varsity race at 11:13 a.m., with Becky Osorio of West Covina squaring off against Alahna Thomas from Santa Margarita.
By Erik Boal