76th Mt. SAC Invitational: Friday Sweepstakes and Varsity Recap
WALNUT, Calif. – From a pair of fantastic finishes sandwiched in between Abigail Errington and Zion Ortiz both having their individual success contribute to even more significant team achievements, the four Division 3-4-5 sweepstakes races Friday at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational Presented by Nike provided a remarkable conclusion to the first day of competition, especially inside Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
Auge Martin of St. Francis and Viewpoint’s Olly O’Connor battled stride for stride during the final 50 meters of the Division 3-4-5 boys team sweepstakes race, as one-tenth of a second decided the final outcome.
Sage Creek’s Gabriella Peters produced an inspiring comeback against Ayanna Hickey from The Bishop’s School of La Jolla in the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes race, with 0.8 being the final margin between two of the top athletes in the San Diego Section.
Ortiz capped the day by not only prevailing in the Division 3-4-5 boys individual sweepstakes race, but also celebrating Burroughs Ridgecrest holding off Sage Creek with a five-point victory to capture the team title.
Zion Ortiz (10/25/2024)
But the most impressive and impactful performance Friday came from Errington, as the Princeton commit not only became the first female athlete to eclipse the 17-minute barrier on the new 3-mile Mt. SAC course by clocking 16:57, but she also rallied in the final 500 meters to prevent La Jolla junior Chiara Dailey from winning the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes race for a third consecutive year.
Dailey built a 19-second advantage following the first mile, but Errington cut the deficit to eight seconds at the 2-mile mark and finally surpassed the reigning California Division 4 state champion and two-time Foot Locker All-American in Goff’s Gauntlet, before building her advantage during the final 300 meters on the track inside Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
Abigail Errington (10/25/2024)
Errington was fifth in the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes race in 2022, finishing 70 seconds behind Dailey.
She improved last season to earn runner-up honors in the race, but Errington still found herself trailing Dailey by 30 seconds.
Errington covered the final mile Friday in 5:29 and was 17 seconds faster than Dailey during the closing stretch.
Dailey, who clocked 17:06, was attempting to become the first female athlete to achieve sweepstakes victories in three consecutive years at Mt. SAC since La Costa Canyon’s Kristin Fahy achieved the feat in 2016-18.
Maya de Brouwer of La Canada took third in 17:38 and Ari Llorens from Francis Parker, last year’s winner in the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes race, secured sixth in 18:37.
Errington also contributed to South Pasadena edging defending California Division 3 state champion Cathedral Catholic by a 64-65 margin in the team battle including all 21 schools in the team sweepstakes race.
Saidbh Byrne finished fifth in 18:35, Sofia Humphrey was 14th in 19:20, Maya Lee achieved 17th in 19:29 and Amelie Geoffron captured 27th in 19:54 for the Tigers.
Cathedral Catholic did prevail on a sixth-runner tiebreaker with South Pasadena when only factoring the results of the 10 Division 3 schools in the race after the schools both accumulated 45 points in that scoring format.
Jocelyn Gibson placed fourth in 18:18, Liesel Sellerberg secured seventh in 18:56, Lindsay Zimmer took 13th in 19:20, Chiara Bonomi grabbed 19th in 19:38 and Patsy Hellman earned 22nd in 19:42 for the Dons, who had Kristine Bickler as their sixth runner with a 31st-place effort in 20:00.
Cathedral Catholic was seeking a fourth consecutive overall victory in the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes race, but the Dons did extend their streak of being the top Division 3 program at Mt. SAC since the event returned in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin, a member of the winning lineup for St. Francis in the Division 3-4-5 boys team sweepstakes race last season, added to his legacy at Mt. SAC by edging O’Connor for the individual crown by a 15:02.1 to 15:02.2 margin in one of the most thrilling finishes in meet history, as both competitors were officially timed in 15:02.
Auge Martin and Olly O'Connor (10/25/2024)
Ryan Fitzpatrick from The Nueva School was third in 15:19, Corona del Mar’s Max Douglass placed fourth in 15:22, West Torrance’s Andrew Quast achieved fifth in 15:30, Cathedral Catholic’s Nathan Wilber secured sixth in 15:34 and Aidan Guzman supported Martin with a seventh-place performance for St. Francis in 15:39.
Canyon Country Canyon’s Owen Souther and Palos Verdes’ Adrian Miller were both timed in 15:42, taking eighth and ninth, respectively, with Yosemite’s Ford Stegge grabbing 10th in 15:43.
Foothill Technology had five scorers in the top 30, with a sixth athlete finishing 31st, to capture the championship in the Division 3-4-5 boys team sweepstakes with a 106-136 victory against South Pasadena.
Viggo Bortolin, a sophomore, placed 13th for California Division 4 program Foothill Technology in 15:55.
Ortiz clocked 15:03 to prevail in the Division 3-4-5 boys individual sweepstakes, taking control in the final mile to surpass 2-mile leaders Oliver Clippinger-Zimmerman of Thousand Oaks (15:10) and South Torrance’s Liam Miller (15:14).
Burroughs Ridgecrest supported Ortiz with five athletes finishing in the top 55 to produce a 102-107 win against Sage Creek, led by Josiah Bowman placing fourth in 15:18.
Theo Udelson-Nee from Wildwood captured fifth in 15:27, just ahead of Kimball’s Andres Lomeli securing sixth in 15:28, with Lancaster Desert Christian’s Mehari Winheim running 15:37 to take seventh, Thousand Oaks’ Oren Hill earning eighth in 15:44, Moorpark’s Hunter Lee achieving ninth in 15:47 and Finn Babbitt from Mary Star of the Sea rounding out the top 10 in 15:50.
Hickey established a 14-second advantage at the 2-mile mark of the Division 3-4-5 girls individual sweepstakes race, but Peters continued to close the gap with each step once the athletes both reached the final 300-meter stretch on the Hilmer Lodge Stadium track.
Ayanna Hickey and Gabriella Peters (10/25/2024)
Although the conclusion didn’t offer the same drama as the battle involving Martin and O’Connor in the Division 3-4-5 boys team sweepstakes, Hickey held off Peters by a 17:56.1 to 17:56.9 margin, with both athletes officially timed in 17:56.
Sage Creek supported Peters with five competitors placing in the top 55 to prevail with 78 points.
Monrovia freshman Isla Terrill took third in 18:00, also leading the Wildcats to a second-place team performance with 95 points, followed by Brentwood sophomore Amelia Sarkisian clocking 18:02 to finish fourth – including the fastest final mile in the field at 5:53 – and Santana sophomore Harper Diaz running 18:04 to achieve fifth.
Coastal Academy freshman Lindsey Billotte secured sixth in 18:10, Woodlake’s Anna Villavicencio achieved seventh in 18:13, Sage Creek’s Michela Miracco ran 18:22 to earn eighth, West Covina’s Becky Osorio took ninth in 18:36 and Marlborough’s Maddie Giorgio was 10th in 18:39.
Prior to the sweepstakes competition, Santa Fe senior Serenity Fausto was the top athlete in Division 3 girls varsity competition with an 18:14 effort, which stood as the 3-mile course record until the sweepstakes races.
Maury Young, a junior at Ocean View, produced the fastest boys performance in the varsity competition that preceded the sweepstakes schedule, winning his Division 4 race in 15:56.
The other two Division 3 girls varsity races were won by Canoga Park’s Angelina Lopez in 19:27 and Brigette Trujillo of Miguel Contreras Learning Center clocking 20:05.
Laguna Hills’ Hannah Nourse (18:51) and Bishop Amat’s Madeline Nilo (18:58), both sophomores, won the Division 4 girls varsity races.
Ross Branson’s Audrey Spaly (19:21) and Arrowhead Christian Academy’s Jeanna-Marie Lotz (19:26), both seniors, were victorious in Division 5 girls varsity competition.
Don Lugo’s Isaac Donis ran 15:57 to prevail in his Division 3 boys varsity race, with Garden Grove Santiago’s Nathan Nguyen clocking 16:16 to secure victory in his competition and Vista’s Jarett Cruz running 16:17 to triumph in his section.
Canyon Hills junior Miles Pike (16:38) earned the win in the other Division 4 boys varsity race following Young’s performance.
Maxwell Gibbons, a senior at High Tech High from San Marcos, clocked 16:27 in his Division 5 boys varsity competition, with Flintridge Prep junior Declan Mansbridge earn a victory in his race in 16:32 and High Tech High Mesa junior Kai Rottler running 16:45 to prevail in his section and continue his comeback this fall after missing the spring track season sidelined with injury.
Dante Maldonado, a senior at Yorba Linda, prevailed in the Division 3-4-5 boys varsity race in 16:03, with teammate Toren Habbestad finishing second in 16:31.
Eve Washburn, a junior competing for Burroughs Ridgecrest, was victorious in the Division 3-4-5 girls varsity race in 19:06.
Official Results:
By Erik Boal