CIF State XC Championships Preview - Girls Division 1

Girls Division 1

State Rankings (by Finished Results Media)

1. Buchanan

2. Trabuco Hills

3. Corona Santiago

4. Del Norte

5. Clovis North

6. Mira Costa

7. Arcadia

8. Oak Ridge

9. Martin Luther King

10. Crescenta Valley

One of the most competitive championship races in division history last year involving Corona Santiago, Buchanan and Trabuco Hills will showcase an encore performance in the opening race at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno, with the potential for all three programs to be in contention to square off again the following week at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon.

Buchanan has used a one-point loss to Corona Santiago at last year’s state final as motivation throughout the season, highlighted by the Bears’ impressive victory Oct. 12 in the Bill Buettner girls championship race at the 45th ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park.

Although Buchanan was able to prevail by a 54-point margin against Corona Santiago in that matchup at Clovis, the Bears have not competed against Trabuco Hills since Sept. 21 in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at the 43rd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by ASICS America in Irvine.

Trabuco Hills and Buchanan carry the most momentum entering the state meet among girls lineups across all five divisions following their performances in recent weeks.

The Bears are trying to capture their fifth state championship, including a fourth title in the highest division in a six-year span after winning the Division 2 crown in 1994.

Trabuco Hills is still seeking its first championship, following their third-place performances in 2007, 2013 and again last season.

Led by senior Holly Barker and junior Millie Bayles taking the first two spots along with Anna Desormeau, Sophie Guilfoile, Evangeline Williams and Skylar Watts all placing in the top 25, Trabuco Hills won its first CIF-Southern Section title Nov. 23 with a 36-67 victory against Corona Santiago, as senior Rylee Blade and junior Braelyn Combe finished third and fourth for the Sharks on the 3-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College.

Rylee Blade (#1400, Corona Santiago) and Holly Barker (#1617, Trabuco Hills, 11/23/2024)

Buchanan captured its eighth consecutive Central Section crown, with five athletes in the top six and all seven competitors among the first 13 finishers to achieve a 20-77 triumph against Tri-River Athletic Conference rival Clovis North.

Del Norte, which finished fifth in last year’s state final just eight points behind fourth-place Clovis North, won its third consecutive San Diego Section championship Nov. 16 by producing five scorers in the top 10 – including Eliza Hong and Emily Russo taking third and fourth – in a 33-88 victory against Canyon Crest Academy.

Del Norte was fourth in the 2022 state final, with Clovis North edging the Nighthawks by a five-point margin for third.

Berkeley, the North Coast Section champion, along with Sac-Joaquin Section winner Oak Ridge and Central Coast title holder Mountain View should battle against Southern Section qualifiers Mira Costa, Arcadia, Martin Luther King, Crescenta Valley and Great Oak for the remaining spots in the top 10.

Blade prevailed against Barker in last year’s state championship race by a 16:48.5 to 17:05.0 margin.

Although Blade ran 16:31.3 for the third-fastest 5-kilometer girls performance in Woodward Park history Oct. 12 at Clovis, Barker and Bayles both have the potential to prevent the Corona Santiago standout from becoming the first female athlete to repeat as state champion since Fiona O’Keeffe of Davis Senior in 2013-14.

Barker clocked 16:40.7 on the 3-mile Mt. SAC course to win the Southern Section title, with Bayles running 16:45.6 and Blade finishing in 16:50.5.

Jaelyn Williams, the two-time San Diego Section champion from Chula Vista Eastlake, finished fourth in last year’s state final, with Combe also returning after placing fifth.

Although all-state honorees Reena Hsieh from Arcadia, Nicole Alfred from Rancho Cucamonga, Taylor Davis of Corona Santiago and Skylar Watts from Trabuco Hills are all expected to compete, several new challengers have emerged in the division this season.

Isabella Ramirez of Fresno Bullard – who placed 34th in the Division 2 state final last season – became the first Central Section girls champion in program history, prevailing in the Nov. 21 final at Woodward Park by holding off Buchanan’s lineup of Gaby Gutierrez, Brooklyn Buckley, Sierra Cornett, Kynzlee Buckley and Molly Sundgren.

Isabella Ramirez (Fresno Bullard, 10/12/2024)

Katja Dunayevich of Canyon Crest Academy, runner-up to Williams in the San Diego Section final, looks to elevate from a 58th-place finish at last year’s state final.

Dunayevich rallied Oct. 26 in the Division 1-2 girls individual sweepstakes race at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational to edge Megan Crum of Temescal Canyon, who is also capable of elevating from a 34th-place effort at last year’s state championship.

Evergreen Valley’s Nora Carino, the Central Coast Section winner, along with North Coast Section champion Carina Nottingham from Berkeley and Sac-Joaquin Section gold medalist Addison Clinton of Oak Ridge are also looking to ascend into the top 20 after gaining valuable experience in last year’s state final.

Addison Clinton (Oak Ridge, 10/12/2024)

Charlotte Hopkins, a junior at Arcadia, was 28th in the Division 4 state final last year for La Canada, but has already run 18:04.4 at Woodward Park to win the extra large school competition Oct. 12 at Clovis.

Ananya Balaraman, a junior at North Hollywood, delivered the best race of her prep career Nov. 23 on the 3-mile course at Pierce College to capture her first L.A. City Section title in 17:38.0.

Ananya Balaraman (North Hollywood, 9/28/2024)

Balaraman was 127th in the state final last season, but could be one of the most improved athletes Saturday at Woodward Park, looking to eclipse the 20-minute mark for the first time on the 5-kilometer layout.

By Erik Boal