CIF State XC Championships Preview - Girls Division 3

Girls Division 3

State Rankings (by Finished Results Media)

1. South Pasadena

2. Cathedral Catholic

3. Point Loma

4. Santa Margarita

5. Northgate

6. Campolindo

7. Sage Creek

8. Oak Park

9. Santa Rosa Montgomery

10. Hart

Hanne Thomsen is attempting to join the most elite group in California prep cross country history at 10:30 a.m. Saturday by winning a fourth career individual state title.

Hanne Thomsen (Santa Rosa Montgomery, 10/12/2024)

And the biggest challenger for the Santa Rosa Montgomery High star could be South Pasadena senior Abigail Errington, who has the opportunity to not only contend for the individual crown, but lead the Tigers to their first team championship as well at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Abigail Errington (South Pasadena, 10/25/2024)

Thomsen would become only the second female athlete to win four titles in the same division, along with Jordan Hasay of Mission Prep securing four Division 5 championships from 2005-08.

Thomsen also has the potential to join another Santa Rosa Montgomery legend in Sara Hall – formerly Sara Bei – in becoming a four-time champion. Hall won Division 3 titles in 1997-98 and captured Division 2 crowns in 1999-2000.

Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley is the most recent four-time winner, securing Division 1 championships in 2010 and 2012, in addition to Division 2 titles in 2011 and 2013.

Thomsen was edged by Irvine junior Summer Wilson by a 17:08.8 to 17:10.4 margin in the Bill Buettner girls championship race Oct. 12 at the 45th ASICS Clovis Invitational on the 5-kilometer course at Woodward Park.

Summer Wilson (Irvine, 11/23/2024)

Errington ran 17:24.9 at Clovis, but triumphed against Wilson on Nov. 23 to win the Southern Section title and lead the Tigers to their first division championship.

Errington clocked 16:56.6 on the 3-mile layout at Mt. San Antonio College, with Wilson running 17:22.7.

All three competitors are still pursuing their first career sub-17 performances at Woodward Park, which would be the first by a Division 3 female athlete.

Cathedral Catholic captured its first team title in program history last year, but the Dons are hoping to bounce back from a 56-62 setback Nov. 16 to Point Loma at the San Diego Section final at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

Lindsay Zimmer, who finished fourth at last year’s state championship to lead Cathedral Catholic to the title, has been sidelined for the past month and is not expected to be part of the Dons’ lineup in Saturday’s final.

But Jocelyn Gibson, a senior, is primed to make a big impact for Cathedral Catholic in her state debut following a third-place finish for the Dons in the section final.

Jocelyn Gibson (Cathedral Catholic, 10/25/2024)

South Pasadena, which secured sixth in the Division 4 state final last year, has produced a paradigm shift in the landscape of its new division this season.

The Tigers had five scorers in the top 30 to capture the Southern Section championship with a 43-90 victory against Santa Margarita.

South Pasadena held off Cathedral Catholic by a 64-65 margin Oct. 25 in the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes race at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational, although the Dons edged the Tigers on a sixth-runner tiebreaker based on the performances of only Division 3 competitors in the field.

Cathedral Catholic and South Pasadena are programs that also share another achievement in common, with both schools winning state girls volleyball titles Nov. 23 at Santiago Canyon College. The Tigers rallied from a two-set deficit to outlast Hilmar in the Division 4 state final, with Cathedral Catholic capturing its second Open Division championship in three years by sweeping Archbishop Mitty.

South Pasadena also won a Southern California Regional Division 3 boys water polo crown Nov. 23 at Mt. SAC by defeating Reseda Cleveland.

Campolindo, which captured consecutive state titles in 2019, 2021 and 2022 followed by a runner-up finish last year, took second Nov. 23 at the North Coast Section final at Hayward High.

Northgate had five scorers in the top 25 to secure a 78-103 victory against Campolindo, with Thomsen, Seelah Kittelstrom and Amrie Lacefield sweeping the top three spots for Santa Rosa Montgomery to lead the Vikings to a third-place finish.

Kittelstrom and Lacefield finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in last year’s state final to contribute to an 11th-place result for Santa Rosa Montgomery.

Sacred Heart Cathedral had five athletes in the top 20 to win the Central Coast Section title Nov. 16 by a 68-80 margin against St. Ignatius at Crystal Springs.

St. Francis of Sacramento produced five competitors in the top 35 to capture the Sac-Joaquin Section championship Nov. 16 with a 77-89 triumph against Del Oro at the Willows Hills Course in Folsom.

Annie Ivarsson of Dana Hills is another returning all-state competitor earning a ninth-place result last season, with West Covina’s Becky Osorio looking to elevate following an 11th-place performance, as well as Point Loma’s Isabella Ramos and Santa Margarita’s Alahna Thomas after finishing 12th and 13th, respectively.

Annie Ivarsson (Dana Hills, 11/23/2024)

Kylie Hoornaert, a senior at Prospect, is looking to continue momentum following her Central Coast Section title Nov. 16 at Crystal Springs to ascend after a 32nd-place finish in the state final last season.

Kylie Hoornaert (Prospect, 10/11/2024)

Santana sophomore Harper Diaz, the reigning San Diego Section champion, is motivated to improve from a 44th-place performance at last year’s state championship.

Harper Diaz (Santana, 10/26/2024)

Sage Creek’s Gabriella Peters, runner-up behind Diaz on Nov. 16 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field, is also looking to elevate after finishing 48th in the state race last season.

Emmy Angelo, a sophomore at Ponderosa, captured the Sac-Joaquin Section crown Nov. 16 at Willow Hills, and has potential to produce one of the biggest improvements in the division after achieving 82nd place in her state championship debut.

Arianna Diaz, the Central Section champion from Mt. Whitney, became the first female athlete in program history to eclipse the 19-minute barrier at Woodward Park by running 18:44.3 on Nov. 21 to secure the title.

Arianna Diaz (Mt. Whitney, 10/11/2024)

Diaz, who took 120th in her debut in the state final, is another sophomore that could elevate again with a significant performance Saturday.

By Erik Boal