Foot Locker West Regional Preview

Chiara Dailey of La Jolla High and Concord De La Salle standout Trey Caldwell both return Saturday to the Foot Locker West Regional at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, each athlete pursuing a third consecutive appearance in the national final.

The girls 5-kilometer regional final is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. PST, with the boys championship race held at 10:50 a.m. 

The top 10 finishers in each regional final secure the opportunities to participate Dec. 14 at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships at Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego.

Chiara Dailey (La Jolla, 12/2/2023)

Reena Hsieh (#32, Arcadia, 12/2/2023)

Dailey, a junior, joins Arcadia High’s Reena Hsieh and fellow senior Eleanor Raker from Galena High in Nevada as returning girls national finalists expected to race again Saturday at Mt. SAC.

Trey Caldwell (Concord De La Salle, 12/9/2023)

Caldwell and fellow senior Kade Brownell from Mt. Spokane High in Washington are part of the boys regional championship field, both seeking return trips to San Diego.

Broen Holman, a senior at Sonora High in California, advanced to the Foot Locker national final in 2022 and placed 22nd.

Broen Holman (Sonora, 10/12/2024)

Holman, who is returning to compete Saturday in the boys regional final at Mt. SAC, produced a 26th-place performance at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon last year.

Dailey is attempting to become the first female athlete to win back-to-back regional titles since Claudia Lane of Malibu High in 2016-17. Lane went on to win national championships both seasons.

Dailey is also looking to qualify to compete in the national final for a third year in a row, with the last girls competitor from the West to achieve the feat being Makena Morley of Bigfork High in Montana advancing all four seasons in 2011-14.

Dailey has secured All-America honors in both years at the Foot Locker national final, finishing 14th as a freshman and improving to 11th last season.

Caldwell is also attempting to become a three-time national finalist after finishing 30th as a sophomore and improving to 25th last year.

Conner Mantz of Sky View High in Utah and John Dressel from Mt. Spokane in Washington are the last male athletes to represent the West in three consecutive national finals, both advancing in 2012-14.

Brownell also had an opportunity to represent Mt. Spokane on Saturday at Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course in Oregon after finishing fourth Nov. 16 at the Nike Northwest Regional in Idaho.

Dailey won back-to-back California Division 4 girls state titles Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno, achieving the fastest female performance of the meet on the 5-kilometer course in 16:44.4, also providing her with the option to compete Saturday at NXN in Portland.

Brownell and Dailey both decided, instead, to add to their legacies at the Foot Locker West Regional, along with Caldwell, Holman, Hsieh and Raker.

Hsieh earned a 28th-place finish in the national final last season, with Raker capturing 35th in the girls championship race.

Brownell placed 38th in the boys final in San Diego.

Along with Caldwell, Brownell and Holman, the boys regional championship is expected to include California Division 1 state champion Conor Lott from Clovis North, runner-up Arrin Sagiraju of Dougherty Valley and third-place finisher Luke Sanders from Buchanan, along with sub-15 competitors at Woodward Park in South Torrance’s Liam Miller, Corona del Mar’s Max Douglass, Benjamin Bouie of Crystal Springs Uplands, Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos and Tyler Daillak of Paso Robles.

Conor Lott (#164, Clovis North, 12/2/2023)

James Millare, a junior at Moanalua in Hawaii, Clayton Wilson of Siuslaw in Oregon, Zane Lindquist from Teton in Wyoming, Cooper Boyle of Tahoma in Washington, Corbin Johnston from North Fremont in Idaho, Benjamin Finlinson of Lincoln County in Nevada, Benjamin Benally from Valley Lutheran in Arizona are also state champions expected to be in the boys regional final.

Utah is scheduled to showcase Hayden Hooper of Bountiful, Cooper Bybee from Lone Peak, Talmage Bruschke of Viewmont, Bridger Jaggi from Pine View, Diederik Witt of Timpanogos and Riverton teammates Landon Nunley and Christian Ruf, with Nevada featuring Peyton Miller from Spanish Springs and Justin Rawe of Shadow Ridge, in addition to Organ Mountain teammates Corbin Coombs and Jeron Wisner representing New Mexico.

Yohanes Van Meerten from Flagstaff High in Arizona, Vincent Recupero of Bishop Blanchet in Washington and Josiah Tostenson from Crater High in Oregon are also elite entries in the boys championship race.

Josiah Tostenson (Crater, 10/12/2024)

California is also expected to showcase Division 5 girls state champion Amelia Sarkisian from Brentwood School, in addition to fellow sub-18 competitors at Woodward Park, including Santa Rosa Montgomery teammates Seelah Kittelstrom and Amrie Lacefield, Palo Alto’s pair of Kinga Czajkowska and Amaya Bharadwaj and the Newport Harbor tandem of Keaton Robar and Marley McCullough, plus Chula Vista Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams, Carol Dye of San Juan Hills, Tesoro’s Amber Dazey, Katja Dunayevich of Canyon Crest Academy, Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum, Claremont’s Grace Smith, El Toro’s Gweneth Williams, Ventura’s Aelo Curtis, Santa Monica’s Phoebe Benun, Patterson’s Natalie Arriaza, Rancho Cucamonga’s Nicole Alfred, Arcadia’s Charlotte Hopkins, West Covina’s Becky Osorio, Santana’s Harper Diaz, Riverbank’s Giselle Fernandez, Granite Bay’s Grace Baxter and Lick Wilmerding’s Ella Mogannam.

 

Amelia Sarkisian (Brentwood, 12/2/2023)

Sadie Krueger of Moanalua, Kate Henderson from Sandia Prep in New Mexico and Kambri Felsted of Spanish Springs are additional state champions in the girls regional championship race, with Cassidy Armstrong from Ballard High in Washington, Alexis Bradshaw of Higley High in Arizona, in addition to Oregon standouts Caldera’s Maddie Carney and Lakeridge’s Hannah Huyler also scheduled to compete.

Utah is expected to highlight Adria Favero from Olympus, Emery’s Addyson Guymon, Bonneville’s Avery Barton, Highland’s Maddie Reeder, Green Canyon’s Charlotte Felt and Park City’s Tatum Flach in the girls regional final.

By Erik Boal