Foot Locker West Regional Recap

Tyler Daillak didn’t get the California state championship he aspired to win, but the Paso Robles High senior standout still has an opportunity to compete in a national final and be in contention for All-America honors following his impressive performance Saturday at the Foot Locker West Regional at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

Tyler Daillak (Paso Robles HS, CA, 12/7/2024)

Daillak, the Central Section Division 2 champion, became the second straight male athlete from California to win the 5-kilometer regional championship race at Mt. SAC, following Josh Chu of Ponderosa last season.

Daillak prevailed in 15 minutes, 27.4 seconds to lead five California boys competitors advancing to participate Dec. 14 in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships at Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego.

The top 10 athletes in each gender will represent the West Region in the national final.

Daillak rebounded in impressive fashion after not finishing the Division 2 state final Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno, despite being in the top three at the 2-mile mark.

A more efficient and methodical approach Saturday at Mt. SAC allowed Daillak to move up from fifth place at the mile split to grab the lead by the 2-mile mark and maintain command the rest of the way.

Kade Brownell of Mt. Spokane High in Washington secured second in 15:34.0, earning a return trip to compete at the Foot Locker final following a 38th-place effort last season.

Kade Brownell (Mt. Spokane HS, WA, 12/7/2024)

Brownell is the first Washington boys competitor to qualify for the national championship in consecutive years since Tibebu Proctor of The Northwest School in 2015-16.

Yohanes Van Meerten of Flagstaff High in Arizona took third in 15:34.5, the first male athlete from his state to advance since 2009.

Trey Caldwell of Concord De La Salle finished fourth in 15:34.9, achieving a third consecutive berth to race for a national championship.

Yohanes Van Meerten (#144, Flagstaff HS, AZ) and Trey Caldwell (#101, Concord De La Salle HS, CA, 12/7/2024)

Caldwell, the North Coast Section Division 2 winner, is the first boys competitor from the West Region to qualify three years in a row since Conner Mantz from Sky View High in Utah and John Dressel of Mt. Spokane in Washington both achieved the feat in 2012-14.

Caldwell placed 30th in San Diego in 2022 and improved to 25th last season.

Josiah Tostenson of Crater High in Oregon captured fifth in 15:38.1, Corbin Coombs from Organ Mountain High in New Mexico earned eighth in 15:38.7 – becoming the first male athlete from the state to advance since 2018 – and Vincent Recupero of Bishop Blanchet in Washington grabbed 10th in 15:45.2.

Josiah Tostenson (Crater HS, OR, 12/7/2024)

Max Douglass of Corona del Mar, the Southern Section Division 4 winner, secured sixth in 15:38.3, with Division 1 state champion Conor Lott from Clovis North placing seventh in an identical time.

Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos, the Central Coast Section Division 2 champion, took ninth in 15:41.5, improving from a 14th-place regional performance in 2022.

California will also be represented in the girls national final by five athletes, but it was junior Cassidy Armstrong of Ballard High in Washington who emerged as the regional champion in 17:42.0.

Cassidy Armstrong (Ballard HS, WA, 12/7/2024)

Armstrong became the first Washington female athlete since Sarah Schwald of Mead High in 1989 to capture the regional title.

Chiara Dailey of La Jolla not only led three San Diego Section girls competitors who will have the opportunity to race close to home in a national championship by placing second in 18:04.2, but she also overcame illness to achieve her third straight appearance at the Foot Locker final.

Chiara Dailey (La Jolla HS, CA, 12/7/2024)

Dailey, who won the regional title last year, is the first female athlete from the West Region to advance three years in a row since Makena Morley of Bigfork High in Montana qualified all four seasons in 2011-14.

Dailey has earned All-America honors in her previous two appearances in the national final.

Jaelyn Williams from Chula Vista Eastlake took third in 18:11.5 and Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School finished seventh in 18:27.6, joining Dailey in earning the opportunity to race at the familiar venue of Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

Jaelyn Williams (Chula Vista Eastlake HS, CA, 12/7/2024)

A pair of Utah competitors in Adria Favero from Olympus (18:17.4) and Tatum Flach of Park City (18:25.2) grabbed fourth and fifth, respectively.

Adria Favero (Olympus HS, UT, 12/7/2024)

Tatum Flach (Park City HS, UT, 12/7/2024)

Sadie Krueger, a freshman at Moanalua High, became the first female competitor from Hawaii to qualify since 2004 and only the third in meet history by securing sixth in 18:27.3.

Erika Kirk of Vista Murrieta earned eighth in 18:28.1 and Nicole Alfred from Rancho Cucamonga took ninth in 18:29.5, completing the quintet of California girls national finalists.

Eleanor Raker of Galena High in Nevada advanced for the second year in a row, achieving 10th in 18:30.4.

Raker was runner-up at the regional final last year, before placing 35th at the national championship in San Diego.

Raker became the first Nevada female athlete to advance to consecutive national finals since Mel Lawrence of Reno qualified all four seasons in 2003-06.

By Erik Boal