COTTONWOOD, CA - It took a record-breaking performance for the top-ranked Shasta High boys cross country team to prove it belongs atop the section's elite. And after finishing first overall at the Northern Section cross country championships at West Valley High School on Thursday in a boys record team time of 82 minutes, 41 seconds, the Wolves can now etch their names at the top of the section's all-time best. Shasta won the overall boys section title by scoring 47 points to edge returning section and state Division IV champ Yreka (56) along the way. Yreka broke the section record as well(1:22:57), but was still 16 seconds slower than Shasta. The Miners had reset the boys record last year at 1:30:00 after Enterprise broke the long standing record held by Lassen the previous year.

Boys 3 Mile Championship
The boys race missed the actual storm, but runners had to deal with its effects as several among the 179 finished the race looking like a Jackson Pollock canvas with mud just about everywhere including spots dabbled on their jerseys and plenty more all over their legs. "It was so muddy. I slipped in a lot of places," said Durham senior Ryder Pisenti, who was 40th in 17:37 and qualified for state as one of the top 12 in Division V.

Defending section champion John Whelan of Etna, who also is the state's top-ranked D-V runner in the state, won the race in 15:30, beating his previous best time on the course set earlier this season by less than a second. His wire to wire performance was the third-best time ever on the West Valley course, behind Liberty Christian's Tim Nelson's 15:01 in 2002 and Enterprise's Domenic D'Acquisto's 15:20 in 2010. . Chico senior Chris Midkiff took second overall in 16:02 with an impressive closing kick to beat Shasta's Landon Woollard to the finish line. The time was Midkiff's personal record by 11 seconds, he said. "I wanted second, so I just told myself to do it," said Midkiff, who passed and pulled away from Woollard late in the closing mile. "It was, 'Go right now or don't go at all.'"

Junior Landon Woollard, although losing out in the battle for the runnerup spot, was the lead dog (16:07) for the section winning Wolves being followed in short order by senior teammates Hunter Jensen (16:15) and Blake Zufall (16:18) to have three finishers in the top five, all before any Yreka runner. It's a big punch to go three-four-five and have a pack finish so close like that," Zufall said. "It's great to push that last part. Those last 400 meters, I passed five guys to take fifth. It's all guts from there and who wants it the most."

Shasta's other two runners' performances - sophomore Riley Davis (15th, 16:53) and junior Josh Bland (20th, 17:08) - helped the Wolves capture the Division III title for the first time since 2006. "The kids were really focused. They knew what they needed to do and did it," Shasta coach Doug O'Brien said. "They never complained about workouts this year. I even had to put the reins on them sometimes because they were running too much. "It's that dedication and hard work that helps them do what they did today."

Rounding out the top ten in the boys race were Yreka's Clayton Bunn in sixth (16:19), Yreka's Matt Jochim seventh (16:20) and Yreka's David Neill was ninth (16:25). Central Valley's Austin Murch finished 10th (16:26), West Valley's Ryan Stockton was 18th (17:02) and Redding Christian's Joey Belknap was 28th (17:14). Chico (72) finished third overall, West Valley (186) finished fourth, Corning (188) fifth and CV (225) sixth. Mount Shasta, the D-V champion, won with 254 points as Chris Cazneaux led the way in 25th place (17:11). Yreka and West Valley will represent D-IV at the state meet while Mount Shasta and Colusa are the boys D-V representatives. The state meet is on Nov. 24 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Joining Midkiff in qualifying for state were teammates Andris Molina, who was 14th in 16:53, Malcolm Hinz, who was 16th in 16:54, and Hector Damian, who was 17th in 16:57. Shasta beat Chico 47-72 for the D-III team title, and the Wolves won the overall title as they set a section record for best combined time by a team at 1:22:41. Yreka, which was second overall this year with 56 points and won the D-IV title, also bested its section mark of 1:23:00 set last year with a 1:22:57 time Thursday. Chico, though, nearly matched the previous record at 1:23:56 and had the only D-III individuals qualify for state. Etna's John Whelan, the defending section champion, won again Thursday. He covered the 3 miles in 15:30, delivering the third-fastest course time behind Liberty Christian's Tim Nelson's 15:01 in 2002 and Enterprise's Domenic D'Acquisto's 15:20 in 2010. Also advancing to the state meet, set for Saturday, Nov. 24, in Woodward Park in Fresno, include: Durham's Damon Young, who was ninth overall in 16:24, Corning's Jesus Diera, who was 11th in 16:31, and Corning's Rogelio Silva, who was 19th in 17:04.

 
Girls 3 Mile Championship
The skies opened up during the girls race of the Northern Section CIF Cross Country Championships pelting the runners with a bitter, cold rain and forceful hail that felt like "pins and needles." But qualifying for state made up for it as runners were able to made holiday weekend plans with strong performances Thursday at West Valley High. "Another Thanksgiving weekend in Fresno," said Chico cross country coach Kevin Girt, whose girls squad won the team title and lone state berth in Division III while four Panther boys got the consolation prize of qualifing for state in their losing effort to knock off Shasta for the DIII team title, "but it beats the alternative."

The West Valley girls team captured the overall section title thanks to sophomore Jenna Storms leading the way, finishing first in the race in 19:12. Storms, the top-ranked girls runner entering the championships, led the entire race and used her home course to navigate through the rain and hail. "To be able to train on this course and get a feel on how to run the hills and know where I can run harder really helps," Storms said. West Valley scored a 63, using a fourth-place finish from sophomore Megan James (19:51), 10th place from Alexa Flagg (20:01), 14th from Delaney Faggard (20:18) and 42nd from Teagan Perry (21:38).

Redding Christian freshman Belle Moran, running a fine race in adverse conditions took second in 19:23 qualifying for the state meet as an individual along with teammate Marisa Kume (20:35), who finished 18th.. Pleasant Valley senior Melanie Hickman took third among 138 runners in the 3-mile girls race with a time of 19 minutes, 38 seconds as she qualified for state once again. The previous two years at sections, Hickman placed fifth. "I've learned to expect the unexpected," Hickman said of the weather. "I tried to stay focused and keep pushing." She did with her businesslike approach, getting third after running among the lead pack until it broke up over the final mile. Others didn't have such an easy time after the elements hit. "There was a girl in front me who was crying, so I knew I wanted to pass her," said Durham junior Madison Schell, who did and finished seventh in 19:55.

U-Prep was second overall as a team to win the D-V championship with 74 points while Chico (100) was third, Mount Shasta (102) was fourth and Enterprise (146) fifth. Shasta (184) was seventh, Red Bluff (285) was ninth and Central Valley (298) 10th. U-Prep's Alyssa Stauffer finished sixth overall (19:54) while Enterprise's pair of sophomores Sydney Pruett (19:55) and Shalynn Fullerton (19:57) were eighth and ninth, respectively. The U-Prep D-V championship team included Helen Mino Faukner in 11th (20:06), Megan Hoffman (20:26) in 15th, Vanessa Dickerson (20:54) in 22nd and Elena Tiedeman (21:15) in 31st. Chico will represent D-III at state, while West Valley and Yreka in the D-IV race and U-Prep in D-V.

Durham's Madison Schell and Chico senior Azure Grant, who was 16th overall in 20:32, likened the weather to "pins and needles" hitting the runners, but both can hope for better conditions at the state meet a trip that Grant will make as a member of the Chico team after struggling with health issues much of the season. Schell will also make the trek as a qualifying individual. The Chico girls team was third overall with 100 points behind West Valley, the D-IV and overall champion, with 63 and University Prep, which was second with 74 and the D-V champ.

Chico sophomore Aly Lacko, who made huge strides in adjusting to her role as the Panther's top runner, claimed fifth overall in 19:54 who with her classmates, Molly Steindorf, who was 24th in 21:00, and Annie Jolliff, who was 25th in 21:05, helped the Panthers overcome the mid (and late) season absences of Grant and senior Kelsey Reed, to illness and injury. Luna Retzer completed Chico's scoring runners as she was 45th in 21:47.

Lacko, who wears glasses, had to ditch them during the race because the weather fogged them up. "I can't see far away," she said. "Sometimes on hills, I pretty much can't see (without them)." Still, Lacko, clutching her glasses in her right hand, ran better in the adverse condition than most down the stretch.

Other girls qualifying for state included Oroville's Rosy Reyes, who was 17th in 20:34, Pleasant Valley's Francesca Vecere, who was 19th in 20:42 and a second ahead of fellow Viking Ali Bettner, who was 20th in 20:43. Gridley's Brennah Payne was 40th in 21:34, and Averie Roberts was 46th in 21:50 to qualify as well.