COTTONWOOD, CA - Coming into the 2019 fall season, the Chico High boys cross-country team faced the challenge of replacing six seniors who helped the Panthers in 2018 finish off the program's most successful season ever. But for those who returned, Chico head coach Kevin Girt wanted them to be sure of something- they would not be just a replacement team. They would pick up where the previous one left off. The Panthers took that message to heart Thursday during the Northern Section Cross Country Championships held at West Valley High.

Boys 3 Mile Championship

Led by Chico sophomore Mario Giannini, who won the varsity boys race in 16 minutes, 12.73 seconds, and senior Hunter Dougherty's runner-up finish in 16:33.02, the Panthers finished atop the overall team leaderboard with 38 points, well ahead of second-place Shasta's 72 points. They punched their ticket to the CIF Division III State Championships Nov. 30 in Fresno for the fourth straight year. This is the longest section winning streak since Lassen won four straight in the late 80s. By winning the race, Giannini, carried the torch passed on from his brother, Charlie. Charlie Giannini, now a freshman at Chico State, claimed two previous individual section titles in 2017 and 2018. When Mario Giannini crossed the finish line Thursday, big brother was among the first to congratulate him. "It means so much to me," said Mario Giannini. "I was running this for my brother. I just really wanted to make him proud, you know? It was really special to win this race."

The final results were a bit of a surprise, since all previous times Giannini raced Nick Torres it was a hotly contested affair usually coming down to a closing kick with the Enterprise senior usually prevailing. This time around it was a three way contest with Alexis Ramirez of Mt Shasta added to the mix. In fact it was probably Ramirez surge up the course's final hill that broke Torres and probably also contributed to Ramirez fading over the final mile by the pace set by Mario.

Dougherty's high finish in the section championships was far from a certainty since he was among the chase pack well back from the leading trio half way through. But he made the most of the opportunity, making all the necessary moves including using the 100 meter track finish of the 3-mile course to outkick Mt. Shasta's Alexis Ramirez. In sixth place entering the final mile, Dougherty began picking runners off one by one. Dougherty, with each passing move, said he gained the necessary energy and vigor to make a final push.

Dougherty talked about his attitude adjustment coming into his final cross country season by expressing disappointment with his junior season by acknowledging that he didn't train enough to see improvements. This past summer, he decided he wanted his final season to be different. He dedicated many days to running in Bidwell Park, north of 400 miles total for the summer. And, he was constantly reminded of Girt's message to this year's boys team. "A lot of people don't realize what runners do to accomplish these feats," Dougherty said. "It takes a lot of time and many, many miles to accomplish what we're doing. As an individual, I feel so happy that I was able to accomplish a goal that I was working on so hard. I never thought I was going to finish second at sections, but from the work I put in, I was able to do it."

Senior Alan Nava, the lone returner from last year's team that placed seventh at the CIF D-III state race, took 10th place individually Thursday by clocking a time of 16:56.04. Andre Mota (16th), Liam Sehorn (18th), Benjamin Wun (19th) and Jack Hervey (20th) rounded out the Panthers' lineup.

The Panthers' mojo carried over to the ensuing varsity girls race, where Chico's team earned a first-place finish with 47 points, narrowly topping Foothill's 49 points. Chico senior Nahkia Clements led Chico to a third-place finish (19:37.01), while sophomores Sophie Sims and Una Griffith finished fourth and seventh, respectively. The individual title also started out as a three way affair with University Prep teammates Grace Gaddy and Becca Gaido joined by Simms. The two UPrep runner ran away from Simms in the hills and never looked back to take the top two spots with Gaddy, last spring's 1600 section runnerup, crossing the line first in 19:17.71. Gaido, along with Clemants, are the section's most improved runners. Clements is particularly noteworthy as she improved two minutes over last year injury plagued season and a minute over her best on the course set her sophomore year. Like last track season, most of her training is done in the pool.

The girls varsity race revisited a longstanding battle between Chico and Foothill. The Cougars edged the Panthers by a mere point at last year's section championships, which kept Chico from advancing its whole team to state. This season, Foothill won the first regular season meeting, before Chico finished ahead of Foothill in each ensuing race. At least, that was until Foothill dominated the Eastern Athletic/Sacramento River League championships last week, nearly sweeping Chico by claiming the first four spots.

Still, Girt said the Panthers expected an improved result Thursday, and they got it. "I knew we were going to run better today; it was just a matter of how much better," Girt said. "I like this feeling better- let's put it that way. It was a fun race. Our kids ran great, every single one of them." The result was especially fitting for the senior Clements, who qualified for state as a freshman, before injuries plagued parts of her sophomore and junior seasons. The team crafted a very particular training regimen for her this season, which has kept her healthy during the stretch run. "I really wanted it," Clements said. "When I woke up this morning, I felt very confident and very ready to race."



Girls 3 Mile Championship

While Clements moved up from fifth to third during the course of the race, Sims held firm in the top five and Griffith followed in the next group. Amanda Harris (15th), Iresh Molina (19th), Grace Becker (21st) and Della Molina (23rd) all gave the Panthers the necessary points to top Foothill. "I think that I belong there, and so does my team," Clements said of the state championship stage. "We deserved to win that because we've been working hard all season for it."

Becker's race was particularly crucial, considering it was only her second time running a varsity distance. She was pulled up to the Panthers' top seven only last week after a couple of runners elected not to finish the season. "We pulled her up and she did amazing," Clements said. "She was such a (big) help." Foothill's top finishers were Claire Durbin (5th), Zoey Bishop (6th) and Emma Flynn (8th).

Individual state qualifiers for the girls were:
D-III - Foothill's Claire Durban, Zoey Bishop, Emma Flynn and Shasta's Lindie Larson & Kaili Crye.
D-IV - Orland's Anjaneesa Ward, Giselela Cruz, Paradise's Alandra Swangler, Yreka's Ceiba Cummings, CV's Marisa Doers,
D-V - Modoc's Jennifer Ruiz, Durham's Mikaela Murasko, Pierce's Ari Sanchez, Winters' Lilianna Rodriguez, Big Valley's Lauren Farber.

Girls team qualifiers: Chico in D-III, U-Prep & Sutter in D-IV, Etna in D-V.

Individual state qualifiers for the boys were:
D-III - Pleasant Valley's David Smith paced the Vikings to a 12th-place finish to qualify for state. He will be joined by Shasta's Thomas MacLean, Dylan Jackson & Luke Bland.
D-IV - Enterprise's Nick Torres, West Valley's Marcus Francescut, Yreka's Jade Wilder & Elijah Higelin and Paradise's Patrick Roehling, who earned his fourth trip to the D-IV state championship.
D-V qualifiers were Mt Shasta's Ramirez & Hering, Winters' Brandon Colter, Weed's Ryan Mitchell and Willow's Matthew Garcia.

Boys team qualifiers: Chico in D-III, Sutter & UPrep in D-IV, Colusa in D-V.