CHICO, CA -- Typical fall weather greeted participants, coaches, parents and friends as sunny, yet cool conditions were on hand for their mid-morning arrival at Hooker Oak Recreation Area. Temperatures would soar from the upper 40s for those arriving early to the middle 80s by mid afternoon when final competition of the nine race event was contested.
The competition was divided into nine races, four varsity 5K races and three 3380m races with one for frosh/soph boys, a second for frosh/soph & JV girls and final high school race for JV/open boys. The last two races on the day were 1.3 mile race for middle school boys and girls. Both the varsity boys and varsity girls races were separated with each team's 1-3 runners competing in one race and the 4-7 runners competing in the other. The idea behind this unique race procedure was to allow mid pack runners to have a chance to win a race. In the end though the two boys and two girls races were combined to determine the overall team score and meet champion. Scoring and team titles were also done for the frosh/soph races.
On paper this meet was to be a good mid-season check how teams and individuals would stack up at the section championships held in a little over a month's time. All the major players (& teams) from the Northern Section doing well this season were expected to be there (only West Valley & Lassen were absent). For the varsity boys this proved to be true. For the varsity girls, not so much. The top three from last year's race were absent. Last year's winner Pleasant Valley's Holly Alchin was held out by her coaches to rest a sore calf. Runner up Chico Ava-Marie Csutoras was there but felt too uncomfortable to race. Shasta's top runner Elizabeth Merrill, third a year ago and last year's league champion, maintained her elusive status this season by missing her fifth of the Wolves seven races. On the plus side CORE Butte's top runner Brianna Hayes made her seasonal debut by running varsity 4-7 race where she finished second.
The varsity boys 1-3 race was expected to be the second head-to-head matchup between Trinity's Jackson Poburko and PV's Jackson Hein. The first was at the De La Salle Invitational nearly a month ago where Poburko was 11 seconds better. They both ran the Clovis Invitational earlier this month but on different days. It was arguably Poburko worse race of the year and Hein's best. The battle of the Jackson did not disappoint. While the opening mile was led by Nevada Union's Josh Griffin, looming not too far behind was Poburko shadowed very closely by Hein. The next half mile would see the two take over the lead over the fading Miner senior. Reversing the track of the opening mile, Poburko would slowly pull away from his closest pursuer and come home with a sufficient gap to be unworried by his section rival's lethal kick. Griffin would hold on to third while teammate Rowan Henry took a more conservative approach into coming from behind in finishing fourth. The Viking seniors Nolan McLaughlin and Quentin Clarke would take the next two places which combined with teammates Lucas Jimenez win and Mark Doud third place finish in the varsity 4-7 race for an overall place of tenth ( & 17th) which would give the team's scoring five the win over determined crews from runnerup University Prep and third place Nevada Union.
Less drama in the varsity girls 1-3 race as only Chico's Taylor Wellersdick went out with Orland's Paulina Martins, whose summer of consistent training makes her the odds-on favorite to win the section's cross country title. The Panther junior foray in the lead pack didn't last the opening mile but she would hold her own and wasn't seriously challenged to run a lonely second most of the race. Martins would win by almost a minute, finishing with a fine sub 19 minute result on the mostly flat yet surprising challenging course. Wellersdick was the only other runner under 20 minutes (last year there were three but none under 19 min). Cosumnes Oaks Brianna Williams and Tea Kaizen of Central Valley were locked in a battle for third with the Falcon junior leading for about two-thirds of the race before fading late. The loss of Csutoras did not hurt Chico as the Panthers were buoyed by Ally Sasaki's win in the varsity 4-7 race in a time that proved to be the sixth fastest on the day. Kelan Payne, Lillian Jeffords and Mollie Shewey by finishing 11th, 14th and 15th respectively put all five scorers in before any other team had more than one.
In the frosh/soph races Pleasant Valley won the boys race with a low score of 47 points to edge runner-up Westmont by five points and third place Chico by eight. The Vikings were buoyed by teammates Juan-Rigby Lugo and Owen Johnson 1-2 finish with times among the top ten all-time 2.1 mile course. The girls version of the race, which did include some upper classmen although they weren't relevant in the scoring, saw Chico sweep the field scoring a minimum of 15 points by taking six of the first seven places (Ellie Cleek of Providence Christian was a non-scoring second place finisher). Chico freshman Harper Ducale, running her first race since spraining an ankle in practice, won with the third fastest time on the course.
Up next many of the same cast of characters will take part in the Eastern Athletic League's second center meet on this same course in four days time.
