After sweeping state track and field team championships in the spring, both programs capture Division 1 cross country titles in final tuneups for California state meet

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

It doesn’t matter whether it’s track and field or cross country, 2019 has been the year for the Clovis North boys and Buchanan girls in California.

Clovis North followed its first state track and field title with its first CIF Central Section boys cross country crown Thursday, defeating Buchanan and Clovis West for the Division 1 championship at Fresno’s Woodward Park, the same course in which California’s state meet will be contested Nov. 30.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

In all, 10 division titles were awarded, including a rout by Buchanan – the defending girls state track and field champions – in the Division 1 girls race for its fourth consecutive title and 21st overall, plus a host of narrow victories in other divisions.

And perhaps the section’s most well-known runners, seniors Isaiah Galindo of Clovis North and Corie Smith of Buchanan, won impressive individual Division 1 titles.

Galindo prevailed in one of the more entertaining races, winning the final run of the day in 15 minutes, 14.79 seconds. Paso Robles senior Damian Gavilan was second in 15:19.62 and hard-charging Bakersfield Liberty senior Ethan Jones was third in 15:30.41.

Breaking through with two titles was a long-awaited accomplishment for Galindo.

“It’s definitely a lot,” Galindo said. “Starting from my freshman year and always wanting to be the top dog in the Valley and always working toward it, I always fell a little short every single time.

“I think now that I’m finally a senior, I’ve matured quite a bit,” he added. “It definitely feels nice.”

The Broncos also got top-10 performances from seniors Nicholas Carter (seventh, 15:53.11) and Joshua Ochoa (10th, 15:57.94) to prevail against Tri-River Athletic Conference rival Buchanan by a 59-88 margin

Galindo defeated Gavilan, runner-up for the second year in a row, and appeared in control throughout the 5-kilometer race Thursday.

Smith just made it look easy.

She moved out quickly to a big lead and never looked back, winning in 17:15.56, 50 seconds ahead of freshman Erika Nyberg of Clovis East for her third career individual championship.

Freshman teammate Sydney Sundgren was third in 18:09.85, followed by sophomore Kaylee Elliott (sixth, 18:34.38), freshman Caroline Mendyk (seventh, 18:35.51) and senior Mia Jauregui (ninth, 18:41.17) rounding out top-10 scorers for the Bears.

“For me, it was more just about the team doing well,” said Smith, whose Bears tallied 26 points to runner-up Arroyo Grande’s 118.

“That’s our main goal right now. Everyone knows what I can do.”

Bakersfield Ridgeview moved up a division and repeated as a section champion by a narrow margin. Seniors Alex Cuevas and Ased Adus led the way, placing second and third, respectively, in 15:55.82 and 15:57.99, as Ridgeview edged San Luis Obispo, 53-60. Third-place Sanger scored 77.

“We all kind of learned we have to work for whatever we want to get to,” Cuevas said. “And now in Division 2, obviously, it was a little tougher, but I think me and the guys handled it really well. We’ve just been putting in work constantly throughout the whole season. It kind of paid off today.”

Highland junior Jacob Yagers won the division’s individual title by seven seconds in 15:48.91.

Yagers broke away from a pack of five just after the second-mile hill. Then the pack caught back up to him before a second surge in the third mile moved him into the lead.

“I think everybody always tries to strategize and have a strategy to the race,” Yagers said. “It’s very rare that it goes exactly how you want it. What I like to say is plan for your plans to change.”

Senior Unique Ford of Madera repeated as a section-title winner in Division 2 in 18:15.51. That didn’t get Madera a team win, though, as San Luis Obispo topped a four-way, 14-point scrum for its second straight title with 59 points, followed by Sanger with 62, Paso Robles with 65 and Madera’s 73.

Only the top two teams in Division 2 advanced to the state meet.

Paso Robles sophomore Charlotte Castelli was second in 18:30.15, Sanger sophomore Nia Lamas was third in 18:32.28 and junior Grace Rubio led San Luis Obispo with a fourth-place showing in 18:53.94.

“I feel like my mindset was way different,” said Ford, who improved her winning time from 2018 by 35 seconds. “I went into this race thinking I was going to take first. Last year, I wasn’t really sure.”

Fresno Central enjoyed a banner day in the Division 3 boys race, earning its first section title in cross country.

Senior Abel-Rudisha Teffra set the tone early, racing out to a huge lead en route to a win in 15:41.40, 45 seconds better than runner-up Cameron McFarlin of Coalinga, the reigning Division 4 champion who moved up this season.

Central, which also got a fourth-place finish from junior Abesolom-Bekele Teffra (16:52.07) and a seventh-place showing from Alex Canales (16:58.82), had one of the biggest wins of the day with 35 points. Bakersfield Frontier was second with 113.

On the girls’ side in Division 3, Fresno Sunnyside senior Jessica Valles won her second straight title by a similarly large margin in 18:52.77, with Bakersfield Highland’s Haley Ulloa placing second in 19:36.08.

But the team victory was, like the boys, a program first. Edison, led by junior Sarah Renberg (third, 19:47.73), edged Corcoran 92-95 for the title, relying on some timely help from junior Kennedy Jennings, the reigning section 800-meter champion who was the Tigers’ No. 2 scorer in 21st place, despite competing in only her second race this season.

“I’m really excited,” Renberg said. “The last two years, I’ve been coming (to state) as an individual, but now I know I can with the team and we can all be united.”

Senior Jorge Sanchez, who had never run cross country previous to this season, led Porterville to a team championship in Division 4 in a 17-point victory over Chowchilla.
Sanchez, who only started running track and field last year, won in 16:42.66.

After three previous top-five finishes in her career, Bishop Union senior Rachel Fitt (18:45) earned the girls win in Division 4, rallying in the last mile to outstep Yosemite sophomore Clover Cicoletti (18:48.89).

The team crown, however, went to Nipomo. Led by sophomore Illiana Murguia (sixth, 20:02.45), the Titans defeated second-place Yosemite, 60-78.

And in its first year in the Central Section, Mammoth produced team and individual victories for both the boys and girls.

Junior Ryan Furness and sophomore Iain Ferguson led a 1-2 finish as Mammoth won by 30 points over Liberty Madera Ranchos in the boys race. Jordyn Harper’s victory in 19:51.56 on the girls side helped Mammoth to a 41-60 victory over Sierra Pacific.

The Bears moved over this season from the Southern Section, which meant running a section final meet at Woodward Park in Fresno instead of Riverside.

Both Harper and Furness have had the unique experience of postseason competition in the Southern and Central sections.

“I definitely prefer the Central Section,” Harper said. “The races are definitely better. Southern Section is extremely competitive. I feel like, for our school, this is definitely a better section for us.”