Deep girls field highlights 45th ASICS Clovis Invitational, Jesuit boys face Crater High from Oregon

The 45th ASICS Clovis Invitational is already making history by being showcased over two days, with 30 races scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

But the event also has the potential to be memorable for several additional reasons, especially in the Bill Buettner Girls Championship race at 8:55 a.m. PDT Saturday, followed by the Rob Brenner Boys Championship competition, scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

The Bill Buettner Girls Championship competition has the elite athletes capable of producing the deepest race in Woodward Park history, including the ASICS Clovis Invitational, CIF Central Section finals, California state meet, as well as the Kinney and Foot Locker West Regionals.

Never has there been a girls race on the 5-kilometer layout with three competitors eclipsing the 17-minute barrier, but with returning winner Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High, as well as defending Division 1 state champion Rylee Blade from Corona Santiago – who also prevailed Sept. 21 in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at the 43rd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by ASICS America – plus three-time Division 3 state title holder Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery, Saturday could finally be the event that achieves the feat.

Reigning Division 4 state champ Chiara Dailey of La Jolla was scheduled to be part of the field, but decided to withdraw late in the week.

Rylee Blade of Corona Santiago and Chiara Dailey from La Jolla took the top two spots in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at the 43rd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by ASICS America | Photo courtesy of Ken Martinez

Engelhardt won last year at Clovis in a meet-record 16:39.3 and Blade placed second in 16:45.8. Thomsen and Dailey are both still searching for their first sub-17 efforts at Woodward Park.

All four individuals ran sub-15:45 on the 3-mile course Sept. 21 at Great Park in Irvine in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes competition at Woodbridge, with Blade securing victory in 15:20.3, a national high school cross country record.

Blade and Engelhardt both have the potential to challenge the all-time Woodward Park 5-kilometer performance of 16:30.3 established in 2017 by Claudia Lane of Malibu High at the Division 4 state final.

Thomsen will be joined in the field by teammate Seelah Kittelstrom, along with Corona Santiago’s Braelyn Combe, South Pasadena’s Abigail Errington, El Toro’s Gweneth Williams, Newport Harbor’s Keaton Robar, Dana Hills’ Annie Ivarsson, La Canada’s Maya de Brouwer, Claremont’s Grace Smith, Tesoro’s Mackenzie Forrest, Fresno Bullard’s Isabella Ramirez, Murrieta Valley’s Arielle Avina, Crescenta Valley’s Emilia Greenway and Summer Wilson of Irvine High, who won her season debut Saturday at the 43rd Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach.

After a record five athletes eclipsed the 15-minute mark in the Rob Brenner Boys Championship race last season, Evan Noonan of Dana Hills and Broen Holman from Sonora were expected to return from that group, but Noonan decided to withdraw late in the week.

The presence of Crater High from Oregon, led by Josiah Tostenson and Tayvon Kitchen, as well as California competitors Maximo Zavaleta of Martin Luther King, Landon Pretre from Menlo School, Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos, Griffin Kushen from Tesoro, Dylan Flores of Glendora, Conor Lott from Clovis North, Liam Miller of South Torrance, Miles Cook from Sacred Heart Cathedral, Oaks Christian’s Christian Yoder, Beckman’s Mason Nguyen, JSerra’s Bradley Arrey, Hueneme’s J.R. Lesher, Luke Sanders of Buchanan, with teammates Benjamin Fernandez and Hunter Hannah from Matilda Torres provide enough potential in the field to equal or surpass last year’s remarkable boys performance.

Holman clocked 14:46.4 in the Division 4 state final and Stefanopoulos prevailed in 14:58.4 in the Division 2 state championship last season.

Tostenson and Kitchen, who both ran sub-13:45 on the 3-mile layout Sept. 21 at Great Park in the Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race at Woodbridge, have the potential to become the first competitors from outside California to secure the Rob Brenner Boys Championship victory since Elijah Armstrong from Pocatello High in Idaho in 2014.

The fastest 5-kilometer boys performance at Woodward Park by an out-of-state athlete is 14:30.9 by Leo Daschbach from Highland High in Arizona in 2019.

Crater, which took third as a team in the Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race at Woodbridge, has the potential to become the first program from outside California to win the Rob Brenner Boys Championship competition since it was added to the ASICS Clovis Invitational schedule in 2001.

Ivar Hokanson, Grant Headley, Maxwell Miracle and Preston Schmidt all produced sub-15 efforts at Woodbridge, along with Tostenson and Kitchen, and could help Crater become the first boys program from outside of California to eclipse the 77-minute barrier at Woodward Park.

Jesuit, which triumphed in the Jim Danner Championship race Sept. 28 at Nike Portland XC, is seeking its first boys championship at Clovis since 2005.

Isaac Abbott, Kyle Jakary, Matthew Ogilvie, Drake Hoferer, Navin Kadel, Lucas Alberts and Ryan Tait contributed to the victory for the Marauders in Oregon.

Jesuit boys team won the Jim Danner Championships race at Nike Portland XC | Photo courtesy of Ken Martinez

Now, Jesuit gets to square off Saturday against the top program in Oregon on California soil.

Menlo School, Martin Luther King, Bellarmine Prep and Great Oak – which won six consecutive Rob Brenner Boys Championship titles from 2014-19 – are also capable of contending for Saturday’s crown.

The past four programs to win the Bill Buettner Girls Championship race are all scheduled to compete Saturday, in addition to Ventura and Corona Santiago, the two California programs that finished second and third Sept. 21 in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at Woodbridge.

Ventura also won the Division 2 state championship last year at Woodward Park, with Corona Santiago securing its first Division 1 state crown.

Audrey Buckley, Taylor Davis, Kinsley Whitecavage and Lauren Reightley all achieved sub-18 performances for Corona Santiago at Woodbridge in support of Blade and Combe.

Corona Santiago girls won the Sundown Showdown race at the ASICS Cool Breeze Invitational | Jimmy Su photo

Melanie True, Aelo Curtis, Sophie Nuckols and Tiffany Sax supported Engelhardt with sub-17:30 marks for Ventura at Woodbridge.

JSerra is the reigning champion at Clovis, in addition to capturing the past three Division 4 state titles at Woodward Park.

The Lions have the most to gain with a strong effort Saturday, with Reese Holley looking to add a potential boost to a JSerra lineup that needs Sophie Polay, Chloe Elbaz, Kaia Streadbeck and Kaylah Tasser all performing well in order to build momentum for the second half of the season.

JSerra won the Bill Buettner girls championship race last year at the ASICS Clovis Invitational | Erik Boal photo

Buchanan prevailed on its home course to capture the Clovis crown in 2021 and took third last season.

Brooklyn Buckley, Kynzlee Buckley, Elle Lomeli, Molly Sundgren, Gaby Gutierrez and Avery Hutchison all produced sub-18 efforts at Woodbridge and the Bears will need to showcase similar depth at Woodward Park to remain in contention.

Los Altos secured the Bill Buettner Girls Championship race victory in 2022 and finished fifth last year.

Great Oak was the last girls program to repeat, winning six straight Bill Buettner Girls Championship titles from 2014-19.

Mountain View St. Francis, sixth in last year’s race and third at the Division 2 state final, is also entered, as well as Division 3 state title contender South Pasadena, plus Division 2 challengers Claremont and El Toro, along with Division 1 podium threat Del Norte.

Immanuel, which finished 16th in the Bill Buettner Girls Championship Race last season, returns to small school competition Friday, with Clara Riddle leading the Eagles, a Division 5 state title contender again following a runner-up effort last year.

Evie Marheineke of Archbishop Mitty is also scheduled to participate in the small school race, as well as Kylie Hoornaert from Prospect and Amelia Sarkisian of Brentwood.

Eleanor Raker of Galena High, who ran 17:54.1 last year at Woodward Park, is scheduled to race Friday in the medium schools competition, with another Nevada standout Taylor Dickey from North Valleys expected to run in the extra large schools section Saturday.

Cameron Macias of Clovis West and Kinga Czajkowska from Palo Alto are both entered Saturday in the large schools section, as well as Amrie Lacefield from Santa Rosa Montgomery and Grace Baxter of Granite Bay.

Blake Bay of Fresno Christian highlights the boys small school competition Friday, which also includes Yosemite High. Olly O’Connor of Viewpoint is scheduled to race in another section.

Kael Jex of Big Bear and Ryan Fitzpatrick from The Nueva School are expected to participate Friday in medium school competition.

Tyler Daillak from Paso Robles and Conner Machado of Monache are expected to compete Saturday in a large school race, with Hunter Skoglund from Redwood Visalia scheduled to participate in the extra large school field.