WALNUT – It seemed unlikely that Trabuco Hills High senior Holly Barker would win both an individual and a CIF Southern Section Division 1 team title Saturday.
Although Trabuco Hills was the top-ranked program in Division 1 ahead of defending champion Corona Santiago, Barker was expected to finish second behind defending champion Rylee Blade, a Florida State-bound senior for the Sharks.
But Barker pulled off the upset, passing Blade in the final mile finishing the Mt. San Antonio College 3-mile course in 16:40.7 to lead the Mustangs to the team title in program history with a 36-67 victory.
Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
Junior teammate Millie Bayles was second for Trabuco Hills in 16:45.6, with Blade taking third (16:50.5).
“Winning (individually) wasn’t the first thing on my mind until maybe midway,” Barker said. “(The plan was) first mile, keep her in sight, go out with what I’m comfortable with, because the way we race is different. I really wanted to put it down in the second mile, inch closer and see what happens. I wasn’t sure what her race plan was, but I knew what mine was, run as well as I could that middle portion of the race, then finish on empty. Seeing her so close to me, gave me some confidence.”
Barker’s time was the best of the day on the revamped Mt. SAC course, which was used for the first time in a high school meet in October at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational.
Either the top seven (Division 1-4) or six (Division 5) teams in each Southern Section division, plus up to five individuals advance to the CIF State Championships on Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
While Blade was unable to repeat as Division 1 champion, Ventura senior Sadie Engelhardt captured her third consecutive Division 2 title.
Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
Engelhardt, who ran a 5-kilometer all-time best 16:24.2 at Woodward Park on Oct. 12 at the 45th ASICS Clovis Invitational, clocked 17:31.9 Saturday in a race where she was not trying to push the pace.
“The main goal was just to win,” she said. “As easy as possible. I wasn’t meant to push anything. My coach did say on the last 800 (meters) I could pick it up a little bit. I felt like I kept the same rhythm throughout.”
There was no doubt the toughest finish to a race Saturday was the Division 4 girls race.
La Canada senior Maya de Brouwer was leading the race by several seconds when her legs began to buckle and she collapsed about 10 meters from the finish.
She was passed by JSerra senior Sophie Polay, who won in 17:49.4, while de Brouwer recovered to stumble across the finish line and take second in 17:55.1.
JSerra won the team title for the fourth consecutive year and ninth time in program history with 29 points, easily beating Harvard-Westlake’s 102.
“I wasn’t favored to win the individual title, but I knew I had a shot,” Polay said. “I didn’t expect it to play out the way that it did. That (collapse) was really unexpected. I really hope she is OK.”
The fastest boys race of the day was in Division 2, where Tesoro’s Griffin Kushen won in 14:38.5, beating out Glendora’s Dylan Flores (14:54.2).
Griffin Kushen of Tesoro | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
“The goal was to win,” Kushen said. “It’s the postseason, to win, advance and get the state championship. It makes me even more excited to compete at state. It’s not going to be a walk in the park either.”
The boys side had a pair of three-peat individual champions: Dana Hills senior Evan Noonan (Division 3, 14:42.9), and Woodcrest Christian senior Eyan Turk (Division 5, 14:54.1), both the first athletes in their respective divisions to achieve the feat since the current Southern Section divisional structure was adopted in 1996.
Noonan didn’t post the best time of the day. But after missing time this season while figuring out dietary issues that had him struggling with his post-race recovery, his recovery was better Saturday.
Evan Noonan of Dana Hills | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
“I honestly just came for the win,” Noonan said. “And I just want to get a 1 for my team. Obviously, I was pushing it and Griffin just had a better day than me.
“(Previously), I would just be nervous on race day and I wouldn’t eat. I noticed I needed to fix something with eating. I talked to a nutritionist, and she said, ‘more sugar and more food.’”
Turk, who recently signed with Kentucky, wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but his focus is more on next week and repeating at state and possibly earning a spot at Nike Cross Country Nationals.
Eyan Turk of Woodcrest Christian | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
“It was a really good run,” Turk said. “I’m thankful to be able to come out here and race. I was hoping for a little faster, but it is what it is.”
There was some added drama related to the Division 2 races Thursday. Both of Ayala’s teams qualified for finals in Division 2 and the boys team was ranked No. 1 and seeking its first CIF team title in more than three decades.
But Ayala withdrew from both races after it was discovered that the school had incorrectly reported its enrollment numbers and should have been in Division 1.
Ayala’s Palomares League rival Glendora, No. 2 in the previous boys ranking, ended up winning the Division 2 title as the Tartans finished with 73 points ahead of La Serna (99).
“It’s so sad what happened to them,” Flores said of Ayala. “I’ve known those guys like my entire life. I wish they could’ve been able to race. It opened up the race for us, (but) we wish we could’ve seen what we could do against them.”
Other girls champions were: El Toro (Division 2 team), South Pasadena and senior Abigail Errington (Division 3 team and individual), Brentwood’s Amelia Sarkisian (Division 5) and St. Margaret’s (Division 5 team).
Other boys champions were: Martin Luther King’s Maximo Zavaleta (Division 1), Beckman (Division 1 team), Oak Park (Division 3 team), Oaks Christian (Division 4 team), Corona del Mar’s Max Douglass (Division 4) and Viewpoint (Division 5 team).
Although Engelhardt won her third consecutive Division 2 individual crown, El Toro was able to place five scorers in the top 35 – led by sophomore Gweneth Williams taking third in 17:46.6 – to capture the first team title in program history.
Errington also won her first Division 3 championship in 16:56.6, helping the Tigers – who elevated from Division 4 following last season – place five athletes in the top 30 to capture the first team title in program history with a 43-90 victory against Santa Margarita.
Errington improved from running 16:57.5 on Oct. 26 at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational, the fastest performance from both days at the event.
Abigail Errington of South Pasadena | Photo courtesy of Finished Results
St. Margaret’s secured back-to-back Division 5 girls team championships by a 99-137 margin against Cantwell-Sacred Heart, repeating for the first time since 2018-19.
Sarkisian became the first Brentwood female athlete to win the Division 5 individual crown since Bianca Pourmussa in 2016.
Zavaleta won the first Division 1 boys title in program history in 15:00.8 for King, which was unable to advance to state as a team following a ninth-place finish with 202 points.
Beckman produced five competitors in the top 35 to win its first Division 1 team crown in program history by an 83-94 margin against Great Oak.
Oaks Christian achieved the fastest team time of all five divisions combined, running 77:39, led by Christian Yoder (15:06.3) and Cooper McNee (15:11.9) taking second and third behind Douglass at 15;02.9 to win the first Division 4 boys championship in program history with a 43-72 victory against JSerra.
Olly O’Connor clocked 15:02.3 to place second behind Turk in the Division 5 boys final, leading the Patriots to a third consecutive team title by a 60-104 margin against St. Margaret’s.
Oak Park, led by Grant Jones taking 10th in 15:38.8 to guide five scorers in the top 40, won its first team crown since 2003 by holding off South Pasadena with a 107-116 victory in the Division 3 boys final.