Chiara Dailey, Trey Caldwell seek third straight berths at cross country national finals from Foot Locker West Regional

Chiara Dailey earned the opportunity to compete in a national final in Oregon, but she was determined to return to the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships and decided to race Saturday at the West Regional at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.

Dailey, a junior at La Jolla High in California, is among five returning Foot Locker national qualifiers expected to compete Saturday in the championship races at Mt. SAC, looking to advance again to race Dec. 14 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego, Calif.

The girls 5-kilometer regional final is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. PST at Mt. SAC, with the boys championship race at 10:50 a.m.

The top 10 finishers in each regional final secure the opportunities to participate the following week in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Dailey is pursuing a third consecutive appearance at the Foot Locker girls national final, along with Trey Caldwell of Concord De La Salle seeking a berth in the boys national championship for the third year in a row.

Conner Mantz of Sky View High in Utah and John Dressel from Mt. Spokane in Washington are the last male athletes to represent the West in three consecutive national finals, both advancing in 2012-14.

Caldwell achieved 30th in 2022 in his debut at the national final, improving to 25th last year.

Trey Caldwell of Concord De La Salle | Photo courtesy of Foot Locker

Dailey, along with Eleanor Raker of Galena High in Nevada, as well as fellow senior Reena Hsieh from Arcadia High of California, are the returning national finalists in the girls regional field, with Kade Brownell of Mt. Spokane in Washington and Caldwell among the leading contenders in the boys regional championship race, in addition to 2022 Foot Locker national qualifier Broen Holman, a senior from Sonora High in California.

Holman captured 22nd at the 2022 Foot Locker championship, before finishing 26th at NXN last year.

Hsieh achieved a 28th-place performance in the national final last season, with Raker taking 35th.

Reena Hsieh of Arcadia | Photo courtesy of Foot Locker

Dailey captured back-to-back California Division 4 girls state titles Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno, achieving the fastest female performance of the meet on the 5-kilometer course in 16:44.4, giving her the opportunity to race Saturday at Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore.

But Dailey was focused on having the chance to repeat as regional champion, looking to become the first back-to-back West girls winner since Malibu’s Claudia Lane in 2016-17.

Dailey is also looking to qualify to compete in the national final for a third year in a row, with the last girls competitor from the West to achieve the feat being Makena Morley of Bigfork High in Montana advancing all four seasons in 2011-14.

Dailey has earned All-America honors in both appearances at the Foot Locker national final, finishing 14th as a freshman and improving to 11th last season.

Brownell finished fourth Nov. 16 at the Nike Northwest Regional at Eagle Island State Park in Idaho, also securing an automatic berth to participate at NXN, but he chose to return to Mt. SAC, seeking an improvement on his eighth-place effort at Foot Locker West last season.

Brownell placed 38th in the Foot Locker national championship last year.

In addition to Caldwell, Brownell and Holman, the boys regional championship is expected to include California Division 1 state champion Conor Lott from Clovis North, runner-up Arrin Sagiraju of Dougherty Valley and third-place finisher Luke Sanders from Buchanan, along with sub-15 competitors at Woodward Park in South Torrance’s Liam Miller, Corona del Mar’s Max Douglass, Benjamin Bouie of Crystal Springs Uplands, Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos and Tyler Daillak of Paso Robles.

Conor Lott of Clovis North | Ken Martinez photo

In addition to Dailey, sophomore Amelia Sarkisian, the Division 5 state winner from Brentwood School, is another California state champion scheduled to compete in the girls regional final.

Amelia Sarkisian of Brentwood, left, with Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School and Ella Mogannam from Lick Wilmerding | Ken Martinez photo

California is also expected to showcase additional sub-18 competitors on the 5-kilometer layout at Woodward Park including Chula Vista Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams, Carol Dye of San Juan Hills, Tesoro’s Amber Dazey, Katja Dunayevich of Canyon Crest Academy, Temescal Canyon’s Megan Crum, Claremont’s Grace Smith, El Toro’s Gweneth Williams, Ventura’s Aelo Curtis, Santa Rosa Montgomery teammates Seelah Kittelstrom and Amrie Lacefield, Santa Monica’s Phoebe Benun, the Newport Harbor tandem of Keaton Robar and Marley McCullough, the Palo Alto pair of Kinga Czajkowska and Amaya Bharadwaj, Patterson’s Natalie Arriaza, Rancho Cucamonga’s Nicole Alfred, Arcadia’s Charlotte Hopkins, West Covina’s Becky Osorio, Santana’s Harper Diaz, Riverbank’s Giselle Fernandez, Granite Bay’s Grace Baxter and Lick Wilmerding’s Ella Mogannam.