Cross-Country roundup: Wildcats boy's finish fourth, girls' place sixth at state championships

A number of local athletes and teams competed to see how they matched up with other runners at the 2022 California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. Here is a look at how everyone from the South Placer high schools performed. Whitney High The Wildcats had both their varsity boys' and varsity girls' teams qualify for state and both teams performed well. The girls' finished sixth out of 24 teams and the boy's were fourth out of 24 squads. "We knew our boys' team was going to be very strong, especially the way the distance squad developed during track season last spring," Wildcats coach Jerry Dodge said. "For our guys to show up at state, perform even better than we were ranked and beat multiple potential Top 5 state teams, was really remarkable. Our girls team brought their best at sections where they beat two state-ranked programs and not just by a little bit. So one of our talking points for state was to make this hold... we need to be number one in the section at the state meet too, which our girls did ultimately accomplish, being the top Sac-Joaquin Section finisher in the Division II race." The boys were led by senior Mateo Delgadillo who came in 15th out of 202 competitors at 15:33, his best 5k race time of the season. Behind Delgadillo was Noah Lopez in 29th at 15:47 and Nick Herrmann in 37th at 15:59. Senior Callum Turner and David Hurren finished 74th and 82nd, respectively. Newbury Park High won the Division II race with Lex Young placing first individually. On the girls' side, the Lady Wildcats were led by senior Katie Kopec in 16th out of 202 runners while her junior sister, Ava, came in 27th at 18:49. Freshman Jane Landon was 43rd, junior Grace Scott came in 73rd and freshman Addison Ewers finished 85th. Los Altos High won the Division II race and Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High won the individual state title. Granite Bay High The Granite Bay High girls' varsity team placed seventh out of 24 teams in the Division II race and were led by senior Carly Foster, who placed 12th out of 202 runners at 18:16. Foster's time was her best 5k performance of the season. "It was definitely nice to end on a high note after more of a rough season," Foster said. "I think just having a positive mentality and really wanting to embrace the pain is what helped contribute to my performance." Junior Emily Allison also had a solid run, finishing in 28th with a time of 18:50, while sophomores Lizzy Hansen and Grace Baxter were 49th and 63rd, respectively. "I'm very proud of my teammates for rallying and giving their all on Saturday," Foster said. Del Oro High The Golden Eagles totaled three athletes who qualified for state, including junior Angeline Gutierrez who came in 66th out of 212 runners in the Division III race with a time of 19:43, her second-best 5k time of the season. Gutierrez also competed at the state championships in 2021 as a sophomore. Del Oro sophomore Charlotte Wood finished 144th at 21:06. The Division III girls' race was won by Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery High. On the boys' side, junior Jack Sindt placed 148th out of 215 runners in the Division III race. Western Sierra Collegiate Academy The Wolves sent two varsity boys to the state meet with junior Ryan Trieu leading the way in 85th out of 204 runners in the Division V race. Trieu came in at 17:32 in the race, his best 5k time of the season. "It felt really gratifying to end the season on a personal best and I can thank my teammates for really pushing me on the days I felt like I was about to give up," Trieu said. Fellow junior Graham Martin also performed well, placing 127th with a time of 18:07. The Division V race was won by Micah Sanchez of Liberty Charter High. Rocklin High Rocklin High had two athletes compete at the state championships with senior Devin Pereira finishing 61st out of 181 competitors in the Division I race at 16:11. This was Pereira's first time racing at state. The Division I race was won by Matthew Donis of Highland High School. On the girls' side, freshman Allie Harman placed 90th out of 177 runners at 19:51 which was her third-best 5k time of the season. Poway High junior Tessa Buswell won the Division I girls' race with a time of 17:25. John Adams Academy Patriots sophomore Mikele Jopson ran in the Division V race for the second straight year and finished 41st out of 198 runners with a time of 19:52. This was her second-best 5k race time of the season and she beat her 2021 Woodward Park course time by 35 seconds. The Division V race was won by Kaiya Brooks of Crystal Springs Uplands. Woodcreek High Timberwolves senior Tyler Gee competed in the Division II 5k race and placed 118th out of 202 runners at 17:01. This was the first time that Gee ran at the state championships and his performance was the fourth-best 5k time this season.