So much for the early prognostications that 2022 would be a down cross country season for the section.
La Costa Canyon’s Gioana Lopizzo and La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey finished 2-3 in the girls’ race and Liberty Charter’s Micah Sanchez placed fifth for the boys in the Champs Western Regional on Saturday at Mt. SAC, qualifying for the 43rd National Championships next Saturday at Balboa Park.
In the race where the top 10 finishers advanced to runners from three other sections of the country next weekend, the San Diego girls moved right up with the front-runners and never wavered.
Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt, one of the nation’s best, immediately took the lead after finishing second a year ago and never looked back, winning by 22 seconds at 17:43 over the hilly 5,000-meter course in ideal weather.
Lopizzo, the section Division III titlist, and Dailey, a freshman who captured the state Division IV championship last week in Fresno, went head-to-head. Lopizzo held off Dailey the final mile, clocking an 18:05 to Dailey’s 18:11.
“I tried to go fast down the final hill to catch (Lopizzo), but I couldn’t do it,” said Dailey by phone. “The top 15 finishers at Nationals are All-Americans and that’s my goal.”
Sanchez, a senior who captured the state Division V crown a week ago in Fresno, ran a smart race, sitting at the back of a pack of 13 runners through the first mile before attacking the hills the second mile, and then protected his top 10 spot over the last mile.
“I ran here a year ago and was like 81st,” said Sanchez, an Alpine resident who ran 15:33. “I stayed after and watched the awards ceremony, vowing I’d come back and qualify this year.
“Qualifying for Nationals has been my goal, so it’s even bigger than winning state.”
Bountiful Utah’s Samuel Hansen won the boys race featuring runners from 12 Western States in 15:20 before a pack of nine runners, separated by just eight seconds, charged home.
The three section qualifiers were one more than a year ago when Francis Parker’s Kenan Pala finished second and Santa Fe Christian’s Mark Trammell eighth. Pala placed second in the National Championships a week later.
Volleyball honors
Postseason honors continue to roll in for the Cathedral Catholic High girls volleyball team with three Dons named to the MaxPreps All-American Team.
Julia Blyashov, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter who is headed to Stanford, was named the National Player of the Year.
In addition, 5-7 sophomore libero Maya Evens was named to the All-American first team.
Evens, whose mother Juliana Conn is the Dons’ coach, also was chosen on the Underclass All-American Team.
Senior outside hitter Noemie Glover was picked on the second team.
Glover, who has signed with Oregon, stepped up to take over the hitting load when Blyashov suffered a sprained ankle in the San Diego Section finals against Torrey Pines and was sidelined for the remainder of the postseason.
Cathedral Catholic (42-0) was named MaxPreps’ National Champion.
Brand and Monahan are freelance writers.
