RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — Senior Cate Joaquin finished second overall with a time of 10 minutes 49.48 seconds, while senior Claire Silva added a ninth-place showing to lead St. Francis High School to second place at the Hoka Invitational cross country meet at Cordova High School Saturday.
Oak Ridge won the meet with 31 points with the Troubadours close behind with 48. Rio Americano (81) and McClatchy (85) placed third and fourth, respectively, among the eight-team girls' field.
Rounding out the SFHS scoring were the trio of Daphne Witherell, Grace Dunham and Ryann Strawn, who largely stuck together as a three-person pack for most of the race. They crossed in 15th, 16th and 20th overall.
The Hoka Invitational is an unusual event for cross country in that it consists of multiple two-mile races held throughout the country and throughout the season. Each site is scored like a cross country meet, only the results are aggregated from all meets nationwide to develop a set of standings and comparisons.
Additionally, the top three finishers from each heat received the prize of a Hoka backpack, while the team champions received a set of shoes from Hoka One One.
Saturday's Hoka Invite served as a final tuneup before the postseason. St. Francis returns to action at the Delta League Championships next Saturday, then will begin the Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF postseason series in November.
UPDATE (10/25): Through the weekend, St. Francis High School ranks second in the state and No. t7th nationally in the Hoka 2-mile standings with a team time of 58:05.80 (11:37 avg).
2021 HOKA INVITAITONAL
Cordova High School site • St. Francis High results only
TEAM SCORES - 1. Oak Ridge, 31; 2. St. Francis, 48; 3. Rio Americano, 81; 4. McClatchy, 85; 5. Piedmont, 128; 6. El Cerrito, 183; 7. Yuba City, 200; 8. Cordova, 214.
INDIVIDUALS (winner plus SFHS runners) - 1. Anna McNatt, McClatchy, 10:23.57… 2. Cate Joaquin, 10:49.48; 9. Claire Silva, 11:28.68; 15. Daphne Witherell, 11:44.96; 16. Grace Dunham, 11:49.60; 20. Ryann Strawn, 11:52.95; 28. Emma Dobson, 12:24.78; 36. Paige Quigley, 12:45.99; 37. McKenna McKrell, 12:49.29; 39. Remi Vrilakas, 12:55.98; 43. Jill Heskett, 13:01.39; 44. Ava Ellis, 13:03.66; 45. Carly Hall, 13:05.30; 46. Pamela Vargas, 13:11.36; 47. Greta Crumley, 13:11.98; 57. Sarah Charles, 13:30.13; 58. Anita White, 13:33.01; 60. Stella Davenport, 13:36.69; 63. Irene Hales, 13:40.00; 65. Grace Himmelmann, 13:44.74; 67. Chloe Hickey, 13:48.71; 69. Mykaela Le, 13:51.56; 71. Amelia Bell, 13:58.30; 74. Chloe Tanner, 14:06.02; 75. Sarah Bashore, 14:08.84; 82. Rowan Rigby, 14:41.68; 86. Kayla Hussey, 15:22.51.
