FOLSOM, Calif. - Seniors Cate Joaquin and Tatiana Cornejo finished third and fourth, respectively, leading St. Francis to a second-place finish and one of the three team berths to the state championship, in the Division II girls' 5-kilometer race at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section cross country championships at Willow Hill Reservoir Community Park Saturday.
Joaquin completed the course in 18 minutes, 16.0 seconds, while Cornejo came through the chute at 18:29.9. Whitney junior Katie Kopec won the section individual title at 18:07.6.
The Troubadours scored 52 teams points, trailing only Granite Bay's winning total of 39. Rio Americano nabbed the third and final berth to the CIF state championship meet with a 107 total.
Claire Silva (13th), Kelsey Sutch (14th) and Grace Dunham (20th) formed a second wave of SFHS runners to round out the team scoring. Daphne Witherell followed in 21st with Kayla Towne following in 24th. However, it was a cluster of runners from seventh through 11th in support of race runner-up Carly Foster that sealed the team win for Granite Bay.
Earlier in the day, St. Francis dominated the Division II junior varsity race, with Ryann Strawn, Paige Quigley, Allison Williams and McKenna McKrell forming a 1-2-3-4 superfecta atop the leaderboard. Senior Jill Heskett followed in ninth place with Remi Vrilakas and Ava Ellis at 11th and 12th as displacers, boosting the Troubies to a team total of 17 points – 50 ticks ahead of team runner-up Bella Vista.
Strawn dominated the field with a finishing time of 19:45.6, almost a full minute ahead of her teammate Quigley.
Finally, Emma Dobson and Carly Hall posted a 1-2 finish with Magdalena Becerril close behind in fourth to lead SFHS to victory in the D-II frosh-soph race. Dobson, who also won similar races at the Delta League and SJS Subsection meets, crossed in 13:55.6 for the win.
The Troubies entered the meet with 14 total SJS team championships, including a streak of four straight. The top three varsity teams from the SJS Division II advance to the CIF state meet, held at Woodward Park in Fresno. Admission for the state championship is $10, tickets are available only through the GoFan website and app (https://gofan.co).
2021 SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Willow Hill Reservoir Community Park (Folsom)
St. Francis races listed only
D-II JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM - 1. St. Francis, 17; 2. Bella Vista, 67; 3. Whitney, 71; 4. Davis, 93; 5. Christian Brothers, 126; 6. River City, 154; 7. Holt Academy, 176.
D-II JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS INDIVIDUALS (winner plus SFHS finishers) - 1. Ryann Strawn, St. Francis, 19:45.6… 2. Paige Quigley, 20:45.1; 3. Allison Williams, 21:21.9; 4. McKenna McKrell, 21:54.7; 9. Jill Heskett, 22:26.5; 11. Remi Vrilakas, 22:31.7; 12. Ava Ellis, 22:34.3; 14. Sarah Charles, 23:13.2; 15. Grace Himmelmann, 23:17.7; 21. Irene Hales, 23:56.0.
D-II VARSITY TEAM - 1. Granite Bay, 39; 2. St. Francis, 52; 3. Rio Americano, 107; 4. Lodi, 128; 5. Whitney, 149; 6. Ponderosa, 168; 7. Bella Vista, 174; 8. Rodriguez, 196; 9. Woodcreek, 210; 10. Vista Del Lago, 211.
D-I VARSITY INDIVIDUALS - 1. Katie Kopec, Whitney, 18:07.6… 3. Cate Joaquin, 18:16.0; 4. Tatiana Cornejo, 18:29.9; 13. Claire Silva, 19:13.0; 14. Kelsey Sutch, 19:15.7; 20. Grace Dunham, 19:46.1; 21. Daphne Witherell, 19:48.6; 24. Kayla Towne, 20:06.9.
D-II FROSH-SOPH TEAM - 1. St. Francis, 26; 2. Vacaville, 32; 3. Atwater, 88; 4. Ponderosa, 116; 5. Vista Del Lago, 118; 6. Whitney, 139.
D-II FROSH-SOPH INDIVIDUAL - 1. Emma Dobson, St. Francis, 13:55.6… 2. Carly Hall, 14:05.1; 4. Magdalena Becerril, 14:26.9; 10. Anita White, 14:49.9; 18. Chloe Hickey, 15:20.2; 20. Mykaela Le, 15:23.2; 22. Stella Davenport, 15:24.6.
