While the CIF State Meet eluded a handful of cross country hopefuls at Saturday’s Southern Section Championships, Dos Pueblos’ Hunter Clark and Cate’s Kyril Van Schendel will advance as individuals.
San Marcos’ Erica Schroeder, the state champion in the 800 meters, finished ninth in the Division-2 race and just outside the top five individuals who qualify. Schroeder, at 18 minutes and 11 seconds, was eight-tenths of a second behind Arroyo Grande’s Leza Cassidy for the final spot. Despite not advancing, the 18:11 is a new San Marcos Royals school record bettering Miranda McCune from 2004 by three seconds.
Dos Pueblos’ Christina Rice placed 19th in the same race with a time of 18:42.6.
Dos Pueblos’ Hunter Clark’s 14th-place result (15:44.3) in Division 2 allowed him to continue as an individual. The Chargers boys team, sparked by Joshua McGregor and senior Jeremiah McElwee, collectively passed 76 runners after the half-way point to move up in the team standings to 13th.
Van Schendel, a Cate sophomore, earned a 6th-place finish in the Division-5 race in a time of 15:53.5.
The State Meet is next Saturday in Fresno at Woodward Park.
COMPLETE RESULTS: DIVISION 2 BOYS || DIVISION 2 GIRLS || DIVISION 5 BOYS || DIVISION 5 GIRLS
