Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night are supposed to stop postal workers from delivering the mail.
The same can be said of high school cross country runners who took on the brunt of a howling Pacific atmospheric river at Saturday’s San Diego Section championship meet to complete their designation mission. At stake for the 1,168 participants were division team titles, individual accolades and a chance to qualify for the upcoming state championship meet Nov. 29 in Fresno.
The rain came down in a deluge just prior to the start of the first race and continued to pelt runners and onlookers alike in seemingly unending sheets until just before the start of the last race. It was wet but the worst was likely the mud created by all the pooled water.
By the look of black mud smeared on the legs, arms and even necks of runners, it was evident that many fell and slid on the muddy course, which was shortened slightly to 2.9 miles prevent even more severe injuries from occurring.
“It was hard with the rain,” said Foothills Christian junior Daniel Brannon, liberally smeared with mud, front and back, who finished 89th of out 139 runners in the Division V boys race, fourth on the Knights. “It was muddy. It was cold. But it was fun.”
It was decidedly different, to be sure.
A total of 10 races — five in both genders — were contested at Balboa Park’s celebrated Morley Field.
Leading the charge were a pair of East County runners as Santana High School junior Harper Diaz won the Division III girls race in 17:37.80 and Christian junior Elliana Patterson won the Division V girls race in 16:46.10.
Diaz finished 15.70 seconds ahead of runner-up Ellie Cooper, a sophomore from La Costa Canyon, while Patterson bettered challenger Ari Llorens, a senior from Francis Parker, by 34 seconds.
Patterson’s winning time ranked second among the five division winners, trailing only Division I winner Jaelyn Williams, a senior at Eastlake, at 16:42.40.
Alpine’s Liberty Charter scored a first by qualifying its girls team for the state meet. The Lady Lions placed third in the Division V race that awarded state qualify berths to the top three finishing teams.
“The girls were led by their two amazing female coaches, Tammy Sanchez and Carrie Svendsen,” head coach Daniel Sanchez said. “Both were highly successful former runners, but more importantly, transformational coaches who poured into these young ladies week in and week out.”
Liberty Charter finished with 86 points in the team standings to place behind team champion Santa Fe Christian (60 points) and team runner-up Bishop’s (78 points). Christian finished fourth with 95 points to place just out of the mix.
“The girls did an amazing job,” the Lions head coach said. “It was an unexpected and courageous group that accomplished this. We graduated four talented seniors last year, and this new squad included four first-time runners. They improved little by little each week, making huge gains over the last two weeks of the season. A month ago, we were ranked sixth with only a minimal chance to qualify, but by CIF week, we were in the hunt to be a state contender.”
Senior Cadelyn Belasco led the team across the finish line in seventh place (19:31.60), followed by her sister, junior Cambrey Belasco, who placed 15th (20:29.30). Next up was brandnew sophomore Gaby Barba, who placed 17th (21:08.80) and earned All-CIF honors by finishing in the top 20.
The team’s fourth and fifth scorers were also first-time competitors: junior drama student Ezri Wagnell, who placed 22nd (22:01.90) and freshman Stella Klingenshirn, who finished close behind in 25th (22:04.00) in the field of 88 finishers.
Sixth and seventh runners were seniors Amelia Primmer (47th, 24:08.70) and Emma Figueroa (72nd, 26:23.90).
“The girls ran in the worst conditions I have ever seen in California — slipping and sliding through every corner while battling for traction and position,” the Liberty Charter head coach said.
Meanwhile, the boys team experienced some heartbreak. “Our streak of three consecutive state berths came to an end, and we were unable to defend our CIF title.,” the Lions coach said.
There was some consolation, however, as junior Sam Rohrer finished fifth (16:55.60) as an individual qualifier. Senior Caleb Acosta (17:26.00) finished 11th to miss qualifying by two places.
Freshman Luke Hayworth placed 17th (17:57.20) to earn an All-CIF medal. The Lions’ five scorers were rounded out by sophomore Grant Forman (38th, 18:59.20) and junior Josiah Svendsen (19:10.50).
The team finished fourth overall — just seven points shy of qualifying as a team behind team champion Francis Parker (53 points), team runner-up Bishop’s (90 points) and third place team High Tech Mesa (100 points).
High Tech Mesa senior Kai Rottier won the race in 16:28.90 ahead of Francis Parker senior Austen Boys (16:32.50).
“It was a missed opportunity, but also an important lesson for the group,” the Liberty Charter coach said. “Overall, it was an amazing day of racing in some of the harshest conditions we’ve ever faced.”
