The Division 4 Girls race was the third race of the day. After two years of taking second to Maya Smith (NPA, 2018), the top returner from the 2017 D4 Girls race, Ali Upshaw (Jr.) toed the line ready with her St. Michael Cardinal teammates behind her, ready to cut loose and own the moment. Over the first two miles Precious Robinson (Pinon, Sr.) shadowed Upshaw by just a half-a-second, keeping a consistent pace under 5:50. Upshaw pulled away over the third mile and secured the second state championship title of her career in 18:18.
Robinson clocked in a runner-up finish at 18:30, almost a full two minutes ahead of Jaeda Honani (Hopi, Sr.) who took third place followed by Nyah Rivera (Valley Lutheran, Sr.) in 4th place. While Upshaw claimed the Title, her teammate Chiara Holgate (St. Michael, So.) followed up with 5th place to score another 4 points for the Cardinals. Holgate said of her teammate Upshaw, "She's taught me to be strong and lead the rest of the team with her. It gives me a lot of confidence with the entire team moving up."
Sophomores Auri Quintana, Lynelle Sim, and Ashley Phillips each placed among the top-30 finishers to lift the St. Michael girls to first place with 63 points. A St. Michael's team of four scoring sophomores and a junior had clinched the first Girls State Championship Title for the Cardinals since 2002.
"We're a group of sisters coming together to help each other out, to work hard at practice, and to go out at meets and race hard. I think we'll have a great future if we stay positive, keep believing in each other and stay strong" said Phillips. The Hopi girls garnered the runner-up title with 102 points.