The Highland girls varsity team at the start of Division I Southeast race at The AIA Sectional Glendale Heroes meet at Glendale Heroes Regional Park in Glendale.
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D1/D4 AIA State Cross Country Championships Preview
Here is the MileSplit Arizona full preview of the AIA State Cross Country Championships, with predictions and analysis from state editor Logan Stanley
- Girls -
Division I
Individuals
State qualifiers:
- Riley Burger, Desert Ridge
- Esmeralda Ramirez, Skyline
- Mayte Manuel, Skyline
- Sienna Riggs, Westwood
- Hope Van Regenmorter, Pinnacle
- Taylor Buckner, Dobson
- Jamie Golubchik, Dobson
- Cadence Cachola, Camelback
- Estefania Gonzalez, Maryvale
- Alana Felix, Sunnyside
- Zoe (Nathalia) Hernandez, North High
- Carrie Dashee, Camelback
- Kayla McNatt, North High
- Stevie Bal, Cesar Chavez,
- Margaret Luba, Sunnyslope
- Isabella Irazola, Cibola
- Vylet Bertoncino, Sunnyslope
- Hannah Funk, Sunnyslope
- Lillian Kamm, Cibola
- Elvya Aguilar, Cibola
- Angelina Garcia, Cibola
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been the emergence of Basha's star freshman, Taylor Drewry. She has consistently been at the front of the pack in all of her races.
Drewry dipped under the 19-minute barrier in just her third high school race at The Ojo Rojo Invitational on Sept. 17. Just one week later, Drewry shaved off 19 seconds from her personal best and went 18:27.8 at The Western Equinox XC Festival.
She followed up that performance with a sixth-place effort in the Girls Championship race at The Desert Twilight XC Festival. But that would be her last race before a nearly a month-long absence from competition. Drewry returned in impressive fashion, running 17:47.9 at the City of Chandler XC Championships on Oct. 26. That time put Drewry at No. 5 on the all-time list in state history for freshmen, behind only names like Lauren Ping and Samantha Schadler.
Performance-wise, this past week was actually the lowest Drewry has placed at a meet when she ran 21:25.00 to come in 13th place at The AIA Sectional Crossroads 1 meet. But MileSplit Arizona correspondent Henry Domine, who was reporting at the meet, learned that Drewry actually ended up going the wrong way on the course at around the 1.5 mile mark. This drastically impacted Drewry's race.
Despite this, the MileSplit Arizona favorite to win is still Drewry. With the aforementioned Ping now transferred out of the division, Drewry has proved to be one of the most consistent competitors.
But admittedly there are a handful of athletes who could come away with the title on Saturday. Highland, easily the top team in the state, boasts a trio of athletes -- freshman Camryn Delancey, sophomore Cloe Baugh and senior Emma Baugh -- who have proven capable of being the best runner on any given day.
There's Perry senior Alexis Pagel, who like Drewry also reportedly went the wrong way at Sectionals. Pagel is ranked No. 5 in DI for the 5k, but went west to California and won the Varsity Blue B race at the prestigious Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in September, recording the second-fastest three-mile time in the state for the whole season.
Hamilton senior Sage Patzer, the DI Southeast Sectional champion, is a name to watch for as well. She is ranked sixth in the state for the 5k and recently ran 18:43.6 at the City of Chandler XC Championships. Patzer finished in second to Pagel at Woodbridge.
Expect those handful of athletes to be in contention for the state title.
Wild card: Mariza Chavez, Marana
Teams
State qualifiers:
- Highland
- Mountain View
- Red Mountain
- Boulder Creek
- Mountain Ridge
- Sandra Day O' Connor
- Desert Vista
- Hamilton
- Perry
- Chandler
- Basha
- Corona del Sol
- Carl Hayden
- Xavier
- Shadow Ridge
- Liberty
- Marana
- Queen Creek
- Rincon
Out of all the competitions at the state meet, this might be the one with least amount of intrigue. Since the first day of the season, Highland has shown they are the team to beat.
The Hawks are by far and away the favorite to win the team title. Right now, they are projected to score 24 points -- putting them 56 points ahead of a very strong No. 2 Perry.
| 1 | Highland High (AZ) | 24 | ||
| 1) Cloe Baugh | 18:22.50 | 2 | ||
| 2) Emma Baugh | 18:35.60 | 3 | ||
| 3) Camryn Delancey | 18:36.90 | 4 | ||
| 4) Kayla Case | 18:44.20 | 7 | ||
| 5) Kinley Jackson | 18:44.50 | 8 | ||
| Average Time: 18:36.74 Total Time: 1:33:03.70 1-5 Split: 22.00 | ||||
| 6) Lindsay Schlink | 18:55.20 | 11 | ||
| 7) Stella Hall | 18:56.40 | 12 | ||
| 2 | Perry High School (AZ) | 80 | ||
| 1) Alexis Pagel | 18:41.80 | 5 | ||
| 2) Sara Jones | 18:46.70 | 9 | ||
| 3) Isabella Schaller | 18:47.10 | 10 | ||
| 4) Malia Salcido | 19:45.40 | 25 | ||
| 5) Ella Adams | 19:52.50 | 31 | ||
| Average Time: 19:10.70 Total Time: 1:35:53.50 1-5 Split: 1:10.70 | ||||
| 6) Katelyn Munoz | 20:45.90 | 74 | ||
| 7) Cecilia Molovinsky | 21:01.90 | 90 | ||
| 3 | Desert Vista High School (AZ) | 102 | ||
| 1) Emily Littlefield | 18:57.20 | 13 | ||
| 2) Bailee Christofis | 19:11.00 | 16 | ||
| 3) Brooklyn Hanania | 19:15.20 | 17 | ||
| 4) Izzy Villarreal | 19:46.70 | 27 | ||
| 5) Ava Withem | 19:48.20 | 29 | ||
| Average Time: 19:23.66 Total Time: 1:36:58.30 1-5 Split: 51.00 | ||||
| 6) Dana Pivin | 19:57.10 | 34 | ||
| 7) Anna Lowman | 20:37.00 | 57 | ||
| 4 | Hamilton High School (AZ) | 159 | ||
| 1) Sage Patzer | 18:43.60 | 6 | ||
| 2) Alexis Rodriguez | 19:20.30 | 18 | ||
| 3) Carina Trujillo | 20:12.70 | 39 | ||
| 4) Abigail Schultz | 20:19.70 | 46 | ||
| 5) Madeline Schultz | 20:29.80 | 50 | ||
| Average Time: 19:49.22 Total Time: 1:39:06.10 1-5 Split: 1:46.20 | ||||
| 6) Lilliette Orban | 20:53.50 | 83 | ||
| 7) Avery George | 20:56.10 | 86 | ||
The Pumas are 22 points in front of Desert Vista, which could provide for an interesting matchup. If the Thunder's second and third runners, senior Bailee Christofis and junior Brooklyn Hanania, can both dip under the 19-minute barrier, they could certainly challenge the Pumas for second place.
Wild card: Desert Vista