Psychological trick

Mountain Democrat photos by Thomas Frey

Ponderosa sophomore Joshua Chu finished second in the section championships to earn a berth in the state championship.

Thomas Frey Staff writer

Two teams and three individuals will be making their way to Woodward Park in Fresno Nov. 27 for the 2021 CIF State Cross Country Championships after stellar performances at the Sac-Joaquin Section championships.

The Oak Ridge girl’s team won the Division I section title while the El Dorado boys finished runner-up in the Division IV race Saturday, Nov. 13, at Willow Hills Reservoir in Folsom. Each team needed a top-three finish in their respective division to qualify for the state meet.

Senior Natalie Wieland and sophomore Joshua Chu, both from Ponderosa, along with senior Chloe Gautschi of El Dorado advanced as individuals.

Oak Ridge senior Ava Maier keeps up her steady pace during the Division I Sac-Joaquin Section Championships at Willow Hills Reservoir Saturday. The Trojans cross country squad dominated the race and won the section crown with its five fastest runners finishing in the top 12.

Ponderosa senior Natalie Wieland cruises through the Willow Hills course she is so familiar with. She led at the midway point before finishing in sixth to qualify for state for the second time.

El Dorado’s Cody Foxworthy, left, and Benjamin Sallee compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section Championships Saturday. The full El Dorado boys team qualified for state after finishing in second.

Division I

In they came. Kayla Rutz gushed through the line in second. Ava Maier flew in right behind her in third. Samantha Liaty was fifth. Quinn Walker rounded out the top 10 and Brooke Butler sprinted in two spots behind her in 12th. By the time Oak Ridge had its five fastest cross the finish line, no other team had even seen a third runner finish.

For good measure the sixth and seventh Trojans to come through, Addison Clinton and Lauren Olson, finished 17th and 20th, respectively.

It’s a team that is heavy with state experience. Maier has competed in Fresno twice. In 2018 she finished in 91st as a freshman before jumping up to 23rd as a sophomore in 2019. With no state meet in her junior year due to COVID-19, Maier took home the title at the Union Mine Invitational. Rutz and Walker also went to state in 2019, finishing 81st and 82nd, respectively.

The Trojans boys’ team took seventh in the section as a team. Senior Brian Lew finished 18th while junior Troy Esparza was 22nd and sophomore Luke Carroll 36th.

Division II

The Ponderosa girls finished sixth as a team and were led by senior Natalie Wieland, who qualified for state after finishing in sixth as an individual with a time of 18:48.

Wieland qualified for state as a freshman in 2018 when she finished in 94th. Her state goals as a sophomore were faltered by an injury and in her junior year they were squandered when all postseason action was canceled.

With one last shot at state, Wieland started out well on a course she is all too familiar with.

“There are a ton of great memories here for me,” Wieland said. “It’s really close to my heart and to be able to have one of my last races, not my last race, but one of my last races here at really my home course is an amazing feeling.”

Wieland led the pack around the halfway mark before finishing in sixth to qualify for state.

“Skipping sophomore year due to injury and then junior year due to COVID-19, it was so great to come back,” Wieland said of getting one last chance at the state championships.

While her team ultimately finished three spots away from qualifying, it has a young core with Wieland and Ava Lebeck the only seniors. Next year Addie Payne, Loralye Clements, Olivia McMahon, Elena Grohs and Jules Sadang will return and all five finished in the top 60 at the section finals.

On the boys’ side sophomores Joshua Chu and Hayden Brooks qualified for the section finals as individuals in the subsection meet Nov. 6. They said they pushed each other all week and all season in practice.

Chu led the race around the halfway point before finishing in second with a time of 16:09 to qualify for state.

“It feels super good,” Chu said. “That was really my main goal this whole season.”

Brooks finished in 46th with a time of 18:02.

“I could have done better but I feel like I could have done worse, too,” Brooks said.

Ponderosa head coach Karen Norwood said she sees a lot of leadership qualities in the sophomore duo.

“These guys coming back for the next two years is what is going to lead our varsity boys’ team,” Norwood said.

Division IV

Like they’ve been doing all season, the El Dorado boys’ team had its first four racers, Benjamin Sallee, Cody Foxworthy, Braidon Campora and Coleman Tobin all finish in the top 20.

From there, it was just a waiting game for the fifth guy to finish and clinch a state berth for the Cougars.

They didn’t have to wait long. Just 87 seconds after Tobin finished, freshman Tyler Lynn completed his race to finish 44th — but more importantly — wrap up a team second place finish to send the five to Fresno.

Campora, a sophomore who hit a time of 17:05, said he was watching for the fifth El Dorado runner immediately after he crossed the finish line.

“It was really cool to see,” Campora said. “He pushed really hard. I’m really proud of this team.”

Union Mine senior Thomas Reed was the top Diamondback finisher and senior Jesse Wadelton finished 31 seconds behind him.

“They were freshmen when I came in as a rookie coach,” said fourthyear Union Mine cross country head coach Kyle Fujitsubo. “They helped build the program with me. Those two runners will be very special for me forever.”

In the girls race El Dorado finished fourth as a team while Union Mine finished sixth. Senior Chloe Gautschi of El Dorado took second with a time of 19:10 and will go to the state championships for a third time. As a freshman she finished 87th at state and as a sophomore 64th. Senior Hannah Crone came in 18th while Union Mine’s top runners, Ramona Reed and Delaney Palmer, both sophomores, finished 20th and 22nd, respectively.

All six of Union Mine’s finishers are either freshmen or sophomores while four of El Dorado’s top harriers will be returning next year.

It’s been a banner year for the Cougars as the boys won their 12th consecutive Sierra Valley Conference title and the girls won the team’s seventh straight league crown. This will be the 11th consecutive state meet consisting of at least one El Dorado runner.

Division V

Andrew Burr of Sacramento Country Day won the boys race with a time of 16:43 and will head to state as an individual. The freshman from El Dorado Hills has won every race he has competed in this year.

Junior Landon York of Golden Sierra narrowly missed out on going to state but still finished in 11th place with a time of 19:12.

Golden Sierra junior Landon York finished 11th at the Division V Sac-Joaquin Section cross country championships. York set a personal record and finished just a few spots shy of going to state. Next to him in red is Sacramento Country Day freshman Andrew Burr of El Dorado Hills, who won the race and is headed to state as an individual.

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