J.Serra senior Anthony Grover and Mayfield junior Audrey Suarez added to their already impressive running resumes with individual victories at the CIF-Southern Section Cross Country Championships held Nov. 23 in Riverside.
Grover covered the three-mile Riverside Course in 14:53.9, well ahead of his competition in the Boys’ Division 4 race. It was Grover’s second win in the CIF-SS finals (he won in 2017) and qualified him to seek his third straight state championship on Nov. 30 in Fresno.
Suarez was equally dominant in capturing the Girls’ D-4 race in 17:24.7 (13th among all runners). Like Grover, she will attempt to win her third straight state title this week.
In the team portion of the CIF-SS championships, Cathedral posted the best finish of any local Catholic school, second in the Boys’ Division 2 race. Following is a breakdown of the competition, with top-20 finishes included:
Boys’ D-2: Loyola was fifth in the team event, led by senior Anthony Stone’s fifth-place finish in the individual portion.
Boys’ D-3: St. John Bosco was seventh, Damien 11th and Servite 14th. Individually, SJB senior Alex Frias was 12th.
Boys’ D-4: Cathedral placed second behind Foothill Technology, with J.Serra ninth, St. Francis tenth, Bishop Amat 15th and Salesian 20th. Individually, J.Serra’s Grover was the winner, with Cathedral senior Gabriel Galaz in 12th and St. Francis senior Chaz Capielik 19th.
Girls’ D-3: Santa Margarita junior Kendall Saeger was tenth individually, and her teammate, senior Tamara Hirschman, was 20th.
Girls’ D-4: Mayfield was fourth in the team event, with Bishop Amat eighth, J.Serra tenth, Flintridge Sacred Heart 19th and Bishop Montgomery 20th. Individually, Mayfield’s Suarez was first and J.Serra senior Rylan Engels 14th.
Girls’ D-5: Among teams, Sacred Heart was 16th and Ramona Convent 17th. Individually, Mary Star freshman Claire Babbitt was 11th.
