Markow holds off JSerra standout Garcia to win marquee girls race in final home meet, with Lions capturing team title over host Dolphins; Hernandez improves by one minute from last year to emerge victorious, as San Clemente boys earn crown

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

DANA POINT – Allura Markow already had plenty of motivation to bounce back Saturday morning.

Add in the good vibes, and the senior at Dana Hills High in California delivered just the type of performance she desired.

Markow followed a disappointing run Sept. 16 at the 41st Woodbridge Cross Country Classic Presented by ASICS by producing a rousing finish at the Dana Hills Invitational, winning the girls Division 1 senior/invitational race on her home 3-mile course in 16 minutes, 38.3 seconds. Her friends at JSerra rode a 2-5-6 finish for a 45-88 team victory over the host Dolphins.

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On the boys side, the Division 1 senior/invitational race was won by Godinez junior Jayden Hernandez in 14:35.1, a one-minute improvement from his 38th-place performance last year.

San Clemente claimed the team victory by a 53-118 margin over Great Oak, completing an Orange County sweep of team and individual spots in the marquee races..

To earn her victory, Markow had to outsprint JSerra sophomore Brynn Garcia (16:39.8) at the finish. Markow endured an ankle injury in the final mile and faded to a 29th-place finish at Woodbridge, but Saturday she ended in a furious flurry.

'That was one of my goals for this meet, particularly, to make sure I finished the race," Markow said, referring not to just making it to the end, but running her best at the end.

"It's really satisfying to know that your training really does come into play with what you do," she added. "And the small things that you do outside of running really, really help make a difference in your times."

Markow seemed to light up running against local competitors, most she calls friends. Garcia certainly made her better, she said.

"It was really exciting to have the opportunity to race close with her," Markow said. "I know I raced her in Woodbridge, but it was so divided with so many people. It was really motivating just to have her by my side that entire time and kind of following a similar plan."

Not that the JSerra girls, ranked No. 2 overall in California, were just competition fodder.

Behind Garcia, freshmen Summer Wilson and Kaylah Tasser placed fifth and sixth, respectively, to lead JSerra, which finished fourth in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race at Woodbridge.

Dana Hills, ranked No. 1 in Division 3 following an 11th-place performance at Woodbridge, had four athletes in the top 30 and Canyon Crest Academy had three competitors among the first 30 finishers to take third with 118 points.

"It was a competitive race, and I just wanted to work off the other runners," Garcia said. "It was a great field and I wanted to work off that competitiveness."

The San Diego Section split up the JSerra pack, with La Costa Canyon junior Gioana Lopizzo running third in 16:45.3, followed by Poway junior Tessa Buswell in fourth at 17:02.8. Lopizzo improved by more than a minute from last year and Buswell dropped more than 25 seconds.

Portola senior Jadyn Zdanavage was seventh in 17:10.9, and 4 S Ranch Del Notre senior Hannah Riggins (eighth, 17:12.3) teamed with sophomore Emily Russo (11th, 17:13.4) to give the Nighthawks a fourth-place team finish with 127 points.

Eastlake freshman Jaelyn Williams was ninth in 17:16.8 and Westview sophomore Kaitlyn Arciaga was 10th in 17:30.3. Both athletes won races Sept. 17 at the 42nd ASICS Mt. Carmel Invitational at Balboa Park's Morley Field in San Diego.

San Clemente, ranked No. 4 overall in the state, employed a similar strategy to win the Division 1 boys senior/ invitational race.

Finishing with three in the top seven and five of the top 30, they gained a sizeable victory over Great Oak, which split its athletes among the Dana Hills meet and the Bob Firman Invitational in Idaho.

Senior Juan Chantaca (fourth, 14:47.6), junior Brett Ephraim (fifth, 14:50.3) and senior Rory Catsimanes (seventh, 14:51.0) paced the Tritons. The closeness of their five-man gap spreading just 36 seconds was something they wanted to achieve after focusing on it the past two weeks, including an eighth-place effort in the Doug Speck sweepstakes race at Woodbridge.

"We kind of learned to pack run, the three of us, and work off each other," Chantaca said, "which really helps us to propel through each mile, just like we did (today), too."

Hernandez established control and ran a strong race to win by nine seconds. Tesoro sophomore Griffin Kushen was second in 14:44.5, an improvement of more than two minutes from placing 10th in the Division 1 freshman race last year, and El Toro senior Garrett Hartline took third in 14:45.9.

"The pace went out really fast, so I tucked in and waited to make my move in the last mile," said Hernandez, who bettered his season-best time of 15:35 a year ago.

"And then from there, I never looked back, and I won."

Fountain Valley senior Benjamin Prado was sixth in 14:50.8. Dana Hills sophomore Evan Noonan was ninth in 14:53.0 and Santa Ana senior Jimmy Dominguez as 10th in 14:53.2.

Only Corona Santiago senior Van Filek kept it from being an Orange County sweep of the top 10 spots. He was eighth in 14:51.2.

The senior invitational races weren't the only two races of the day, as Dana Hills – finishing on the track infield for the first time in meet history – offered its usual array of class racing.

Two Division 1 runners won individually and led their teams to victory. San Clemente's Kai Olsen topped the junior boys race in 15:41.5 and led the Tritons to a team win. Taylor Davis won the girls freshman race in 18:35.9 and led Corona Santiago to a team win.

Las Vegas Centennial's Mackenna Calvin won the girls sophomore race in 19:03.5 and was the day's only out-of-state individual winner. Ayala won that race as a team by eight points over Santiago.

Chaffey's Daniel Reza triumphed for the boys sophomores in 15:30.1, while Santiago won that race as a team.

Del Norte freshman Cameron Yarbourgh won in 16:42.2 as La Serna won as a team in that race. And Trabuco Hills junior Jordan Lee won in 18:47.4 while Westview won as a team by seven points.

Whittier California had a strong showing in Division 2, with Diego Maynard winning the senior race in 15:48.4, while his team won both for the boys and girls.

Mira Costa was right there, as well, with team wins for the freshman boys and junior girls.

Led by runner-up Heather Jensen, Mira Costa was also second in the Division 2 senior race, as Vista senior Melissa Estrada won in 18:40.1.

Portola's younger runners ran well, with sophomore Mateo Allen-Aguirre winning in 16:04 for the boys, sophomore Sophie Guilfoile besting the girls in 18:01.3, and freshman Ella Bailey winning for the girls in 19:28.6.

Freshman Alden Morales led a 1-2-4 finish for JSerra by winning individually in 16:17.4. Capistrano Valley's Angel Perez won the junior ace in 15:44.6, South Torrance's Chloe Esponda won individually for the juniors in 18:29.9.

Orange Vista won as a team for the sophomores in Division 2, while Peninsula won for the girls. Las Vegas Palo Verde's girls freshmen were the lone out-of-state team champions.

Orange Lutheran boasted two winners in Division 3, with Joseph O'Donnell winning the seniors race in 15:59.6 and senior Caroline Kargenian gaining the victory in the junior/senior race – the division saw two races with combined classes – in 19:04. Rancho Alamitos won as a team for the boys, while Gahr bested the junior/senior girls race.

Daniel Ortega ran strong and led a victory for Imperial in 16:54.4. While Alta Loma won as a team in the girls frosh/soph event, Irvine freshman Ankita Yadav won as an individual in 19:49.5. Irvine finished a close second, two points behind Alta Loma.

Connor Dixon of Ocean View took the Division 3 boys freshman race in 17:36 as Rosemead won as a team. Alta Loma sophomore Diego King claimed the sophomore race in 16:51, while Escondido Classical Academy – a school housed in a former newspaper building near downtown Escondido – won as a team.