Central Valley Christian secures emotional victory in Mt. SAC
Division 5 girls sweepstakes

Brea-Olinda, McFarland and Flintridge Prep are boys sweepstakes winners, with Esperanza and JSerra securing girls championships; Malibu's Caroline Pietrzyk and San Luis Obispo's William Ernst record fastest times

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor

It was already an emotional week for the Central Valley Christian girls cross country team even before it competed at the 67th Mt. SAC Invitational following the news Wednesday that it would be competing in Division 4 this year in the Central Section postseason after taking second in the state in Division 5 last season.

It became even more so for the Cavaliers when they learned Friday of the death of junior Emily Cross' grandmother, resulting in the team taking to the 2.93-mile course with heavy hearts for the Division 5 sweepstakes race.

Central Valley Christian responded with an inspiring performance, led by juniors Gabby Satterlee (pictured above) and Shanni Slabber, winning the sweepstakes title by a 55-65 margin over Flintridge Prep. Mayfield, the top-ranked team in Division 5, was third with 73 points.

Satterlee won in a personal-best 18 minutes, 36.1 seconds and Slabber was fourth in 19:13.4, leading five Cavaliers in the top 30.
Annechiena Knevelbaard (19:41.1) was 10th, Jenna Wilson (19:51.3) took 14th and Jadyn Wilson (20:47.9) finished 29th for Central Valley Christian, which demonstrated it has the potential to be a state podium contender in Division 4.

Although Mayfield's Emily Serhan secured second in 18:52.1, the Cubs suffered their first loss in three head-to-head meetings with Prep League rival Flintridge Prep, which was led by a third-place finish from Natalie O'Brien (19:08.3). The teams will race again Nov. 1 in the league championship meet.

Flintridge Prep captured its second Division 5 boys sweepstakes title in three years, relying on a victory from junior Jack Van Scoter in 15:20.7 and all five scorers in the top 20 to defeat Lancaster Desert Christian 59-89.

Van Scoter (pictured right) became the second Flintridge Prep runner in a row to capture the individual title following Alan Yoho last season.

St. Joseph Notre Dame, last year's sweepstakes winner and reigning state champion, was third with 94 points. Cooper Teare was second in 15:24.6 for the Pilots.
The fastest times of the day both came from the Division 4 sweepstakes races, with San Luis Obispo senior William Ernst clocking 15:07.9 and Malibu senior Caroline Pietrzyk prevailing in 17:26.2.

McFarland, forced to compete in Central Section Division 1 this postseason, won the Division 4 boys sweepstakes by an 82-101 margin over Page High of Arizona.
JSerra captured the Division 4 girls sweepstakes title with a 69-115 victory over Piedmont. Bishop Amat, the state's top-ranked boys and girls teams in Division 4, didn't field a full lineup in either sweepstakes race.

Brea-Olinda ran without junior Austin Tamagno, who will compete in Saturday's individual sweepstakes, but didn't miss a beat in winning the Division 3 boys sweepstakes in a 76-144 victory over Yorba Linda.

Senior Austin Shellito stepped into the spotlight for Brea, winning in 15:13.1, with all five scorers placing in the top 30.

South Torrance's Kimberly Coscia prevailed in the Division 3 girls sweepstakes race in 17:35.4, but it was Esperanza relying on the third- and fourth-place efforts of Shannon MacKellar (18:23) and Katherine Gallaher (18:24.9), in addition to a two-minute personal best from Sapna Dholakia (19:41.8) to offset Yorba Linda having three athletes finish in the top 10 in a 94-96 victory.

It marked the third consecutive week Esperanza and Yorba Linda have gone head to head, with Esperanza winning by a 55-92 margin at the Clovis Invitational, before Yorba Linda secured a 53-67 victory at Orange County Championships.

Laguna Hills was impressive in its Division 3 girls varsity race, with sisters Brianna and Marissa Bartello taking first and third in 17:38.27 and 18:27.36 to help the Hawks secure an 81-116 victory over Santa Margarita. Bolsa Grande's Jeanette Zambrano was second in 18:07.01.