La Jolla standout Dailey joins impressive list of freshmen to eclipse 17-minute barrier, Noonan runs 14:49 to lift Dana Hills to Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes crown and Templeton’s Bell triumphs in boys individual sweepstakes in 14:50; Arredondo guides Bishop Amat to girls individual sweeps title

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

WALNUT – For the first time in five years, Friday produced a sub-17 female performance at the 74th Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational Presented by Nike, with an exceptional event debut by La Jolla freshman Chiara Dailey.

For the first time in their careers, Evan Noonan of Dana Hills and Joshua Bell of Templeton both achieved sub-15 efforts on the 2.93-mile Mt. SAC course en route to Division 3-4-5 sweepstakes victories.

And for the second year in a row, a win by Emma Arrendondo also lifted Bishop Amat to a team triumph, only this time it came in a Division 3-4-5 individual sweepstakes race instead of a varsity race, with Cathedral Catholic also repeating as champion in the Division 3-4-5 girls team sweepstakes competition.

RESULTS | RACE VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS

Among all the breakthrough efforts on the opening day of competition, none were bigger than the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes victory achieved by Dailey, who became the first female competitor since La Costa Canyon star Kristin Fahy ran 16:54 in 2017 to eclipse the 17-minute barrier in a race Friday.

In order to do so, Dailey had to pull away from current La Costa Canyon standout, junior Gioana Lopizzo, by running an impressive final mile to triumph in 16:58.

Dailey and Lopizzo, who placed second in 17:14, were even at the 2-mile mark at 11:28, but Dailey demonstrated poise and maturity beyond her years to join an elite group of ninth-graders to deliver a sub-17 effort at Mt. SAC, a list that includes Sarah Baxter, Jordan Hasay and Lauren Ping.

Cathedral Catholic placed five scorers in the top 30 to repeat as Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes champions with a 63-118 victory against La Jolla, with University City taking third at 124 points.

JiaLian Mackey was the top Division 5 competitor, finishing third overall in 17:49, leading Viewpoint to a seventh-place performance with 213 points.

Alexandria Pena finished fourth for Cathedral Catholic in 17:58, Scarlett Martin earned eighth in 18:25, Keira Rall took 10th in 18:35, Chiara Bonomi placed 15th in 18:58 and Madelyn Basinet was 26th in 19:26 for the Dons, who prevailed by a 57-97 margin against Sage Creek last season.

Noonan, a sophomore who placed second Oct. 15 at the Orange County Championships at Oak Canyon Park, continued to demonstrate why he has the potential to be the next in a legacy of elite Dana Hills runners by winning the Division 3-4-5 team sweepstakes race in 14:49, rallying in the final mile to get past Cathedral teammates Emmanuel Hernandez (14:52) and Emmanuel Perez (15:00), who paced the lead pack through the 2-mile mark in under 10 minutes.

Eamon Gordon of Dos Pueblos finished fourth in 15:05 and Hayden Owen of St. Francis placed fifth in 15:10.

Noonan also led Dana Hills to a 97-113 victory against Cathedral, which edged Division 4 rivals St. Francis (130 points) and St. John Bosco (137 points). Yosemite, a leading contender for the Division 5 state title, finished fifth with 151 points.

The Dolphins received support from Garrett Woodruff placing 13th in 15:49, Sam Hunter securing 20th in 16:01, Logan Harris taking 30th in 16:12 and Mike Ayala finishing 33rd in 16:16, helping Dana Hills respond in impressive fashion following a fifth-place finish in the sweepstakes race Oct. 15 at the Orange County Championships.

Arredondo ran 18:53 last year to lead Bishop Amat to a 33-40 victory against Harvard-Westlake in a Division 4 varsity race.

The senior clocked 17:43 in the Division 3-4-5 individual sweepstakes race Friday to help the Lancers edge Yorba Linda by an 81-87 margin to secure the team title.

Arredondo held off Beverly Hills senior Danielle Hollander, who was runner-up in 17:46.

Marjourie Lopez, a senior, continued her streak of sub-18 performances this season, eclipsing the barrier for the first time in her career at Mt. SAC by taking third in 17:56, leading Shadow Hills to a third-place team finish with 95 points.

Sydney Rome finished fourth in 18:05 to help Yorba Linda secure runner-up honors, with Xavier College Prep freshman Chloe Elbaz placing fifth in 18:12.

Arredondo led three Bishop Amat athletes in the top 10, with Sophia Ebiner securing sixth in 18:29 and Madison Rust placing ninth in 18:43.

Jasmine Delgado was 29th in 20:36 and Alyssa Jimenez grabbed 53rd in 21:56 for Bishop Amat to capture the team victory.

Bell also competed last year in a varsity race, winning his Division 3 competition in 15:07.

But the Templeton junior demonstrated another level of strength and fitness Friday by clocking 14:50, pulling away over the final 2 miles against Rim of the World junior Ethan Parcells (15:04). 

La Costa Canyon senior Jacob Niednagel was third in 15:15, San Marino senior Benjamin Hughes finished fourth in 15:18 and Foothill Technology senior Jonah Billings placed fifth in 15:21.

Sacred Heart Cathedral placed five scorers in the top 50 to triumph by a 100-124 margin against Mission Viejo, with West Ranch – competing without Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-bound senior Billie Issa – finishing third with 138 points.

Cam Gregg placed 12th in 15:51, Miles Cook took 14th in 15:52, Luke Moore was 18th in 16:13, John Bankovitch finished 23rd in 16:28 and Jack Biggar earned 46th in 17:06 for Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Alex Alvarez of La Salle won a Division 4 varsity race for the second year in a row, clocking 15:38, the fastest male performance Friday outside of the sweepstakes competitions.

Corona del Mar junior Melisse Djomby Enyawe, who finished second in her Division 3 varsity competition last year, won Friday in 18:09, the top effort for any female athlete not entered in a sweepstakes race.

Lancaster Desert Christian freshman Mehari Winheim was credited with the fastest time of the day, clocking 12:48 on a 2.4-mile layout in a Division 5 boys varsity race.

The course was intended to be shortened for four Division 3-4-5 junior varsity competitions, omitting Reservoir Hill in those races, but meet officials adjusted the course one race too early, resulting in the final Division 5 varsity section only being contested over 2.4 miles instead of 2.93 miles.