Local duo take home titles in CIF cross-country finals
Not all goals look the same, but local athletes shared in the quest to meet theirs on Saturday in the CIF Southern Section cross-country championships at Mt. San Antonio College.
Headlining performances were turned in by Corona del Mar’s Melisse Djomby Enyawe and Pacifica Christian’s Ella Murray, both seniors who took home the hardware for their respective divisions for the first time.
Djomby Enyawe, a Cal Poly commit, had shown this sort of promise, twice delivering top-10 finishes in the CIF finals in the past, including a runner-up showing last season.
In her last bid to cross the finish line first, Djomby Enyawe left no doubt, completing the Mt. SAC rain course in 16 minutes 46.6 seconds to beat her Division 3 counterparts by 29 seconds.
“It feels really good because … that was my whole goal for this year, to really just win it, not settle for anything below that,” Djomby Enyawe said. “That’s what I was talking about with my parents, and they told me I could do it, so I really just thought of that the whole race, to not let them down, because they know I can do it.”
The rain course eliminated the fearsome hills known to all who take on Mt. SAC.
“It was definitely really intimidating because Mt. SAC, I was preparing for the three hills, and it’s definitely a way different course,” said Murray, who won the Division 5 girls’ race in 17:52.6. “To switch to a flat course, it was definitely a little intimidating, but I was just going into it with as much confidence as I could. This feels so good.”
Murray, who transferred from Marina, helped lead Pacifica Christian to seventh place as a team, earning the program its first trip to the CIF State cross-country championships. The Tritons got in over Sage Hill by a count of 198-215.
The top seven teams in each race advanced to the state finals, which will be held on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The first five individuals finishing within the top 20 from non-qualifying teams also earned the right to compete in the upcoming meet.
Several local athletes joined the party as state qualifiers, led by the Newport Harbor junior duo of Marley McCullough (fourth, 16:40.6) and Keaton Robar (seventh, 17:02.6), who did so in Division 2. McCullough came on strong late in the season, emerging as a contender by pacing all girls in the Sunset Conference finals.
Newport Harbor coach Haley Bates said that having a young team has resulted in McCullough and Robar maturing as leaders.
“Their work ethic is incredible,” Bates said. “Not only do they have passion, but they are very smart runners, and they’re very good at doing everything that they have to do with regards to training beyond just the running. There’s so much more that goes into it — nutrition, rest, taking care of themselves, getting their schoolwork done, time management, all of that.”
The Huntington Beach girls’ team narrowly missed qualifying as a group, clipped by Redondo Union for seventh 207-210, but the Oilers saw fast-rising freshman Sydney Rubio (fifth, 16:33.8) advance in the process.
Fountain Valley senior Diego Alonso and Huntington Beach senior Jacob McQuirk had both qualified for the CIF finals in Division 1 as individuals. Alonso moved on to state with a 12th-place finish in 14:30 flat.
“I’m so happy,” said Alonso after breaking the Fountain Valley school record. “At [the Orange County] championships, that’s when I wanted to break it, and then I had a really bad race. I thought I wasn’t going to get it, but I guess I got lucky because they did the rain course, and it was a full three miles.”
Corona del Mar’s boys’ team placed fifth in Division 3. Bill Sumner, the longtime coach of the boys’ and girls’ programs at CdM, said it was the first time the boys’ team had qualified for state since 2013. Junior Max Douglass led the charge in finishing fourth in 14:30.4.
The Laguna Beach girls’ team is also back in the dance at state for the first time since 2019. Sydney Sydney (21st, 18:02.0), Yolo Javier (33rd, 18:33.8), Hayden Joseph (41st, 18:52.3), Anoua Carrie (54th, 19:25.8) and Kiara Flores (60th, 19:34.0) factored into the scoring for the Breakers.
Laguna Beach coach Steve Lalim felt confident his team would be in the hunt, and he said competing in the Sunset Conference prepared them for this moment.
“The strength of the conference makes us better,” Lalim said. “It allows us to prepare more for these better teams when you get to CIF. If we were in a conference that wasn’t as strong, we get here, and it’s an eye-opener. Coming out of Sunset League, we’re really pushed at league, so we get to CIF, and we’re like, ‘We’re ready for it.’”
BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
CIF Southern Section finals
At Mt. San Antonio College
3-mile course
Division 1
Team Results
1. San Clemente 60; 2. Great Oak 84; 3. Trabuco Hills 101; 4. Mira Costa 132; 5. Beckman 135; 6. King 172; 7. Crescenta Valley 190; 8. Millikan 193; 9. Redondo Union 225; 10. Loyola 240
Individuals
1. Parra (Millikan) 13:57.4; 2. Felix (Beckman) 14:08.2; 3. Ephraim (San Clemente) 14:10.7; 4. Franck (Mira Costa) 14:17.2; 5. Zavaleta (King) 14:17.4; 6. Stanley (Trabuco Hills) 14:18.4; 7. Divinity (Redondo Union) 14:20.7; 8. Sion (Crescenta Valley) 14:20.8; 9. Clark (San Clemente) 14:28.6; 10. Olsen (San Clemente) 14:29.8; 12. Alonso (Fountain Valley) 14:30.0; 41. McQuirk (Huntington Beach) 14:55.8
Division 2
Team Results
1. Santa Barbara 86; 2. Ventura 88; 3. Newbury Park 129; 4. Glendora 149; 5. Ayala 176; 6. Tesoro 185; 7. El Toro 220; 8. Hart 224; 9. Woodbridge 228; 10. El Dorado 241
Individuals
1. Dybdahl (Santa Barbara) 14:04.5; 2. Fast Horse (Ventura) 14:05.1; 3. Kushen (Tesoro) 14:10.5; 4. Grossman (Ventura) 14:21.8; 5. Lesher (Hueneme) 14:27.0; 6. Flores (Glendora) 14:29.1; 7. Doshi (Newbury Park) 14:29.6; 8. Rippe (Norco) 14:31.4; 9. J. Horrocks (Foothill) 14:35.5; 10. Antonio (Woodbridge) 14:35.7
Division 3
Team Results
1. Dana Hills 29; 2. West Ranch 108; 3. Santa Margarita 115; 4. Oak Park 185; 5. Corona del Mar 185; 6. Moorpark 188; 7. Mission Viejo 204; 8. Canyon/CC 211; 9. West Torrance 220; 10. Redlands East Valley 243
Individuals
1. Noonan (Dana Hills) 13:56.0; 2. Hernandez (Dana Hills) 14:12.4; 3. Gibson (Santa Margarita) 14:28.9; 4. Douglass (Corona del Mar) 14:30.4; 5. Woodruff (Dana Hills) 14:34.7; 6. Miller (South Torrance) 14:35.8; 7. Quast (West Torrance) 14:40.9; 8. Herbert (Santa Margarita) 14:42.7; 9. Hunter (Dana Hills) 14:43.5; 10. Chua (Rowland) 14:44.3
Division 4
Team Results
1. St. Francis 82; 2. JSerra 119; 3. Foothill Technology 127; 4. St. John Bosco 149; 5. Cathedral 155; 6. Oaks Christian 160; 7. Harvard-Westlake 173; 8. South Pasadena 177; 9. Burroughs/Ridgecrest 188; 10. Palos Verdes 196
Individuals
1. Perez (Cathedral) 14:09.1; 2. Ortiz (Burroughs/Ridgecrest) 14:23.2; 3. Parcells (Rim of the World) 14:26.5; 4. Aldana (St. John Bosco) 14:33.8; 5. Orozco (JSerra) 14:37.0; 6. Franco (St. Francis) 14:39.8; 7. Hernandez (Cathedral) 14:39.8; 8. Jex (Big Bear) 14:41.0; 9. McNee (Oaks Christian) 14:45.0; 10. Arrey (JSerra) 14:47.8
Division 5
Team Results
1. Viewpoint 115; 2. Cate 116; 3. Hawthorne MSA 145; 4. Ontario Christian 163; 5. Brentwood 164; 6. St. Margaret’s 169; 7. Flintridge Prep 174; 8. Woodcrest Christian 178; 9. Windward 230; 10. Providence/Burbank 234
Individuals
1. Turk (Woodcrest Christian) 14:07.3; 2. Capelle (St. Margaret’s) 14:36.6; 3. Sutch (Cate) 14:45.6; 4. Udelson-Nee (Wildwood) 14:47.6; 5. Schipper (Cate) 14:47.7; 6. Lovett (Academy for Academic Excellence) 14:47.9; 7. O’Connor (Viewpoint) 15:09.0; 8. Neville (Viewpoint) 15:09.7; 9. Babbitt (Mary Star of the Sea) 15:11.7; 10. Garnish (Providence/Burbank) 15:28.8
GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY
CIF Southern Section finals
At Mt. San Antonio College
3-mile course
Division 1
Team Results
1. Corona/Santiago 49; 2. Trabuco Hills 65; 3. Saugus 156; 4. Vista Murrieta 157; 5. Great Oak 157; 6. Crescenta Valley 174; 7. Redondo Union 207; 8. Huntington Beach 210; 9. King 241; 10. San Clemente 241
Individuals
1. Blade (Santiago/Corona) 15:32.8; 2. Barker (Trabuco Hills) 16:06.6; 3. Combe (Corona/Santiago) 16:32.4; 4. Hsieh (Arcadia) 16:33.2; 5. Rubio (Huntington Beach) 16:33.8; 6. Crum (Temescal Canyon) 16:44.7; 7. Benun (Santa Monica) 16:45.9; 8. Alfred (Rancho Cucamonga) 16:47.0; 9. Mejia (Millikan) 16:52.6; 10. Kirk (Vista Murrieta) 16:55.1
Division 2
Team Results
1. Ventura 61; 2. Claremont 94; 3. Murrieta Valley 109; 4. El Toro 113; 5. Ayala 163; 6. Newbury Park 170; 7. Woodbridge 178; 8. Citrus Valley 200; 9. Canyon 217; 10. Tesoro 229
Individuals
1. Engelhardt (Ventura) 15:26.8; 2. Avina (Murrieta Valley) 16:34.2; 3. Williams (El Toro) 16:37.1; 4. McCullough (Newport Harbor) 16:40.6; 5. Chen (Claremont) 16:47.7; 6. Lieberman (Murrieta Valley) 16:49.5; 7. Robar (Newport Harbor) 17:02.6; 8. Bulmer (Claremont) 17:02.9; 9. True (Ventura) 17:03.6; 10. Forrest (Tesoro) 17:11.5
Division 3
Team Results
1. Dana Hills 84; 2. Santa Margarita 122; 3. West Torrance 133; 4. Yorba Linda 134; 5. Redlands East Valley 212; 6. Shadow Hills 213; 7. Thousand Oaks 216; 8. North Torrance 221; 9. Canyon/CC 224; 10. Oak Park 224; 13. Corona del Mar 251
Individuals
1. Djomby Enyawe (Corona del Mar) 16:46.6; 2. Ivarsson (Dana Hills) 17:15.0; 3. Brookins (Norte Vista) 17:17.3; 4. Esponda (South Torrance) 17:23.6; 5. Kajita (Thousand Oaks) 17:23.9; 6. Osorio (West Covina) 17:24.3; 7. Lott (Dana Hills) 17:24.4; 8. Herrera (Canyon/CC) 17:25.5; 9. Heath (Capistrano Valley) 17:28.7; 10. Soto (North Torrance) 17:31.4
Division 4
Team Results
1. JSerra 31; 2. Oaks Christian 79; 3. South Pasadena 118; 4. Palos Verdes 126; 5. La Canada 129; 6. Harvard-Westlake 196; 7. Laguna Beach 203; 8. Rim of the World 241; 9. Fillmore 280; 10. Bishop Amat 283
Individuals
1. Godsey (Oaks Christian) 16:12.7; 2. Errington (South Pasadena) 16:28.6; 3. Polay (JSerra) 16:35.4; 4. Tasser (JSerra) 16:38.7; 5. Wilson (JSerra) 16:50.1; 6. De Brouwer (La Canada) 16:55.0; 7. Garcia (JSerra) 17:12.6; 8. Geyer (Oaks Christian) 17:26.8; 9. Byrne (South Pasadena) 17:35.5; 10. Ebiner (Bishop Amat) 17:36.1; 21. Sydney (Laguna Beach) 18:02.0
Division 5
Team Results
1. St. Margaret’s 94; 2. Thacher 105; 3. St. Lucy’s 126; 4. Viewpoint 147; 5. Western Christian 154; 6. Samueli Academy 167; 7. Pacifica Christian 198; 8. Sage Hill 215; 9. Xavier College Prep 227; 10. Cantwell-Sacred Heart 239
Individuals
1. Murray (Pacifica Christian) 17:52.6; 2. Li (St. Margaret’s) 17:58.0; 3. Samson (Webb) 18:04.4; 4. Schein (Xavier College Prep) 18:09.1; 5. Chavez (Samueli Academy) 18:10.0; 6. Bendzick (St. Margaret’s) 18:24.7; 7. Burns (St. Lucy’s) 18:39.2; 8. Sarkisian (Brentwood) 18:43.1; 9. Murphree (Malibu) 18:50.9; 10. Bivens (Western Christian) 18:51.7; 30. Chao (Sage Hill) 20:01.7
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