A program record forty-nine Whitney runners competed at Section Championships at Willow Hills in Folsom this past Saturday. It was a high-energy meet (always is) with a LOT on the line. When it was all said and done, each of Whitney’s record 7 squads performed as well or better than at Sub-sections the week before. And ALL seven squads finished in the top 5 in their respective team standings.
A major element to the section finals event is varsity trying to earn a berth to the state meet. We were able to advance one team, varsity men as a team, as well as two individuals on the ladies’ side.
Varsity men did something very rare and very difficult … defended their section title !!!
For the second straight year, Whitney won the section title, winning by a very convincing 30 points. Whitney was ranked #1 in D2 SJS throughout the season, and backed up that ranking in a commanding way, with Austin Vasquez winning the race (one of only 2 runners all day to break 16 min on the difficult 5K course). Ethan Dodge placed 4th; our 1-4 finish neutralized the 2-3 finish of Vacaville’s two elite runners, leaving it to our depth to outperform the other top teams. Brenden Jacoby, Josh Tajiri, and Jason Finta packed it up, holding each other accountable to a rigorous pace that left nothing to chance. So inspiring to see those 3 guys gut it out to ensure our critical 5th scorer was ahead of every other team’s 5th scorer. In the end, not only did no team get their 5th man in before Whitney’s, but no team even got their 4th runner in before we were done scoring! Austin’s individual victory makes him the first ever Whitney runner to be a section champion.
As Whitney’s varsity men have now earned their 4th consecutive trip to the state championships, something very unique has been accomplished. Austin, Ethan, Brenden, and Josh have been the core of the varsity line-up since 2016 when they were freshmen. Four guys all four years going to state. A little research may be necessary to see if this has ever been done by any team anywhere. In 2016, only one other team in the entire state had a team with 4 freshman boys make it to state, and that team did not repeat. Whether or not it’s been done before, it is no doubt a very very rare achievement for four runners to make state as a team all four years of high school.
Our varsity girls had a tough task … trying to crack into the top 3 in what has become a highly competitive D2 field. With top runner Grace Lathrop being pulled from the race due to injury, the task became all the more difficult. Whitney ended up 4th, but only 16 points from 3rd, so a valiant effort by our 6 ladies (Our transposed times into the D1 race would have been good enough to earn a berth to state in D1). Katie Kopec continued her meteoric rise, going 19-flat and finishing 3rd overall, earning a trip to state. Katie eclipsed Jordan Sienkiewicz’s Whitney record on this course of 19:01. Also qualifying for the state meet was 4-year senior Brooke Giorgi, placing 11th overall in a personal best for her, 19:39. Jessica Becker medaled, finishing as one of the top individuals, and missing the last state berth by only 19 seconds. Only Brooke is a senior, so Katie, Grace, Jessica, Kirsten Ransford, Natalie Eppler, and Grace Pierce will have a chance to earn that team spot in 2020.
Varsity boys weren’t the only section title for Whitney. Our freshman boys also took 1st !!! Whitney’s freshman squad got five scorers across the line in the top 13 of the race to win by over 30 points. Mateo Delgadillo, Cole Jamieson, Fekadu Cantrell, Brandon Olah, Callum Turner, Nick Herrmann, and Jaden Rapp have been super consistent all season as a formidable front seven on a young team. Jaden as our 7th man would be a top 5 scorer on all teams in D2 except for two.
Continuing the Whitney boys dominance in D2, our JV boys were 3rd in the race with all divisions combined. But Whitney JV was first in D2, behind a stellar run by 4-year senior Jacob Harbert, blazing his way to a 17:09 time that was good enough for 2nd place. Jacob will be added to the varsity team representing Whitney at the state meet. Aidan Ransford was not far behind in 3rd. Aidan Redding helped anchor the scoring with a top 10 finish (4th D2 runner).
Other squads to perform well were sophomore boys finishing 2nd, improving on their 3rd place finish at Sub-sections. Season-long squad leader Ryan Hart was 5th. James Bowen (12th) and Connor Jacoby (19th) placed in the top 20. For the JV girls, Haley Bedrin continued to lead the squad, placing 12th overall and 7th of the D2 runners in the all-divisions-combined JV race.
Frosh soph girls improved on their 5th place finish at Frog Town to place 4th behind a stellar effort by the dynamic duo of Mariana Blanding and Tyler Williams. These two ladies covered the 3400m course in the low-14’s, which is an impressive mark that indicates touching on the edge of varsity level pacing. These two young ladies will be fun to watch as they continue to develop. Keep an eye on them this spring during track season. Fast-rising Sydney Woolley moved into the 3rd spot to finish her freshman XC season on a very strong note.
Whitney XC is proud to be the only D2 team to place at least 5th in all 7 races at Section Championships. And we are proud to be sending 9 runners to the CIF State Championships on November 30 at Woodward Park in Clovis.
Austin Vasquez, Ethan Dodge, Josh Tajiri, Brenden Jacoby, Jacob Harbert, Jason Finta, and Byron Chadwick will compose our mens state team.
Brooke Giorgi and Katie Kopec will represent Whitney as individuals in the womens state race.
Congratulations to every one of our 80 runners this 2019 season. From the time our roster was finalized back in August at the beginning of the season, not a single runner quit the team. That says a lot about the character, commitment, and culture of the young ladies and gentlemen who make up this program. It also includes all parents (and other “taxi drivers”, among many other tasks) who’ve made many sacrifices of time and resources to make this program as positive as it is.
Our next “assignment” is to perform as the distance squad on the Whitney Track & Field team this spring. Hope to see y’all out there!