Sierra Foothill League Championships 2021

Aug 3, 2021

The long and uncertain covid school year ended in May with plenty for Whitney Distance to celebrate. To begin with, we were lucky enough to be the first sport that met health safety criteria which allowed us the possibility to finally have competition starting in January. And by the time we officially closed our competition season, our runners ended up reaching some remarkable achievements.

Summer conditioning extended well into winter, and with covid quarantining and other issues, it was challenging to keep everyone consistent. But our team maintained good size as many of our runners were able to stick with the program through it all. About half the team managed at least 75% attendance during the 6-month “extended summer conditioning”. Of those nearly 30 runners, 100% of them went on to hit lifetime PR’s by the end of track season, with most breaking their own personal records multiple times. We no doubt peaked at the right time, given the number of crazy PR’s our runners put up in the final 24 hours of the long covid season.

On Friday, May 21, Whitney competed at the SFL Championships. The next day, on Saturday, May 22, many of our distance runners made the trek down to Dublin for one last hoorah at the Dublin Distance Fiesta, where no less than 19 more season bests (most of them lifetime PR’s) were set. This final week of the overlapping XC and Track seasons capped an unimaginable year that began with plenty of uncertainty, yet ended with incredible accomplishment.

Here are some highlights from the culmination of the long season at the end of May…

 

Frosh Soph Girls

Our girls outscored every other team in the league in the 3 distance events at the SFL Finals. Whitney scored a massive 15 points in just the 800 alone, taking control of the event with 4 runners in the top 6 overall. But even bigger than that, our girls dominated the 3200, placing 3 runners in the top 4 for a team total of 22 points in that one event alone.

  • Gillian Kingery hit a season best, nearly breaking 7 minutes in the 1600; Gillian placed top 6 in the 800 with a lifetime PR, almost breaking 3 minutes
  • Mikaela Pock just missed scoring, finishing 7th in the 1600, but she did score in the 800, crossing in 5th place and hitting a lifetime PR, just a second from breaking 3 minutes; and, wanting to triple, Mikaela scored more points by finishing 4th in the 3200
  • Tyler Williams was our top miler, placing 5th in the 1600
  • Mariana Blanding finished 4th in the 800, hitting an impressive lifetime PR of 2:43, then 2nd in the 3200; a day later, Mariana went down to Dublin and broke 6 minutes in the 1600 for the first time ever, hitting 5:57
  • Top frosh soph runner for Whitney Sophie Bowen skipped the 1600 to save her legs for a fresh 800, which paid off as she was 2nd and PR’d with a very fast 2:38; then Sophie cruised to victory in the 3200… congratulations 3200m league champion!

Frosh Soph Boys

Like the girls, our frosh soph boys outscored all other teams in the league in the 3 distance events. Things started out with Whitney dominating the 1600, scoring 15 points as 4 of the top 7 overall were Wildcats. Whitney scored 18 points in the 3200, placing 3 runners in the top 4.

  • Landon Wibbeler nearly broke 6 minutes in the 1600, and almost made the top 10 in the 3200, placing 11th overall
  • Tyler Herceg managed a lifetime PR 5:51 in the 1600
  • Peyton Boyd PR’d in the 1600 with a 5:36, and was 9th place in the 3200
  • Brendan Whitmore continues to rise, hitting 5:14 which is a lifetime PR, and was one of 5 Whitney runners to make it to finals in the 800, top 12 in the league; the next day in Dublin, Brendan PR’d in the 3200, nearly breaking 11 minutes with an 11:08 effort
  • Noah Reed hit 5:11, a lifetime PR for him in the 1600, then followed that up with another lifetime PR of 11:31 in the 3200, finishing 4th overall and scoring for Whitney
  • Aidan Barkve ran a lifetime PR of 11:27 in the 3200, placing 3rd and scoring for Whitney; the next day in Dublin, Aidan ran a 5:11 PR in the 1600, then a 2:25 PR in the 800
  • Dario Ruscica is beginning to threaten the 5 minute barrier, going 5:10, a PR for him, and made the 800m finals, placing in the top 10 in that event; the next day down in Dublin, Dario ran 2:19, which is a lifetime PR
  • David Hurren broke 5 minutes for the first time ever, going 4:58; David also PR’d in the 3200, nearly winning the race placing a close 2nd in a very fast 10:49
  • Jaden Rapp also broke 5 with a new PR of 4:58, and placed 6th to score for Whitney; Jaden was a finalist in the 800, placing 7th; Jaden broke 11 minutes in the 3200 the next day in Dublin, crossing the line in a blazing 10:40, a new lifetime PR
  • Joel Tajiri hit an impressive PR at 4:50, placing 3rd in the 1600; Joel also placed 6th in the 800, scoring for Whitney; then a day later, Joel hit a new 3200m PR at an incredible time of 10:33
  • Noah Lopez PR’d and was 2nd overall in the 1600, hitting a very fast 4:49, and was 5th in the 800, hitting a lifetime PR of 2:15 and scoring points for Whitney; down in Dublin the next day, Noah PR’d in the 3200 with a very fast 10:35

Varsity Girls

Our varsity girls, just as in cross country season, had the toughest road ahead of them, with 3 other distance teams in our league being ranked in the top 5 in the section. SFL varsity girls compose one of the most elite leagues of distance runners in the entire state. The distance races are so loaded, an Oak Ridge girl ran a 5:06 mile, which would easily be league champion in most leagues, but in the SFL was 7th and didn’t even score a point. But even with all the star power, Whitney Distance managed a number of surprises, helping our varsity girls win a league championship.

  • Anna Giorgi broke 8 minutes in the 1600m final
  • Alicia Chiang hit a season best time of 7:18 in the 1600
  • Hailey Kelly cruised to a 7:12 1600, then broke 3 minutes in the 800, and capped off the triple with a season best 14:21 in the 3200
  • Cailin Fitzgerald went 6:41 in the 1600, then hit 6:25 a day later at the same distance down in Dublin
  • Kylee Wibbeler hit a PR of 6:22 in the 1600, then in Dublin the next day, Kylee hit a PR in the 800 at 2:52
  • Jessica Becker, still not 100%, set a manageable pace for a solid 6:21
  • Ashlyn Fujioka inched closer to a PR at 6:12 in the 1600
  • Rachel Tajiri, on a tear recently, dropped all the way down to 6:07, a huge PR getting close to that prestigious sub-6 mark; the next day, Rachel PR’d again in the 1600, hitting 6:03… so close to sub-6
  • Grace Pierce came close to breaking 6 minutes, hitting a season best 6:06, but did break 6 the next day in Dublin, going 5:59
  • Kirsten Ransford, consistently under 6, went 5:58
  • Haley Bedrin, one of our most improved runners this year as a senior, PR’d at 5:47
  • Grace Scott ran a very fast 1600 in 5:24, which puts her at #11 on Whitney’s all-time list then came back to place top 10 in the 800m final hitting a new lifetime PR of 2:28; the next day down in Dublin, Grace set a tough 6-flat mile pace to go after the 12-minute barrier in the 3200, and she achieved just that… 11:55 and a huge lifetime PR
  • Ava Kopec made huge leaps in the final weeks of the season, then PR’d by a whopping 10 seconds to go 5:05 for a top 6 scoring finish in the 1600m final; even more impressive was how she powered past some of the best middle distance runners in the region to beat them all and become 800m SFL Champion with a blazing 2:21 PR that puts her at #5 on Whitney’s all-time list; the next day in Dublin, Ava focused on just the 3200, where she hit a massive PR of 11:08, which is now 3rd on the Whitney all-time list
  • Katie Kopec set a 1600m school record by placing 3rd, nearly breaking 5 minutes at 5:02; she had set the fastest mark in the 800m qualifying, which is #2 on the all-time list at 2:20, but scratched the final to focus on the 3200, where she placed 3rd in a speedy 11:04, which is #2 on the all-time list

Varsity Boys

Whitney’s frosh soph boys and varsity boys both went undefeated in cross country, and each capped off the XC season with a resounding win at SFL Championships. The frosh soph squad outscored each distance team in the track finals, but the varsity did one better… Whitney’s varsity boys not only scored more points than any other team, Whitney outscored the entire league combined in the distance events! It all started in the 1600m Final, where 4 of the top 5 runners overall were from Whitney. All three distance events featured individual champions from Whitney. Ten runners from this 2021 team found their way onto the Whitney’s All-Time Top 20 list in a distance event. Such a dominant result is a testament to these young men and how team-oriented they are in their training and entire approach to running for Whitney Distance.

  • Dylan DeValk set a season best in the 1600 at 5:53, then came back in the 3200 to hit a lifetime PR in 12:58
  • Max Sommerhauser ran his best 1600 of the season at a time of 5:30 then nearly broke 12 minutes in the 3200
  • Luca Ruscica hit 5:23 in the 1600 then broke 12 in the 3200
  • Charlie Gioia came very close to a PR with his 5:13 effort in the 1600 and later came back for a season best in the 3200
  • Connor Jacoby inched ever closer to that elusive 5 minute barrier, hitting 5:08
  • Levi Chadwick managed a season best, nearly breaking 5 at 5:06
  • Hunter Schwab, now consistently under 4:50 in the 1600, hit 4:48; later, Hunter ran the 3200, just missing top 10, but hitting a very fast 10:32 lifetime PR
  • Mateo DelGadillo, a sophomore, nearly PR’d at 4:47; Mateo also qualified for the 800m final and finished in the top 10 with a PR of 2:05
  • Nick Herrmann, a sophomore, PR’d in the 1600 with a 4:45, but beat that less than 24 hours later in Dublin, going a new lifetime best of 4:43; Nick didn’t stop there… he raced an incredible 3200 in Dublin with a 10:08 performance, which is top 20 Whitney all-time
  • James Bowen hit a lifetime PR of 4:40 at league finals, then the same mark again a day later at Dublin
  • Brandon Olah, a sophomore placing in the top 10, hit a fast lifetime PR at 4:40; Brandon qualified for the 800m final and finished in the top 10 there as well with a PR of 2:05
  • Callum Turner, a sophomore, placed 5th in the 1600 with a blazing PR of 4:36, then with a strained back still managed top 10 with a 10:21 effort in the 3200
  • Cole Jamieson, a sophomore, was 4th in 4:34 and later ran 10:15 in the 3200 for 7th place
  • Aidan Ransford placed top 6 in the 3200, running 10:15 and scoring for Whitney; a week later, Aidan ran a 5000m run (that’s 12 and a half laps) in 16:17, indicating he may be breaking that 16 minute barrier as he continues his running in college
  • Ryan Hart was one of only 3 runners to break the elusive 10 minute barrier at SFL Finals, hitting 9:59 for 3rd place and a new lifetime PR; Ryan had previously gone 10:01, and then literally 10:00:00 before finally getting a “9” in front of his PR 🙂
  • Byron Chadwick placed 3rd in the 1600, nearly hitting a PR at 4:32; but even more impressive was grinding his way through 7 laps of the 3200m run before hammering the final lap to seize a commanding lead and hit a huge 9:49 PR to claim the title of league champion; Byron followed up a week later at an all-comers meet, running a 5K on the track (12.5 laps!) in an impressive 16:10, soon to be sub-16 as he begins his college running career
  • Jason Finta, proving to be the most dominant distance runner in the league at the end of the season when it mattered, earned the title of 2-Time Champion; Jason set the perfect pace in the 1600, then surged to take over 1st place with a lap to go and win by a convincing 7 seconds in a new PR of 4:23 and #5 on Whitney’s all-time list; that was followed up by a convincing 2-second margin of victory in the 800 with a new PR at 1:57, good for #3 on the all-time list; a day later in Dublin, Jason blew away his 3200m PR, going 9:26, which is #5 all-time; and as if that wasn’t enough, Jason ran a 4:01 1500m run a week later at an all-comers meet, which translates to about a 4:18 mile!

It’s worth mentioning that our boys varsity cross country team finished the season ranked in the top 3 in the section in D2 based on our 5K times, which indicates we would have had a good chance at a berth to the state meet if there was one. Top 3 go to state in D2. Given the degree of difficulty of our championship course, coupled with a look at our outstanding track results, it’s very realistic to speculate that our boys not only had a shot at state, but they had a really good shot at a section title. Of course we’ll never know. But what we do know is this team has proven to be one of the most dominant squads in the region in 2020/2021.