FRESNO, Calif. – Junior Kayla Towne finished 44th with a time of 18 minutes, 53.8 seconds, while seniors Paige Quigley and Daphne Witherell crossed the line close behind in 45th and 50th, leading St. Francis to an 11th-place team total of 266 points in the Championship Girls' 5-kilometer race at the 43rd ASICS Clovis Invitational Saturday.
The Troubadours were third among Sac-Joaquin Section schools in the meet's premier event: Oak Ridge placed fifth overall at 213 points, while Granite Bay edged SF by six points at 260. Los Altos was the overall winner with 93. Defending state Division III champ Hanna Thomsen of Montgomery won the individual title at 17:04.2.
Towne moved up 16 overall places during the final third of the race. She was 72nd overall at the one-mile marker at 5:51.8, then 60th – and third among the St. Francis runners – at the two-mile mark at 12:59.9.
Ryann Strawn (91st) and Grace Dunham (103rd) rounded out the Troubie scoring, with Emma Dobson (115th) and Pamela Vargas (137th) displacing.
St. Francis also brought a junior varsity team, consisting of a combination of its usual frosh-soph and JV squads. Sophomore Carly Hall led the Troubies in this division in 24th place (22:04.8). Magdalena Becerril and Kelsey Sutch later crossed in 48th and 52nd, with Sam Powers (78th) and Chloe' Hickey (88th) completing the scoring. Sarah Charles (154th) and Stella Davenport (163rd) displaced for SF.
The Troubie JV finished ninth among the 24 scoring teams at 230 points, one ahead of San Francisco University. Incredibly, Poppy Chrisman of University was edged at the line by Viewpoint's Kaila Franzwa-Moody by less than a second, despite Chrisman having made up a 19-second deficit in the final mile. Had Crisman overtaken Franzwa-Moody, University would have finished a point ahead of St. Francis.
St. Francis returns to action at the Cordova edition of the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals. This is a series of meets held across the country and throughout the season, with all runners competing in 3,200-meter races on a track. The times are later compiled to establish local, state and national rankings.
43RD ASICS INVITATIONAL
Woodward Park (Fresno, Calif.)
Events with SFHS entrants only • Winner plus SFHS finishers listed
CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS 5K TEAM SCORES - 1. Los Altos, 93, 2. JSerra Catholic, 122; 3. Newbury Park,123; 4. St. Francis (Mountain View), 197; 5. Oak Ridge, 213; 6. Clovis North,218; 7. Santiago Corona, 225; 8. La Cañada, 228; 9. Great Oak, 247; 10. Granite Bay, 260; 11. St. Francis (Sac), 266; 12. Oaks Christian, 273; 13. La Costa Canyon, 281; 14. Huntington Beach, 293; 15. La Jolla, 307; 16. Ventura, 333; 17. Ayala, 383; 18. Sanger, 445.
CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS 5K INDIVIDUALS - 1. Hanna Thomsen, Montgomery, 17:04.2.... 44. Kayla Towne, 18:53.8; 45. Paige Quigley, 18:54.2; 50. Daphne Witherell, 19:00.7; 91. Ryann Strawn, 19:55.0; 103. Grace Dunham, 20:23.5; 115. Emma Dobson, 20:52.3; 137. Pamela Vargas, 22:37.9.
JV GIRLS (ALL DIVISIONS) 5K TEAM SCORES - 1. JSerra Catholic, 47; 2. Los Altos, 56; 3. Great Oak, 89; 4. St. Ignatius, 92; 5. Dana Hills, 174; 6. Canyon Anaheim Hills, 191; 7. Huntington Beach, 222; 8. Tesoro, 228; 9. St. Francis (Sac), 230; 10. San Francisco University, 231, 11. Clovis North, 241; 12. University City, 247; 13. Arcadia, 386; 14. Amador Valley, 444; 15. Capistrano Valley, 444; 16. George Washington; 452; 17. Edison, 471; 18. St. Margaret's Episcopal, 496; 19. Mater Dei, 509; 20. Brea Olinda, 555; 21. Carondelet, 558; 22. Pacifica Garden Grove, 573; 23. Wasco, 606; 24. Mayfield, 622.
JV GIRLS (ALL DIVISIONS) 5K INDIVIDUALS - 1. Emma Beedon, Los Altos, 19:50.7... 24. Carly Hall, 22:04.8; 48. Magdalena Becerril, 22:45.0; 52. Kelsey Sutch, 22:51.5; 78. Sam Powers, 23:25.1; 88. Chloe' Hickey, 23:43.4; 154. Sarah Charles, 25:36.6; 163. Stella Davenport, 26:01.4.
