CIF State Cross Country Championships

When:  Saturday. First race is at 8:30 a.m.

Where: Woodward Park, Fresno.

Distance: 3.0 miles (5K)

Boys individuals: With eight of the top nine finishers from a year ago having graduated, Division 1 is wide open. The San Diego Section has two very strong challengers in Poway’s Cooper Castleberry and Rancho Bernardo’s Camden Luecht. The two have battled nearly every week since the start of the season with the head-to-head record standing at 6-6. Picking a favorite is impossible: Castleberry held off Luecht at the San Diego Section championships. Sage Creek’s Josiah Bowman was an impressive San Diego Section winner in Division 3, but defending state champion Evan Noonan of Dana Hills is a huge favorite. Santa Fe Christian’s Evan Smith, who placed eighth in Division 5 last year, returns.

Boys teams: The Del Norte boys appear to be peaking at the right time in Division 1. The Nighthawks have a quality 1-2 punch in Cameron Yarbrough, who finished third in the San Diego Section, and Luke Jin, who was fifth. A 26-second gap to the No. 3 Sean Chang didn’t seem like much at Morley Field, but that could expose Del Norte at Woodward Park.

Girls individuals: La Jolla High School junior Chiara Dailey returns to defend her Division 4 title. Dailey clocked a time of 17 minutes, 9.2 seconds last year to run away with the race by 22 seconds. Battling a virus, Dailey had no trouble winning the San Diego Section title a week ago in 17:19.4. San Juan Capistrano JSerra’s Sophie Polay (17:32.9) and La Canada’s Maya DeBrouwer (17:37.4) are Dailey’s major challengers. Elsewhere, Ayanna Hickey of Bishop’s was third in Division 5 a year ago and her almost one-minute victory in the San Diego Section meet in the day’s fourth-fastest time overall bodes well. Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams was fourth in Division 1 a year ago. All three girls who finished ahead of her, including defending champion Rylee Blade of Corona Santiago, return. Look for Mt. SAC individual champion Katja Duneyavich of Canyon Crest Academy to go from not qualifying a year ago to a top-10 finish this time.

Girls teams: A year ago, Cathedral Catholic’s girls pulled the upset of the meet to win the Division 3 title. A healthy Dons squad would have been among the favorites this time, but injury and illness have taken a toll. Point Loma won the San Diego Section title. Top-ranked Del Norte was impressive in the San Diego Section Division 1 meet, but State defending champion Corona Santiago, Southern Section champion Trabuco Hills and host Buchanan are heavily favored. Scripps Ranch has been impressive in Division 2, but will face defending champ Ventura, which returned everyone and then had a top runner transfer in.

STEVE BRAND