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It was as easy as 1-2-3.
Well, maybe not that easy, but the San Diego Section qualified three girls for Saturday’s 45th Foot Locker National Championships at Balboa Park after all three placed in the top 10 in the WestRegionals at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
Defending champion Chiara Dailey of La Jolla High School placed second on Saturday, clocking a time of 18 minutes, 4.2 seconds over the hilly 3-mile course. Seven seconds back, finishing comfortably in third, was Eastlake High School’s Jaelyn Williams, while Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School was seventh in 18:27.6.
Cassidy Armstrong, a junior out of Ballard High School in Seattle, clocked an impressive 17:42.0 — the same time Dailey ran a year ago — to win the race by 22 seconds. But winning the regional titleis just icing on the cake as the goal for most runners is a top-10 finish and a spot in nationals.
Saving as much energy as you can to be fresh for Saturday’s race has often been cited by Foot Locker Champions as a key.
Dailey said the second-place finish could be motivational, but she actually wasn’t sure how she’d do going into the race after battling a cold the night before and not sleeping well.
“Now I have someone (Armstrong) to go after,” said Dailey. “The truth is, if I didn’t have to race, I probably wouldn’t have. But I’ll be ready Saturday.”
For Williams, the race was a personal test after battling injury and the loss of four wisdom teeth early in the year put her fitness way behind schedule.
She won the CIUF San Diego Section Division 1 title but needed a psychological boost after placing 24th at the state championships last week.
“I’m really happy to be able to run better,” said Williams by phone. “On Friday I wasn’t sure I’d even run here because my muscles were still hurting from state, but I’m really glad I hoppedback on the horse and qualified.
“I’m definitely excited about running Foot Locker Nationals because I’ve never run there.”
Williams said she decided to start slowly.
“But I made my move on the switchbacks and by the 2-mile (mark), I was third. After that, I just ran whatever it took to qualify, but I felt much better than last week. I was aware of where the other runners were and I was never seriously concerned about anyone passing me.”
Hickey, like Williams, was disappointed with her fifth-place finish at state after winning the section Division 5 title the week before.
She made up for it Saturday.
All three San Diego runners are juniors. The section came close to a record four Foot Locker National finalists when Canyon Crest Academy senior Katja Dunayevich placed 12th at 18:40.5 — just 10 seconds behind the final qualifier.
The top local boys’ finisher was Poway’s Cooper Castleberry, who was 40th with a time of 16.21.7.
Foot Locker West Regionals
At Mt. San Anotio College, Walnut
3.0 miles
(National qualifiers and other San Diegans in Top 25)
GIRLS1. Armstrong (Seattle, Wa.) 17:42.0, 2. Dailey (La Jolla) 18:04.2, 3. Williams (Eastlake) 18:11.5, 4. Favero (Salt Lake City) 18:17.4, 5. Flach (Park City, Ut.) 18:25.2, 6. Krueger (Honolulu) 18:27.3, 7. Hickey (Bishop’s) 18:27.6, 8. Kirk (Murrieta) 18:28.1, 10. Alfred (Rancho Cucamonga) 18:29.5. (Others) 12. Dunayevich (Canyon Crest Aca.) 18:40.5, 18. Diaz (Santana) 18:53.4).
BOYS1. Dailak (Paso Robles) 15:27.4, 2. Brownell (Colbert, Wa.) 15:34.0, 3. Van Meerten (Flagstaff, Az.) 15:34.5, 4. Caldwell (Danville) 15:34.9, 5. Tostenson (Central Point, Ore.) 15:38.1, 6. Douglass (Newport Beach) 15:38.3, 7. Lott (Fresno) 15:38.3, 8. Coombs Las Cruces, NM) 15:38.7, 9. Stefanopoulos (Los Gatos) 15:41.5, 10. Recupero (Seattle) 15:45.2.
Originally Published:
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