Young lifts Newbury Park CA to second-place finish in boys sweepstakes, Gaitan becomes first Wolfpack girls sweepstakes winner since Collins in 2014; Great Oak boys run fastest team time in meet history

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Tori Gaitan and her Great Oak CA teammates had to be patient for their moment in the spotlight at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic.

As for the Great Oak boys, they shined brighter Saturday night than any team in the meet’s 38-year history.

BOYS SWEEPSTAKES RACE | GIRLS SWEEPSTAKES RACE | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS | RESULTS

Newbury Park CA junior Nico Young took center stage under the lights at SilverLakes Sports Complex in Norco, Calif., by winning the 3-mile Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race in 14 minutes, 1.1 seconds and helping his team overcome the absence of junior Jace Aschbrenner to place second with 184 points.

Young’s effort was the No. 8 performance in meet history, a significant improvement from his 15:17.9 last year, extending the streak of California individual champions in the boys sweepstakes race to 16 consecutive years. The entire top five was comprised of California standouts, with Rubidoux senior Kevin Ramos taking second in 14:03.4, Bakersfield Stockdale senior Marcus Mota placing third in 14:05.4, Dublin senior Loic Scomparin finishing fourth in 14:07.1 and Long Beach Poly senior William Frankenfeld earning fifth in 14:07.6.

Joey Nokes of Riverton UT ran the second-fastest time by an athlete outside of California in meet history, placing sixth in 14:12.6, with the top 25 all-time performers at the event – regardless of venue – all from California.

Great Oak had five athletes in the top 35, all running under 14:45, to produce the fastest team time in meet history at 72:36, eclipsing the 2013 record of 72:46 established by Arcadia in 2013 at Estancia High. The Wolfpack repeated as champions with 85 points for their fourth sweepstakes title in five years.

Gabe Abbes placed eighth in 14:17.5, Tyler Tickner was 11th in 14:22.2, Chris Verdugo finished 25th in 14:37.5, Cameron Hylton took 29th in 14:39.7 and Noah Nevens secured 35th in 14:42.2 for Great Oak, which also had Mateo Joseph place second in the rated race in 14:44.3 to lead the Wolfpack ‘B’ team to victory.

After finishing seventh in last year’s Bob Day girls sweepstakes race and watching Great Oak place second to Buchanan CA, Gaitan erased both disappointments by becoming the first Wolfpack female athlete since Destiny Collins in 2014 to capture the title.

Great Oak also earned its first sweepstakes team championship since 2015 with an 84-145 victory over Desert Hills UT. Granada CA, competing without injured senior Kalea Bartolotto, relied on a seventh-place effort from senior Colleen McCandless (16:24.3) to finish third with 156 points.

Gaitan pulled away from defending champion Corie Smith of Buchanan in the final mile to prevail in 16:06.1, the No. 11 effort in meet history. Smith, who ran 15:58.4 last year with teammate Meagen Lowe clocking 15:59.3, was runner-up in 16:11.1 and Walnut CA senior Chloe Arriaga was third in 16:11.5.

Oak Park CA senior Sarah Shulze clocked 16:12.9 for fourth place, Lowe ran 16:14.7 for fifth and Rio Rico AZ senior Samantha Schadler, who placed third in the rated race in 17:09.6 in her only previous appearance at the meet in 2016, secured sixth in 16:14.8.

Along with Gaitan, Great Oak had Arianna Griffiths finish eighth in 16:27.3, Fatima Cortes place 15th in 16:47.6, Audrey Dang secure 22nd in 16:58.3 and Brianna Weidler take 76th in 17:49.4.

Granada Hills CA freshman Sofia Abrego won the girls rated race in 17:01.3 in her high school debut, but a second-place finish by Vista Murrieta CA freshman Devyn Candaele (17:02.5) helped the Broncos capture the team victory with 53 points.

Capistrano Valley CA senior Ty Savely won the boys rated race in 14:43.2.

San Pasqual CA senior Franky Varela ran the fastest time Friday night by clocking 14:46 in his red division varsity race, with Jonathan Velasco of Mission Hills CA running 14:49.9.

Santa Ana CA junior Maria Hernandez (17:27.2) and Yorba Linda CA sophomore Siena Palicke (17:27.8) ran the two fastest girls times Friday to win their respective red division varsity races.