Redondo senior Amber Gore closed out her prep cross country career in style Saturday capturing the Division 2 crown at the 28th CIF State Championships held at Woodward Park in Fresno.
One week after winning the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title, Gore led a contingency of South Bay runners who reached the podium including Palos Verdes’ girls and boys teams that placed first and third, respectively, in Division 3.
Gore said the quick pace early on was not what she wanted but used her experience to overcome the deficit and cross the finish line first on the 5K course with a time of 17 minutes, 22 seconds.
She improved last year’s time of 17:36 at the State Championships when she finished in fifth place.
“The race went out faster than I was comfortable with, but that was expected,” Gore said. “I tried to remain poised and under control of my race and separated myself from the lead pack. As things started to settle about halfway through the race, I made a move and caught up to the leaders. Right before the 2-mile mark, Amanda Gehrich and I separated from that lead pack, and then I separated from her, trying to run home with a state championship title. She put up an incredible fight and it was an honor to be able to step on the line with Amanda.”
Gehrich finished second with a time of 17:31 and Murrieta Mesa’s Taylor Taite placed third at 17:40.
Gore’s performance led Redondo to 105 points and a third-place finish behind Saugus (62) and Capistrano Valley (73).
Helping Redondo’s girls team, which had finished fifth in the CIF Southern Section finals, were Taylor Beaudoin (22nd, 18:33), Anevay Hiehle (24th, 18:36), Nicole Pederson (40th, 18:49), Thalia Silva (62nd, 19:12), Nicole Beaudoin (92nd, 19:41) and Trinity Leonard (124th, 20:07).
“My team knew that we would have to give it our all in order to make the podium.” Gore said. “Every single girl stepped up to the challenge and improved and I believe that is how we made that impressive jump. I couldn’t be any prouder of my teammates.
“It was so amazing to represent my school at such a high level, and then on top of my success, to have our volleyball team move on to the next round of CIF. What a night.”
In Division 3, Palos Verdes’s girls teams captured its second state title in four years. With 85 points, the Sea Kings outpaced Campolindo (95) and Esperanza (121).
Jacquelyn Smith led Palos Verdes with an eighth-place finish at 18:15 and was followed by teammates Camille Hines (15th, 18:32), Cassidy Webber (19th, 18:40), Anna Pruter (23rd, 18:56), Abby Watson (53rd, 19:28), McKennah Genovese (82nd, 19:57) and Alex Regan (88th, 20:00).
Robert Franklin’s 12th-place finish at 15:36 led Palos Verdes boys team to its third-place finish. Also running for the Sea Kings were Bennett Gagnon (18th, 15:43), Jake Cohen (23rd, 15:48), Duncan Reid (29th, 15:55), Connor Henebry (60th, 16:19), Davis Butler (105th, 16:46) and Ian Irish (140th, 17:18).
Complete results are available at dyestatcal.com.
