Pio wins state cross country championship
Mira Costa’s Savannah Pio continued her winning pace by capturing the CIF Division II State Championship with a time of 17:27 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Aryn Foland (17:48) used a strong kick in the final 440 meters to finish fourth behind Saugus runners Kaylin Mahoney and Stephanie Bulder and Kelli Sugimoto (18:15) added a 12th-place effort for the Mustangs who finished second with 62 points.
Saugus placed first with 25 points having five of its runners finish in the top ten. The Mustangs will join Saugus at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland on Saturday
Other finishers for Mira Costa were Vivian Cherrette (21st, 18:33), Shannon Hagedorn (36th, 18:41), Jenna Tong (68th, 19:18) and Sara Locke-Henders (111th, 19:51).
Redondo, who had won the first two Bay League meets, placed third with 96 points. Kelly Ryan led the way for the Sea Hawks, placing 14th with a time of 18:23 just ahead of teammates Lyndsey Mull (15th, 18:25) and Rachel Bush (17th, 18:26).
Kayla Ferron finished 29th at 18:37 and Laura O’Neill recovered from a fall on the course to place 43rd at 18:52. Cara Ulizio (62nd, 19:13) and Anique Villegas (96th, 19:43) also finished for Redondo.
Bay League rival Palos Verdes placed second in the Division III competition. Rebecca Mehra, who missed most of the season with a stress fracture, was the Sea King’s top finisher but could not successfully defend her state title. Her runner-up finish, however, was only two seconds off last year’s winning time of 17:34, earning her an individual berth in the Nike Cross Nationals.
For the second consecutive year, the Palos Verdes boys team was runner up in the Division III State Championships. The Sea Kings, led by Justin Unno’s fourth-place finish at 15:30, placed second behind St. John Bosco. ER