Led by Amber Gore’s sixth-place finish, Redondo Union’s girls cross country team placed second at the CIF Southern Section finals held at Mt. San Antonio College Saturday, qualifying Bob Leetch’s squad for the State Championships.
Redondo’s boys team, Mira Costa’s girls team, both Palos Verdes teams and two runners from South Torrance also advanced to the state meet that will be held Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Bay League girls champion Abby Hong had the fastest time of any South Bay runner, crossing the finish line in 17 minutes, 15 seconds to place fifth to lead Mira Costa in the Division 2 race.
Gore placed sixth in the field of 117 finishers with a personal-best time of 17:21, leading Redondo to a score of 123. Simi Valley captured the Division 2 title with 95 points and Arroyo Grande finished third with 123. Mira Costa placed fifth with 141 points.
Also running for the Sea Hawks were Taylor Beaudoin (24th, 18:17), Nicole Beaudoin (27th, 18:19), Peyton Bell (37th, 18:36), Anevay Hiehle (41st, 18:40), Thalia Silva (72md, 19:21) and Trinity Leonard (78th, 19:29).
Mira Costa’s girls team included Hong, Emma Lautanen (16th, 18:03), Natasha Brunstein (32nd, 18:23), Alexis Johnson (52nd, 18:53), Leora Tofler (62nd, 19:05), Kellie Jeong (98th, 18:58, Kara Jeong (107th, 20:23).
Palos Verdes’ girls team won the Division 3 championship behind Cassidy Webber’s second-place finish at 17:42.
In a field of 118 runners, Redondo’s boys team earned the final qualifying position in Division 2 with a seventh-place finish. Saugus won the title with 83 points followed by Dos Pueblos (118) and Simi Valley (134). Mira Costa placed 16th.
Carlos Suarez led the Sea Hawks with a 10th-place finish at 15:14. William Tait (12th, 15:18), Dustin Herold (14th, 15:20), Takehiro Yamaya (66th, 16:12), Tomohiro Yamaya (69th, 16:14), Nicolas Wells (81st, 16:27) and Waseem Radi (98th, 16:42) rounded out the team.
Mira Costa runners included JC Ohmstede (32nd, 15:43), Chance Weston (82nd, 16:28), Kevin Mauge (95th, 16:37), Brandon Shirazi (96th, 16:38), Ethan Williams (97th, 16:41), Alex Graves (111th, 17:12) and Matt O’Brien (115th, 17:37).
Palos Verdes advanced to the Division 3 state championships behind a fifth-place finish by Bay League champion Casey Celestin who posted a time of 14:59.
South Torrance’s Nick Lofgren ran the fastest time of any male runner from the South Bay, placing fifth in Division 2 at 14:58. Fellow Spartan Kimberly Coscia also qualified as an individual after placing eighth in the Division 2 girls race with a time of 17:37).
