Cross Country: CdM girls’ take ninth

The Corona del Mar High girls’ cross country team made a strong return to the CIF State Championships, finishing ninth in Division 3 at the CIF State Championships at Woodard Park in Fresno.

The Sea Kings had grabbed the final qualifying spot, finishing seventh in Division 3 at Mt. San Antonio College in the CIF Southern Section finals.

Anuare Magana, a Costa Mesa High senior, finished 10th in Division 4 in 15:56, capping a standout year for the Mustangs.

Tess St. Geme led the way for the CdM girls, as she finished 28th in 19 minutes, 2 seconds. Raquel Powers followed in 38th in 19:12. Elin Wolker (19:33 in 59th), Lilly Schmidt (20:07, 92nd), Jacqueline Choe (20:27 in 116th) and Hannah Crane (21:15 in 149th) also competed.

Sage Hill School sophomore Julia Lowe finsihed 23rd in 19:35 in the girls’ Division 5 race. She had finished fourth at the CIF Southern Section finals.

“For this group, I’m totally excited and totally pleased,” CdM Coach Bill Sumner said of his girls’ team. “This group does not have a frontrunner. I wish we could move that (ninth-place finish) up. But our whole goal was to get there. It was a lot of work for these guys and they worked hard.”

— From staff reports