Newbury Park boys cross country team wins fourth straight CIF State championship

FRESNO — It wasn’t a lot, maybe just a crack or a melancholy moment.

Newbury Park’s boys cross country runners have accomplished so much the last few years in such a business-like fashion that a minute to reflect Saturday seemed a little unusual, even if reasonable.

“We have a pretty senior-(laden) team,” senior Lex Young said. “It’s the culmination of all four years we’ve been on it. It’s one thing when you’re a freshman, you just kind of come into it. But for us, we’ve been working toward this all four years. It’s really special for us having that buildup every single year.”

The Panthers on Saturday capped their California season by routing the Division II field to win their fourth consecutive state championship. They scored 24 points, well ahead of second-place Livermore Granada’s 99 points and third-place Ventura’s 129 in the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.

Young won the division’s individual championship in a near-course record time of 14 minutes, 27.9 seconds. His twin brother Leo Young was second in 14:38.4 and fellow senior Aaron Sahlman was third in 14:41.1.

Newbury Park was one of two area teams to win state titles Saturday, as St. Francis’ boys also won in Division IV.

Lex Young was one of three individual crowns — Palmdale Highland senior Matthew Donis posted the only non-Newbury Park sub-15 minute mark in winning Division I in 14:51.3; Oaks Christian junior Payton Godsey won the Division IV girls championship in 17:00.1.

For Newbury Park, Saturday’s win was perhaps an end to an era. Four of the Panthers’ five scoring runners are graduating, including both Young brothers who are headed to Stanford, and Sahlman.

Last year’s team was so dominant, it was considered by many observers to be the best cross country team in U.S. history.

“Being able to do it with the guys that you’re running with for so long — it’s so special,” Lex Young said.

Rounding out the Panthers’ scorers were junior Dev Dorshi, who placed seventh in 15:17.2, and senior Brayden Seymour was 13th in 15:29.1.

In Division IV, St. Francis followed its championship last week at CIF-SS Finals with a triumphant state title, scoring 93 points to defeat second-place Cathedral (114) and third-place Albany (118).

Senior Hayden Owen led the Golden Knights by finishing 14th in 15:41. Senior Mateo Malko-Allen was 16th in 15:42.8 and junior Samuel Franco was 22nd in 15:55.5 as St. Francis relied on strong pack running to score for its title.

“We love each other and we’re all brothers,” sophomore Aidan Guzman said. “I think we each wanted us to win so bad. I think that’s what really pushed us.”

Donis ran in Division I with his traditional aggression, outlegging Clovis senior Christopher Caudillo (second, 15:03.09) and Crescenta Valley senior Parker Simmons (third, 15:09.7).

“Today, I think I might have gone faster, but I was running smart today,” Donis said, “because, well, some people said that I like to go out too hard, so today I listened to them and I won.”

Godsey ran the second-fastest girls time of the day and just missed breaking the 17-minute barrier in winning her race by nearly a half-minute in 17:00.1. She pulled away from La Jolla freshman Chiara Dailey in the second mile.

“At the top of the hill (in the second mile), I just felt an opportunity to open a little bit,” she said, “so I put in a surge and then, from there, I didn’t look back.”

Other area teams and athletes got close to state crowns Saturday, including Godsey’s Oaks Christian team, which was second.

Related Articles

Newbury Park’s girls, led by senior Ailish Hawkins (fourth, 17:48.1), were second in Division II to Los Altos of the Bay Area.

Sophomore Maya Debrouwer placed fifth in Division IV, leading La Canada to a third-place team finish. Viewpoint’s girls were third in Division V.

In Division I boys, Crescenta Valley placed third, led by senior Parker Simmons, who was third in 15:09.7