LA JOLLA’S DAILEY RUNNING FOR SAN DIEGO AT MORLEY
It has been more than a decade since a San Diego female finished in the top 10 at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, held at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
Rancho Bernardo High School’s Molly Grabill placed ninth in 2010.
You have to go back to 1992 to find a local who finished in the top three. That year, Fallbrook’s Milena Glusac was second.
Just one local girl has won the Foot Locker event since its inception in 1979: Rancho Buena Vista’s Kira Jorgensen won the 1987 race in 17 minutes, 8 seconds.
Against that backdrop, La Jolla sophomore Chiara Dailey will toe the starting line today at Morley Field looking to make a bit of history. The top 40 girls will race at 9:15 a.m., with the boys following at 10.
Dailey is a bit of a wunderkind in that last year was the first time she ever raced competitively, even though both of her parents ran cross country in college.
Undaunted, she placed 14th in 17:51.7, and promptly reset her goals for 2023.
“I’ll be happy with a topfive finish (at the Nationals),” said Dailey after she captured the West Regional a week ago, adding “but I’m still going to try to win.”
Dailey ran away with the section Division III crown, then captured the California state title by 22 seconds before scorching the Mt. SAC course in 17:42 to win the West regional — almost a 30-second improvement over her freshman year.
At each step along the way, Dailey pushed herself by going out and leading. That should serve her well today, when she faces fierce competition.
The pre-race favorite would have to be Maine’s Ellie Shea, who a year ago finished second in 16:55.1 over a course that includes the steep Upas Street hill up-and-down — twice. She cruised to second place in the Northeast Regional.
Similarly, Tennessee’s Abby Faith Cheeseman qualified second in the South Regional after a fourth-place finish in 2022.
New York’s Zariel Macchia beat Shea and was a sixthplace finisher a year ago.
The other regional titlists — Michigan’s Rachel Forsyth in the Midwest and Texan Elizabeth Leachman in the South — will be running the Balboa Park course for the first time.
That is one huge advantage for Dailey, who knows every turn, grade and uneven spot at Morley Field.
“The difference this year is that I’m running with confidence,” said Dailey. “Last year, (Ventura’s) Sadie Engelhardt said, ‘If it’s mentally possible for you to win, you can win.’ This time I expect to have a lot of company, which I like. That’s what I want: competition.”
While San Diego’s boys have a much stronger history of success, including a second-place by Francis Parker’s Kenan Pala two years ago, no locals qualified this year.
The No. 1 returnee is Indiana’s Cameron Todd, who placed sixth in 2022 and cruised to qualify third in the Midwest Regional. Pennsylvania’s Drew Griffith returns after finishing eighth last year and was second in the Northeast Regional.
Griffith has the fastest 5K in the nation this season at 14:21.0.
The Regional champions this year were Northern California’s Josh Chu (West), Florida’s Patrick Koon (South), Michigan’s Thomas Westphal (Midwest) and Pennsylvania’s Ryan Pajak (Northeast).