North Bay runners capture state titles
Three North Bay crosscountry runners, including two from Redwood-Larkspur, grabbed state titles Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Sonoma Academy-Santa Rosa senior Rylee Bowen won her third Division 5 title, covering the rolling 3.1-mile course in 18 minutes, 17.9 seconds, easily outdistancing the runner-up, St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda junior Emily Perez (18:24.2). Branson-Ross senior Grace Dailey was fourth (18:26.9).
Redwood junior Liam Anderson won the boys Division 3 race in 15:10.3, edging Cathedral Catholic-San Diego senior Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos (15:11.2).
Redwood’s Gillian Wagner won the D3 girls race in 17:49.3, the same division in which Campolindo (101 points) won the team competition.
University, which owns the most girls titles in state history with nine, won its first boys championship, taking the D5 crown with 100 points over Thacher (120) and Lick-Wilmerding (134).
Charlie Kennedy was University’s top finisher at 16th, but the Red Devils were tightly grouped, with five in the top 40. Crystal Springs Upland’s Nicholas Medearis was second in the race at 15:41.
In Division 2 boys, St. Francis (57) won the team title over runner-up Dublin (111). Senior Shyam Kumar finished third (15:23) to lead St. Francis.
Boys basketball: Utah-bound guard Naseem Gaskin scored 20 points as The Chronicle’s No. 3 team, Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, posted a 58-56 win over Fairfax-Los Angeles in the final of seven games of the NorCal Tip-off Classic at Newark Memorial High. Jamal Hartwell had 22 points for Fairfax, which has at least five future Division I players on its roster. Two surprises began the day in the 11th annual tournament, as No. 11 Las Lomas-Walnut Creek defeated No. 2 St. Ignatius 60-43 and Berkeley upended No. 6 Dublin 71-68 in overtime. Nathan Robinson, a transfer from Sacred Heart Cathedral, scored 23 points to lead Las Lomas. Darrion Trammell scored 17 points for St. Ignatius. Berkeley’s Ben Baker scored 23 points against Dublin, which was led by Robby Beasley’s 23 points. In third game of the showcase, LincolnStockton got 17 points from Andre Kelly to defeat Newark Memorial 77-57. Jamal Frenchwood had 20 points for the hosts.
CIF NorCal volleyball: Big matches from senior Sarah Blumenfeld and juniors Lana Radakovic and Jasmine Yun helped propel fourth seed Lincoln (36-8) to a CIF State North Region Division 3 title with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 25-17 win over visiting Sonora (27-9). It was the first Northern California girls championship ever for a squad from the San Francisco Section, which hadn’t won a single match in NorCal play before this season. “We kept our poise and pulled together as a team, especially the last two games,” Lincoln coach Vince Tange said. “Our block and defense was really good and it transitioned nicely into our offense. Everyone played great. We’re just trying to stay focused but at the same time enjoy every moment of this historic run. We’re all very excited.” Sacred Heart Cathedral (25-13), vying for its sixth NorCal championship, came up short, losing to top-seed James Logan-Union City, which won its first crown with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16 in the finals of Division 1. Other local champions included Mitty (Open), Sacred Heart Prep (D2), Presentation (D4) and San Marin (D5).