Going into last weekend’s Central Coast Section Championships, Aptos junior Maya Schiro was going through a whirlwind of mixed emotions—mostly nerves and excitement.
The primary goal for the standout Mariners runner was to place in the top five in the Division III race, and making the most of the afternoon by having fun.
She also went in with the mindset of just letting the chips fall where they may.
“I was trying to focus on myself and it went well. It’s a rough course,” she said. “A lot of hills, and there’s the first hill in the first mile, it’s really steep. Then you get over it and you realize how much you left to go still. But, it was good.”
Schrio wound up taking fifth place in 18 minutes, 41.40 seconds on the 2.95-mile course at Crystal Springs in Belmont on Nov. 16.
She finished behind Sacred Hearth Cathedral sophomore JoJo Gregg (18:30.92) in fourth, Hillsdale senior Naia Hsieh (18:16.82) in second, Burlingame junior Stella Newman (18:11.66) in third, and this year’s winner senior Kylie Hoornaert (17:48.79) of Prospect.
Schiro ran 24 seconds faster than her previous best at Crystal Springs. With the top-5 finish, she is heading back to the California Interscholastic Federation State Cross Country Championships in Fresno on Nov. 30.
“[Schiro] had a really elite field,” Aptos coach Dan Gruber said. “We were hoping she’d get seventh. I’m really impressed how these kids performed today.”
Other finishers for the Mariners included sophomore Naomi Brunelli (33rd; 21:04.93), senior Sophie Cornish (69th; 22:47.45), senior Grace Graff (88th; 24:38.05) and freshman Amber Chavez (91st, 25:41.27).
In 2023, she placed eighth and advanced to the state finals with former teammate Rachel Hoops, who graduated in June.
This year she’ll be traveling with the Mariners boys’ team, which advanced to the CIF State Championships as a team following a third place finish in its D-III race.
“I’m excited. It’ll be nice to have the guys’ team there as support,” Schiro said.
Watsonville senior Katelynn Ruiz (19:12.67) also earned a trip to the CIF State Championships following a 13th place finish in the Division I girls race.
Evergreen Valley sophomores Nora Carino (18:19.98) and Sivani Kaliki (18:32.24) finished first and second, respectively, and Mountain View senior Maya Eisenberg (18:44.22) took third.
Watsonville juniors Azucena Sandoval (20:57.61) and Lizbeth Gomez Abrica (21:01.13) placed 47th and 48th, respectively. Teammate sophomore Aileen Reyes (22:29.55) took 66th, followed by senior Jocelyn Guzman (70th; 23:06.04), sophomore Brianna Vanegas (71st; 23:09.45) and junior Dennis Hernandez (79th; 25:10.28).
Monte Vista Christian’s Kylie Brunelli (19:28.1) punched her ticket to the CIF State Championships following an eighth place finish in the Division V girls race.
Fellow teammates freshman Anna Conca (20:10.87) and sophomore Finley Castro (20:19.61) barely missed the cut after they finished 13th and 15th, respectively. Senior Hannah Woodford (22:10.52) placed 34th.
Castilleja sophomore Brooke Oliveira won the D-V race in 17:56.64, followed by Crystal Springs junior Anna Salter (18:04.21) in second and Menlo junior Ariya Kaushek (18:28.17) in third.
Scotts Valley junior Ava Decleve won the Division IV girls race in 18:24.5, and the Falcons won the team title with a score of 49.
“It was a fast race,” she said. “Going into it, there were so many fast girls from the Central Coast Section. Whatever happens, happens. Anybody, I feel like, can take that race and it’s really up to who’s having a good day and what is going to happen truly.”
Other top finishers for Scotts Valley included senior Violet McCutchen (19:50.78) in 10th, sophomore Hanna Shehorn (14th; 19:56.92), and juniors Dylan Turzak (18th; 20:07.61) and Jennifer Brownfield (20th; 20:12.80). Freshman Natalia Warner (22:20.03) placed 48th and sophomore Molly Clark (24:25.05) took 72nd for the Falcons, who won their fourth consecutive section title.
“I’m shocked but I also knew my team,” Decleve said. “They’re all so strong, and so I didn’t doubt them one bit.”
San Lorenzo Valley sophomore Beth Gabrielson (19:54.82) earned a trip to the CIF State Championships following a 13th place finish. Fellow teammate freshman Skyla Leggett (20:04.44) took 16th, missing the cut by just two spots.
The Cougars placed fourth as a team with a score of 102, just behind Sacred Heart Prep (90) in third, Mills (76) in second and champion Scotts Valley.
Other finishers for SLV included freshman Stella Sutcliffe (21:01.43) in 32nd, senior Naomi Seastrom (34th; 21:09.33), freshman Emily Petrov (38th; 21:37.35), junior Jennifer Black (40th; 21:52.15) and senior Ruby Evans (52nd; 22:36.78).
The CIF State Cross Country Championships are set for Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno. The first race is scheduled at 8:30am. Tickets can be purchased at gofan.co/app/school/CIF.
“I see it as a whole different caliber level,” Decleve said. “It is so fast, there are amazing teams there. I feel like if I can just stick with girls that are my pace that push me even a little more than I have been, then I think no matter what I’m going to be happy with it.”
CIF State Girls Cross Country race schedule
- Division I – 8:30am
- Division II – 9am
- Division III – 10:30am
- Division V – 11:30am
- Division IV – 12:30pm
