Pali High Girls Cross Country Repeats

Marissa Williams Sets New City Section Record and Runs to Her Third Straight Individual Title

After setting the City Section and course record last Saturday morning at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, all Marissa Williams wanted to do was find out if she and her Palisades High teammates had won their second consecutive cross country title.

Upon finding out they did she ran back towards the Dolphins’ tent to share the good news but never got that far.

“I gave the team a motivational speech for the first time today,” she said. “I’m really bad at it, but hopefully it helped.”

Williams kicked up dust along the twisting 2.9-mile route and was never challenged, clocking 16:33.11 to finish almost two minutes, 15 seconds ahead of second-place Beckie Alch from Taft.

In terms of City standards, Williams’ only point of reference is herself. The Cal-bound senior’s previous-best time at Pierce was 16:37 at the league finals meet her sophomore year. Saturday’s effort  also obliterated the City finals record of 16:48.41, which she also set as a sophomore.

Despite her four years of success, Williams genuinely hates being the center of attention, so the hardest part for her was standing alone at the victory podium while City Section Assistant Commissioner Vicky Lagos rattled off Williams’ many accomplishments and proclaimed her “the greatest distance runner in City history.”

How could anyone argue otherwise after Williams captured her third straight individual cross country title, giving her 10 City individual crowns and four team championships with more likely to come on the track in the spring, when she could attempt to break her City records in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races.

“I was going for it but I was doubtful I’d get [the record],” Williams said. “My first two mile times were slow even though they’re very hilly but I picked it up the last mile.”

Williams’ record performance led Pali High to first place in the Division I varsity girls race with 56 points. San Pedro came in second with 76 points and Granada Hills was third with 83.

The Dolphins advance to this Saturday’s CIF state championships at Woodward Park in Fresno, where Williams ran the 5K course in 17:04 to place second in the Division I race and the Dolphins were 13th out of 23 teams.

“What more can you say about Marissa other than she’s incredible,” Pali High Coach Bob Macias said. “I’m really proud of her and all the girls. Four were in the top 20, all under 20 minutes.”

Natalie Marsh, whose heroic push to finish 11th last year earned the Dolphins a one-point victory over Granada Hills, improved by four places, finishing in 19:14.36. Fellow senior Hannah de Silva was 11th in 19:44.25, followed by sophomores JJ Wittbrodt (17th in 19:52.43), Chelsea Levi (25th in 20:16.89) and Shannon Lee (20:17.12), last year’s frosh/soph champion. Senior Elizabeth Goodman returned from injury to run her last City final in 22:05.10.

“She’s a very big part of this team and I’m really happy she did it,” Williams said of Goodman. “I’ve known Hannah and Elizabeth since I was in kindergarten.

After a sixth-place finish last year, the varsity boys were hoping to earn one of the top two places and join the girls in Fresno. They finished fourth with 99 points behind El Camino Real (64), Marshall (86) and Granada Hills (87), but senior Shane Brouwer edged sophomore teammate Jakob Pollack for ninth place to gain the  last individual  qualifying spot for the state meet.

“I’ve never made it to state before and this was my last chance to do it,” said Brouwer, who clocked 15:55.94 to beat Pollack by four hundredths of a second as both sprinted side by side through the finish line. “I thought I was 10th. Three people were trying to pass me, including Jakob. I felt bad [for him], but I’m excited because I thought it would be my last race.”

Brouwer shaved 30 seconds off his time at last year’s finals, when he placed 22nd. Pollack, the City frosh/soph runner-up last fall, was 10th Saturday and freshman Ben Hamer was 12th in 16:07.03.

“I didn’t have a time goal today because I usually run bad on this course,” Brouwer said. “I knew as a team we’d  have to pick it up, especially in the back.”

Rounding out the Dolphins’ lineup were senior Andres Gomez (16:46.71), sophomore Jack Hockley (17:01.49), Jonathan Flores (17:24.47) and junior Connor Smith (18:03.23).

The JV girls won with 38 points. Aileen Figueroa, was first in 21:20.93, Kiana Billot was third in 21:31.25 and Greer King was 10th in 22:04.91. The frosh/soph girls also won with 55 points as Kimia Samandi took second in 21:00.52, Nicole Figueroa was sixth in 21:28.62 and Zoe Camporaso was eighth in 21:35.28.

Finn Cawley was fourth in the frosh/soph boys race in 17:15.04  and Everett Fisher was fifth in the JV division in 17:43.44.