By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Seven days after winning the City Section girls cross country championship, Lila Copland finished first among City runners and 29th overall in a field of 199 in the Division I race Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The Palisades High freshman completed the 3.1-mile course in 18:25.0, dropping over 20 seconds off her time at the City finals in Woodland Hills. Sophomore Jicel Fernandez-Ramirez from El Camino Real was the second City finisher in 61st place in 19:01.7. Olivia O’Keeffe, a junior from Davis, was first overall in 17:28.9.
The Dolphins, coming off their fourth consecutive City title, totaled 400 points to finish, their highest since placing 13th in 2013. Junior Kimia Samandi (19:28.2) and freshman Sarah Bentley (19:28.8) each cracked the top 100 while sophomore Brittany Darrow (19:56.0), freshman Elisa Kim (20:39.8) and seniors Shannon Lee (21:25.8) and Ariel Pollack (21:33.9) rounded out the Dolphins’ lineup.
Photo: Steve Galluzzo
Temecula Great Oak won the team title with a score of 47.
Palisades junior Ben Hamer and sophomore Brent Smith qualified as individuals for the Division I boys race. Hamer (16:22.0) was 79th out of 200 runners while Smith was 102nd in 16:36.2. Luis Grijalva of Armijo won in 14:50.1 and City champion Justin Hazell of El Camino Real was fourth in 15:10.7.
Loyola senior Charlie Sherman (15:45.8) was 19th in the Division II boys race and helped the Cubs to second place behind Claremont. Sherman won the Palisades-Will Rogers 5K on the Fourth of July.
Harvard-Westlake senior Lochryn Howe was 14th in the Division IV girls race in 18:38.1, leading the Wolverines to seventh.
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