The entire cross country season boiled down to one race for Kristabel Doebel-Hickok. Since September, her goal has been to medal at the state finals meet and that is just what the Palisades High senior did last Saturday in Fresno. On the biggest stage and against the best competition, Doebel-Hickok ran her best race, completing the 5K course at Woodward Park in 18:11’good enough for ninth place in Division I. ‘I knew where I was at all times during the race,’ said Doebel-Hickok, who will run at Vanderbilt next year. ‘I was up against the very best runners and I did as well as I hoped I would.’ Doebel-Hickok actually crossed the finish line 10th but was bumped up a spot when the third-place finisher was disqualified for impeding another runner. The top 10 finishers medaled and qualified for this Saturday’s Footlocker Nationals at Mt. San Antonio College. Finishing three seconds ahead of Doebel-Hickok was City Section champion Katja Goldring of Hamilton. The winning time was 17:40. The last time two City runners medaled at the state meet was in 1998 when San Pedro’s Valerie Flores and North Hollywood’s Natalie Stein finished sixth and eighth, respectively. ‘Kristabel is so dedicated,’ PaliHi Coach Ron Brumel said. ‘It’s been real satisfying to watch her mature not only as a runner but as a person. To see someone cash in all of their chips and do everything right is great. There’s no way she wasn’t going to get that medal.’
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