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Dana Hills climbed back on top of its perch as a standard-bearer for cross country, not just for Orange County but for the entire state of California at the CIF State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 25.
The Dolphins boys cross country team ran at a blistering pace with all five scoring runners in the top 18, including a repeat individual championship run by junior Evan Noonan, to seal the Division III state championship at Woodward Park in Fresno.
It was Dana Hills’ first CIF State Championship since 2009 and its fifth state title overall. The Dolphins have reached the state championship top-three podium 18 times, the most by a boys program and second-most overall.
Dana Hills boys cross country’s CIF State Championship was paced by a repeat state individual championship by junior Evan Noonan, who surged ahead in the third mile to win the Division III title by 17 seconds. Photo: Ken Martinez/DyeStat
Noonan’s state championship is the fourth overall and third consecutive state title run by a Dana Hills runner. Tyler Valdez won a state title in 2009, and Jai Dawson won in 2021 before Noonan’s back-to-back titles. Noonan is also the first back-to-back individual Division I champion since 2017-18.
The back-to-back CIF-SS Division 3 champion Dolphins will run at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Dana Hills’ girls also ran at the CIF State Championships after winning their back-to-back CIF-SS championships and finished fourth in Division III, with junior Annie Ivarsson coming in ninth at 18:07 and senior Quinci Lott coming in 15th at 18:24.
Dana Hills’ boys were in first place at each mile marker to outpace defending champion Oakdale of the CIF-San Joaquin Section, 42-66. Oakdale also placed three runners in the top 10 and four in the top 20, but its fifth scoring runner placed well behind the Dolphins in 45th to end the title race.
Dana Hills’ team time of 1:16:18 was the fastest time of the day at the CIF State Championships and the fastest by an Orange County team in the event’s history. It was also the ninth-best time all-time at Woodward Park.
Noonan paced the Dolphins but stayed behind in second place at the first two mile markers. The junior then surged in the final mile to win the championship by 17 full seconds at 14:35.
University of New Mexico-bound senior Jayden Hernandez was the second in for Dana Hills in sixth at 15:13. Senior Logan Harris came in 11th at 15:25, and sophomore Oliver Hunter finished 15th at 15:29.
Senior Garrett Woodruff sealed the championship for Dana Hills by finishing in 18th at 15:33.
Also running for Dana Hills were senior Joel Brda in 38th at 15:58 and senior Mike Ayala in 71st at 16:23 in the 214-runner field.
Just as South Orange County dominated the CIF-SS Finals, two more area teams won CIF State Championships and will join the Dana Hills boys at the Nike Cross Nationals.
In Division I, the San Clemente boys posted the second-best team time of the day (1:16:28) to capture their first-ever state championship. The Tritons were led by senior Brett Ephraim, who placed second at 14:58. San Clemente placed three runners in the top 10 for the second-best time ever by an Orange County team in the event.
In Division IV, the JSerra girls continued their run of total domination with four runners in the top 10 to capture their third consecutive state championship and sixth state title overall. The Lions posted the lowest score and fastest time in Division IV history. Sophomore Summer Wilson finished second at 17:31, and junior Sophie Polay finished third at 17:32.
JSerra’s boys finished as runner-up in Division IV with 124 points to state champion St. Francis’ 66 points. Junior Bradley Arrey finished 10th at 15:26, and senior Saul Orozco finished 11th at 15:31.
In Division V, St. Margaret’s saw their girls finish eighth overall, with sophomore Li Joyce finishing 16th at 18:58, and their boys finish 15th overall, with senior Everett Capelle coming in seventh at 15:28.