By Zach Cavanagh
Two state champions hailed from San Juan Capistrano schools at the CIF State Cross Country Championships on Nov. 30 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
JSerra senior Anthony Grover cruised to the Division 4 individual title, and St. Margaret’s junior Jackson Adelman took home the Division 5 individual title on the 5,000-meter course.
Grover finished 14 seconds ahead of his competition at 15:03 to capture his third straight state championship. The Wake Forest-bound Grover was coming off his second CIF-SS championship. Grover had won the CIF-SS Division 4 title with a time of 14:53 on the three-mile Riverside course on Nov. 16.
Grover qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland on Dec. 7, where he ran a time of 15:32 on the 5,000-meter course and finished 21st.
Adelman claimed redemption with his win. He had finished second at last season’s state championships, but his winning time of 15:39 this year was four seconds faster than the eventual runner-up. Adelman paced St. Margaret’s to a second-place team finish.
Adelman also won a CIF-SS championship on Nov. 16 in Riverside. Adelman’s three-mile, personal-record time of 15:20 took the individual title and led St. Margaret’s to a second-place finish.
Adelman qualified for the Foot Locker West Regionals at Mt. SAC on Dec. 7, where he finished 57th with a time of 15:39 on the 5,000-meter course.
The St. Margaret’s girls won their second straight CIF-SS championship on Nov. 16. Freshman Liesel Blau led the Tartans with a second-place finish at 18:05, as four St. Margaret’s runners finished in the top 15.
Blau finished third at the state meet with a time of 18:00.
Zach Cavanagh
Zach Cavanagh is the sports editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is a California Journalism Award winner and has covered sports in Orange County since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports.
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