Knights Headed to State Championship!

Led by the dynamic duo of sophomores Isabelle Dalton and Diandra Jara, the Knights placed high enough at the Southern California regional championship to qualify for the state championship meet for the second time in three years.

Jara, who qualified as an individual for the 2022 state championship, will now have her teammates running with her at the 2023 state meet, which will take place at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. 

Dalton was part of the team 2021 team that made it to state, and after taking a season off, is in her best form since joining San Diego City. She was the first Knight to cross the finish line for the second consecutive race as she placed 46th overall with a 5k time of 20:16. 

Jara, who was the lead runner for City in all of the 2022 meets and the first four races of 2023, ended the SoCal championship just one second behind Dalton as she clocked in at 20:17 for 47th overall.

Kai Bethea set a new personal record (23:51) to become the third Knight to cross the finish line at the El Dorado East Regional Park (Long Beach) course.

Joscelyn Silva (24:35), Pauline Monganga (24:48), Nihal Samaha (25:26), and Glennis Lopez (26:46) followed to help the Knights (16th place) qualify for the state championship.

"There were a lot of tough performances on not a perfect day for the team, but they showed their tenacity and grit," said Head Coach Marco Anzures. 

When the Knights qualified for the state meet in 2021, it had been 32 years since they made it to the final race of the season and now they have sent at least one runner in three consecutive years.