La Jolla notched CIF San Diego Section championships in girls cross country and field hockey Nov. 15 as La Jolla High School senior runner Chiara Dailey won her fourth consecutive section title and The Bishop’s School repeated as Open Division field hockey champion.
Cross country
Looking at Dailey, it didn’t take much imagination to consider what the other runners at the Division 4 girls cross country championships looked like as a driving rainstorm turned the already challenging course at the Morley Field Sports Complex at San Diego’s Balboa Park into a muddy, slippery quagmire.
Dailey had mud all over her legs and all the way up into her hair.
Officials moved the competition to the backup “rain course” that shortened the race to 2.9 miles from 2.96 by eliminating the Upas Street hill.
Dailey went right to the front and was never really threatened as she rolled to a time of 17 minutes, 10.8 seconds to capture the Division 4 title by more than 43 seconds over Sage Creek freshman Isabel Gladden. Daily became only the fifth San Diego Section runner — all girls — to win four straight championships.
“Winning four straight is pretty cool,” said Dailey, who will try to win her third straight state crown on Saturday, Nov. 29, in Fresno. “It’s special. I wasn’t going for time because of the conditions, and I’ll admit I slipped a few times but never fell.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been four years and that next year I’ll be running at Stanford. I was excited before the race and, truthfully, I wanted it to rain. It’s refreshing and I’d never run in the rain before.
“I think I could have broken the course record in ideal conditions, but now I’ll train hard for a week and then taper for state.”
In Division 5, Christian’s Eliana Patterson won a showdown against two-time section champion Ayanna Hickey of The Bishop’s School.
Field hockey
After scoring 40 goals last year, Lola Conway of Bishop’s has exceeded expectations as a sophomore, scoring 52 times to lead the country entering the San Diego Section Open Division field hockey championship game at La Jolla High School.
Conway added two more goals in the first two quarters, leading the second-seeded Knights over No. 4 Canyon Hills 3-0. Bishop’s is only the third school to repeat as Open Division champion.
The Bishops School’s Lola Conway (right) battles with Canyon Hills’ Reese Roldan during the CIF San Diego Section Open Division field hockey championship game Nov. 15 at La Jolla High School. (Xavier Hernandez)
“We’ve been practicing and perfecting our corners a lot,” Conway said. “I knew what to do. Everyone knew where to go.”
Freshman Brooke Gibbons added Bishop’s third goal with 1:09 left in the third quarter.
The Knights defeated Canyon Hills for the third time this season.
“We were really on our heels coming into this game,” Bishop’s coach Paula Conway said. “That was a big piece, trying to really know a league opponent and how are we going to come out and do it again. It was challenging.”
— Steve Brand, Breven Honda and La Jolla Light staff ♦