What are the odds of having section champions from three different years running in the same state championship race?

Not impossible, but extremely rare.

That will be the case for Saturday, when the last three San Diego Section champs line up for the girls Division 5 championships at Woodward Park in Fresno.

In 2022, then-freshman Ayanna Hickey from Bishop’s ran away with the section title by 16 seconds before moving on to the state meet, where she placed 12th overall.

A year later, Francis Parker’s Ari Llorens upset Hickey, winning the section crown by 10 seconds, then moved on to the state meet, where she finished 13th. Hickey gained revenge by placing third overall.

Last year, Hickey captured her second title, beating Llorens by 55 seconds before it was Llorens’ turn to reverse the outcome at state, placing fourth — one spot ahead of Hickey.

So it figured those two would go at it one last time in the 2025 section championships.

But Elliana Patterson of Christian, who was third behind the other two a year ago, proved unbeatable. She won by 34 seconds over Llorens, with Hickey placing third.

All three qualified for state.

“I really didn’t even know who she was,” said Hickey of Patterson. “But she’s really running well.”

Said Llorens: “She’s good. I think we could finish 1-2-3 if we all run well.”

The section has never swept the top three places, but each runner is going into the state meet with well-deserved confidence.

“I definitely used them to push me this year,” said Patterson, a 16-year-old junior who is small in stature at 4-foot-11. “It was nerve-wracking to run against them. It’s crazy being where I am but because of Ari and Ayanna, I’ve had to push like never before.”

Hickey and Llorens are very familiar with Woodward Park’s relatively flat 3.1-mile course, each having tackled it with varying success the last three years.

“I was super sick as a sophomore. It might have been COVID,” said Llorens of the 2023 state meet. “I almost blacked out. Although there is only one hill, it’s where a lot of runners live or die. Some of the leaders hit that hill and fade while others make their move on the hill because after that it’s a gradual downhill, so you can recover.”

Patterson says the extra distance of a fifth of a mile from the Balboa Park rain course will help her.

“We’ve been running 3.11 miles at Balboa Park almost every week, and I’m used to that,” said Patterson. “I remember being freezing before the state race started last year, it was so cold, and there were so many people at the start.

“I feel much stronger than last year, and I’m running two minutes faster, so God willing I can keep it up.”

Hickey, who will run at UCLA, says state championship experience is a major advantage.

“I know how to run to win at state,” she said. “Cross country is so much fun compared to track, and I’m looking to at least qualify for the Brooks Nationals. A win at state would be great.”

CIF State Cross Country Championships

When: Saturday, first race at 8:30 a.m.

Where: Woodward Park, Fresno (3.1 miles).

Ticklets: General admission $12, students/seniors $8.

San Diego Section boys to watch: Sage Creek’s Josiah Bowman placed 13th in the Division 3 championships a year ago. Sage Creek dropped to Division 4 this year and Bowman’s state time in 2024 would have placed him eighth in Division 4. All seven runners who had faster times have graduated, making Bowman one of the favorites heading into the meet. Poway’s Cooper Castleberry was 11th in the state a year ago and he’s the fifth-fastest Division 1 returnee. Blake Littrell led the wat at the San Diego Section meet, finishing second, two spots ahead of Castleberry. Mt. Carmel was even more impressive in Division 2, with just 52 seconds separating runners No. 1-5. Junior Jaxon Northcutt winning the section by 11 seconds. Cathedral Catholic’s Nathan Wilber won Division 3 en route to leading the Dons to the team title.

San Diego Section boys to watch: The spotlight will be on La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey, who is going for her third consecutive title. She won last year’s race by 51 seconds. The race of the day could be in Division 5, which features three section champions: Bishop’s Ayanna Hickey (2022, 2024), Francis Parker’s Ari Llorens (2023) and this year’s titlist, Christian junior Elliana Patterson. Eastlake’s Jaelyn Williams has a pair of fourth-place finishes in Division 1 (2022, 2023) and is back to running in top form. Santana’s Harper Diaz, the two-time section Division 3 champion, placed eighth here a year ago; only two runners who beat her return.

STEVE BRAND