By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 40th ASICS Clovis Invitational is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 6 at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

Here are 10 storylines to follow at the one of the most prestigious meets in the country:

Great Oak’s dual drive for five

Both the boys and girls teams from Great Oak CA are looking to win their respective Clovis championship races for the fifth consecutive year.

The consistency demonstrated by the Wolfpack is impressive, but when examined in a greater context in the meet’s all-time history, the success is even more exceptional.

During the 25 years prior to Great Oak beginning its boys streak in 2014, Jesuit CA was the only other program to win five titles total (1989, 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2005). Madera CA (1990-92) was the only other team to win at least three in a row and the Coyotes captured four championships overall, including 2004.

In addition to Jesuit and Madera, Arcadia CA, Buchanan CA, McFarland CA and Royal CA have also secured multiple boys titles at Clovis in the past 25 years.

Great Oak’s biggest challenges Saturday will come from Division 1 rivals Dana Hills CA and West Ranch CA, along with Division 2 programs Newbury Park CA and St. Francis Mountain View CA.

There has been even more parity prior to Great Oak’s run of girls’ success, which also includes the program’s first Clovis title in 2009.

Before the Wolfpack’s streak began, there were 20 consecutive years without back-to-back winners in the girls championship race. Saugus CA was the fastest overall girls team in 2007 and 2008, but achieved those feats competing in large school races and not the championship event.

Buchanan, with victories in 1994 and 2012, was the only other girls team to win multiple titles prior to Great Oak’s recent dominance.

Buchanan and Davis Senior CA, along with Mission Viejo CA, Serrano CA and St. Francis Sacramento CA, in addition to Xavier Prep AZ, will look to keep pace with Great Oak in the girls championship race.

Record watch

In addition to adding to their Clovis championship legacies, Great Oak also has a pair of significant team times squarely on its radar. WOODWARD PARK ALL-TIME TEAM LISTS

The Wolfpack will be pursuing the boys meet record of 77:09, set in 2010 by Arcadia. Great Oak, which set the all-time 5-kilometer Woodward Park course record of 76:10 in 2015, produced its second-fastest time in program history at last year’s meet by clocking 77:33.

Arcadia, Dana Hills and Great Oak are the only boys teams to compete at Woodward Park to achieve multiple performances under 77:45.

Great Oak will rely on the strength of Gabe Abbes, Tyler Tickner, Chris Verdugo, Cameron Hylton and Ryan Shields, who have all run under 16:30 in their careers at Woodward Park.

Although it might be a greater challenge, Great Oak is also looking at eclipsing its own all-time girls record of 89:13 from 2015. The Wolfpack didn’t break 90 minutes in either race at Woodward Park last year, but has run under 89:45 four times in the past five years, including the meet record 89:43 in 2014.

Tori Gaitan, Arianna Griffiths, Fatima Cortes and Audrey Dang, all of whom have run under 18:30 on the 5-kilometer layout, will have to carry Great Oak in its historic pursuit.

Ready for a rematch

Four of the top five finishers and seven of the top 10 from the girls sweepstakes race Sept. 15 at the Woodbridge Classic are scheduled to compete in the championship race, led by Great Oak CA junior Tori Gaitan.

Buchanan CA junior Corie Smith is the reigning Division 1 state champion and finished second in last year’s championship race behind Oak Ridge CA standout Maddy Denner. Smith also took second to Gaitan at Woodbridge.

In addition to Gaitan and Smith, Oak Park CA senior Sarah Shulze, Buchanan senior Meagen Lowe, Great Oak junior Arianna Griffiths, Ayala CA senior Mikaela Ramirez and Serrano CA freshman Tiani Goeson are also entered.

Oak Park senior Sylvia Cruz-Albrecht, Great Oak senior Fatima Cortes, Canyon Crest Academy CA junior Carlie Dorostkar, Mission Viejo CA senior Kelli Hines, JSerra CA senior Nadia Tabrizi, Palos Verdes CA junior Savannah Scriven, Mayfield CA sophomore Audrey Suarez, Merced CA senior Quinn Hagerman, Del Oro CA freshman Riley Chamberlain, Simi Valley CA sophomore Jill Walker and Capistrano Valley CA junior Carly Corsinita all have the potential to contribute to a record-setting race.

There were 16 female athletes to break 18 minutes in last year’s championship race, breaking the record of 12 from 2016, contributing to 18 total individuals overall to achieve the feat during the meet.

Waiting for the matchup to materialize

Although they were both entered to compete in the seeded race at the 44th Stanford Invitational, the anticipated showdown involving Redwood Larkspur CA senior Liam Anderson and Jesuit CA junior Matt Strangio didn’t unfold in Palo Alto.

Strangio was nursing a sore calf, with Anderson – who verbally committed to Stanford – also not racing with his teammates, delaying his potential season debut another week.

Anderson finished second in last year’s boys championship race, with Strangio placing fifth. Anderson returned to Woodward Park to win the California Division 3 state title, with Strangio placing fourth in Division 1.

Anderson went on to place third at Nike Cross Nationals, with Strangio placing 15th, both earning All-America honors.

Ready to upstage both Northern California stars is Newbury Park CA junior Nico Young, who won the boys sweepstakes race Sept. 15 at the Woodbridge Classic. Young placed 85th in last year’s Clovis championship race, with senior Ethan Ronk and junior Jace Aschbrenner both finishing in the top 25 for the Panthers.

Also prepared to make a significant statement is reigning Division 4 state champion Anthony Grover of JSerra. Grover was second in the extra large school boys race last year.

St. Francis Mountain View CA seniors Colton Colonna and Eric Eng, Dana Hills CA seniors Simon Fuller and Cole Stark, West Ranch CA seniors Isaiah Seidman and Evan Bates, Crescenta Valley junior Dylan Wilbur and senior Manan Vats, Bakersfield Stockdale CA senior Marcus Mota, Dublin CA senior Loic Scomparin, Monache CA senior Ivan Mendez, Las Lomas CA senior Preston Norris, Palo Alto CA senior Henry Saul, Clovis North CA junior Isaiah Galindo, Los Altos CA senior Owen MacKenzie, Trabuco Hills CA senior Josh O’Neill and Thousand Oaks CA senior Mitchell Burr all have the potential to run under 15:30 and make it one of the deepest championship races in meet history.

Approaching rarefied air

Maddy Denner of Oak Ridge became the first female athlete since Destiny Collins of Great Oak in 2014 to run under 17 minutes in the girls championship race, clocking 16:58.7 last season to become the ninth individual to achieve the feat at Woodward Park.

Only four female athletes have produced sub-17 performances in meet history, with Amber Trotter of Ukiah CA setting the record of 16:55 in 2001. Hagen Reedy of Buchanan CA clocked 16:59 in 2012.

Buchanan’s Corie Smith has produced the fastest effort at Woodward Park of any athlete entered in the girls championship race at 17:05.3.

After a total of three sub-15 efforts by male standouts in 2015 and 2016 – including a meet record 14:49.9 by Luis Grijalva of Armijo CA – Justin Hazell of El Camino Real CA just missed last season, winning the championship race in 15:01.9.

There have been seven total sub-15 performances in meet history, including a total of four in 2009 and 2010. None of the athletes competing in the championship race Saturday have achieved the feat during their careers, with Redwood Larkspur senior Liam Anderson leading all entries at 15:03.

Raising the standard

The Clovis championship races have long been a proving ground for Division 4 and 5 athletes to test themselves against the larger schools in the state and this year is no exception.

Anthony Grover, the reigning Division 4 boys state champion from JSerra, is ready to square off against his peers from the top three divisions. Nadia Tabrizi, a two-time Division 4 all-state honoree for JSerra, is entered in the girls championship race, along with Mayfield sophomore Audrey Suarez, who placed third last year in Division 4.

Foothill Tech, the two-time Division 4 girls state champions, are entered again in the championship race after finishing 16th and 17th the past two seasons. JSerra is also scheduled to compete in both the boys and girls championship races, with both teams placing in the top 10 in Division 4 last year. FOOTHILL TECH GIRLS PRE-RACE INTERVIEW

Foothill Tech senior Henry Pick, seventh last year in Division 4, is entered in the championship race, along with San Lorenzo Valley CA senior Chris Anderson, who placed 15th in last season’s Division 4 state final.

Dazzling debuts set to unfold

Only five freshman female athletes in meet history have run under 18 minutes, including Mayfield’s Audrey Suarez last year, winning the small school race in 17:50.3.

Clovis’ Mikayla Sodersten still holds the record for fastest time by a ninth-grader in meet history, clocking 17:41 in 2012.
There are several freshmen who could not only produce sub-18 performances in their Woodward Park high school debuts, but also challenge Sodersten’s record.

Serrano’s Tiani Goeson is coming off an impressive victory in 17:33.9 at The Master’s University Invitational and has also placed in the top 10 at the Cool Breeze Invitational and Woodbridge Classic.

Del Oro’s Riley Chamberlain has won all five of her races so far this season, including a Division 3 victory in 17:58.2 at the 44th Stanford Invitational.

Alexis Fernandez of West Ranch and Cate Joaquin of St. Francis Sacramento are also entered in the championship race with Goeson and Chamberlain, with Clovis North’s Miliana Perez and Granada Hills’ Sofia Abrego squaring off in a rematch of their Division 1 showdown at Stanford in the extra large school race at Woodward Park.

Harvard-Westlake’s Daniela Quintero is entered in the medium school race.

Undercards with under-the-radar talent

The girls extra large school race not only features defending champion Olivia Herrera of Clovis, but several other underrated athletes capable of delivering impressive performances with favorable conditions early in the meet.

Monte Vista CA senior Sidney Isom and junior Kelli Wilson, El Camino Real CA senior Jicel Fernandez-Ramirez, Alta Loma CA junior Brooklyn Gonsalves, Valencia CA junior Hailey Kirsch and San Juan Hills CA senior Katie Hansen, along with standout freshmen Miliana Perez of Clovis North and Sofia Abrego of Granada Hills are capable of challenging for the individual crown.

An impressive team battle should unfold with Monte Vista, Burbank CA, Dana Hills CA, Granada Hills and El Camino Real.

In the boys extra large school race, defending champion Alexis Garcia of Newport Harbor also returns, but reigning Division 4 state champions Cathedral are also entered, adding to an already impressive field.

Mission Hills CA senior Jonathan Velasco, Buchanan junior Kelly Brewer, junior Zeno Castiglioni of Davis Senior, Highland CA sophomore Daniel Rodriguez and Valencia senior Gage Davenport are also potential contenders.

Small schools, big aspirations

The boys small school race not only features three of the top Division 5 teams in California in St. Margaret’s, Flintridge Prep and Woodcrest Christian, it also includes strong Division 4 programs Big Bear and Foothill Tech.

St. Joseph Santa Maria CA senior Joseph Domingues, Nueva School CA senior Caleb Dittmar, Flintridge Prep senior Carson Hasbrouck and Sonora CA senior Ryan Dunlap are among the top individuals scheduled to compete.

The girls small school race features four-time California Division 5 state champion Flintridge Prep and its main challenger St. Margaret’s. In their only previous meeting this season Sept. 7, St. Margaret’s prevailed against Flintridge Prep at the Cool Breeze Invitational.

Village Christian CA sophomore Mia Barnett, Fillmore CA senior Carissa Rodriguez, St. Margaret’s senior Andi Carnell, Flintridge Prep senior Sasha Codiga, Sierra Canyon CA freshman Isis Diaz and San Lorenzo Valley CA sophomore Azalea Groleau all have the potential to compete for individual glory.

Silver state set for strong challenges

Last year, the threat of fires resulted in 11 Nevada schools traveling to California to attend the meet.

Although only Carson, Douglas, McQueen, Reno, South Tahoe and Tahoe-Truckee are returning from that group this season, they are seeking valuable experience in preparation for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association finals Nov. 3 in Boulder City.

Leading the way in the girls championship race is South Tahoe junior Carissa Buchholz, the defending state 3A champion. Buchholz placed second in the Division 3 race at the Stanford Invitational.

Reno sophomore Penelope Smerdon, last year’s 4A state runner-up, is also scheduled to compete. Smerdon finished sixth at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento.

Tahoe-Truckee junior Montana Montgomery, who finished second at last year’s 3A state final, is entered in the boys championship race.

Carson is entered in the large school boys and girls races, with Douglas and McQueen entered in the boys and girls medium school races.