Frias joins Pio and Chittenden program’s third individual winner to lead three Mustangs in top six, as group finally breaks through following three runner-up finishes to capture Division 2 title under veteran coach Williams-Smith

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

FRESNO – There was always someone just a little better. Until Saturday.

Mira Costa’s girls cross country team won the first Division 2 state title in school history, turning back a game effort from Anaheim Canyon and translating it into an 86-123 victory at the CIF-State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.

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To say the win meant a lot to the Mustangs is an understatement.

Like everyone else, Mira Costa survived the ups and down of a pandemic and a lost season.

Unlike everyone else, Mira Costa has a coach who has poured much of her life into the program.

In her almost 20 years leading the Mustangs’ program, coach Renee Williams-Smith, a former Mira Costa runner, saw three consecutive runner-up finishes at the state meet behind Saugus from 2008-10.

There were other juggernauts to deal with, whether it was Great Oak being in their division or as in 2019, when it was the Wolfpack, Saugus and Clovis Buchanan.

Overall, Mira Costa had made the podium at the state meet four times entering the last race on Saturday’s schedule of 10 divisional championship competitions.

“It’s amazing,” Williams-Smith said. “It is a big exhale. It’s like, ‘Wow, this is it. We felt like we had a pretty solid team last year and we didn’t get to do anything with it, so this is just that much sweeter.”

Mira Costa was led by season-long ace and senior Dalia Frias.

Frias, a Duke commit, has gained attention for many of her victories this year and did again Saturday, when she joined the sub-17 minute club, finishing the 5-kilometer race in 16 minutes, 52 seconds.

Sixteen female athletes have run faster than 17 minutes at Woodward Park, including four Saturday.

Frias elevated to the No. 6 all-time performer on the 5-kilometer layout, including third in the Southern Section. She joined Savannah Pio from 2010 and Melia Chittenden in 2016 as Mira Costa female athletes to capture Division 2 individual crowns.

“I knew there was going to be some great competition out here and that would help me break that 17-minute barrier, which was a big goal of mine today,” Frias said.

Third in the 2019 Division 1 state final, Frias also won last week at Mt. San Antonio College in the Southern Section finals and at the Mt. SAC Invite last month.

She has had Ventura freshman Sadie Engelhardt chasing her for much of this year, as she did Saturday, when Engelhardt joined Frias in the sub-17 club at 16:58.7, becoming the second-fastest ninth-grader and No. 13 all-time performer at Woodward Park.

“I think we push each other every race we’re together,” Frias added. “We just push each other and when I have her on the line with me, I’m honestly grateful to just have her there, so it just can be a great race and we can both push each other to our boundaries and see what we can run.”

As good as Frias is, even a first-place finish is just one point in a five-runner team score.

Mira Costa put three runners in the top six Saturday, with senior Ella Parsley placing fourth in 17:45.5 and junior Anna Chittenden finishing sixth in 17:57.1.

Junior Heather Jensen was Mira Costa’s No. 4, placing 32nd at 18:56.4. Senior Lucca Franz was its No. 5, finishing 65th in 19:21.5. 

“Lucca and Heather were amazing,” Williams-Smith said. “They wanted it and they watched it. They watched the other three, and they were like, ‘OK, we’re bringing this together.’ They took ownership of that and that was really cool.”

Williams-Smith also praised junior Nicole Murch (108th, 20:09) and senior Kayla Kershaw (120th, 20:17.1) for solid team efforts.

But there was also an emotional connect that held these Mustangs together. Perhaps it was part of how they got through the pandemic, but it was also felt on the courses.

“I think we all feel connected out on the course,” Parsley said. “We love each other, we’re a very supportive team. We went out confident and ready.”

Even the Mira Costa boys, who were third Saturday in Division 2, played a role.

“It really helped last week when the boys won CIF (Southern Section Finals),” Williams-Smith said. “It really got the girls fired up and that made this a full family thing.”

Now they’ll take their case to the RunningLane Cross Country Championship on Dec. 4 in Huntsville, Ala.

“We’ve just worked so hard for this chance,” Frias said. “We just took it as just getting closer to being (at the state meet) and winning this title. I couldn’t be prouder. We’ve grown so much as a team since was a freshman.”