Previewing Top Races Heading Into ASICS Clovis Invitational

* Hanne Thomsen wins the Championship Girls race at the 2022 Clovis Invitational

A year ago, Hanne Thomsen surprised a lot of people after dismantling the championship field at Woodward Park. Thomsen, who was only a sophomore at the time, managed to put 24 seconds between her and the best runners in California.

Leading up to Clovis, the sophomore had been vocal about her excitement to compete one-on-one with Ventura ace Sadie Engelhardt, but due to a bad cold, Ventura opted to rest her body, leaving Thomsen without the elite competition she had anticipated.

Despite that fact, much of the race turned into a solo effort, with the Montgomery underclassmen dropping a time of 17:04. It was the seventh-fastest performance in meet history.

Luckily for Thomsen (and fans), the battle for the crown is slated to be must-watch racing again, as Thomsen will get just her fifth head-to-head matchup with Engelhardt this Saturday. 

That won't be all, though. Phenomenal athletes such as Payton Godsey, Rylee Blade and Chiara Dailey will also be joining in on the fun. 

Here's a look at how each athlete's seasons have gone leading into the Clovis Invitational, and why they are all contenders. 

Championship Boys Individuals Preview

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Evan Noonan, Dana Hills (CA)

The boys race is going to be just as action-packed as the girls and Evan Noonan is a key reason as to why. Last month -- like the majority of the Clovis field -- Noonan took his talents to Great Park. It was nearly a record-setting day for the junior, coming within three seconds of Leo Young's national 3-mile record that he set just two years ago.

Noonan still had himself quite the day, running 13:41.20, surpassing the rest of the legendary athletes that have traversed that course. Following his impressive victory, Noonan finished runner-up at the Bob Firman Invitational, setting another PR in the 5,000m in 14:55.7. The junior is in the midst of a breakout season and it's looking like the Clovis Invitational is next up on the list.

Anthony Fast Horse, Ventura (CA)

The senior finished runner-up to Noonan at Woodbridge and now has the chance to get some sweet revenge this Saturday. After running 13:48.10 last month, Fast Horse got himself into the win column two weeks later at the Channel League #1, coasting through to a 47-second win and with a controlled 15:10.9. The Ventura superstar is also having himself quite the senior send-off, running at an even higher level than he was in 2022. With another loaded field and plenty of high caliber competition, Fast Horse has the stage set for yet another strong performance.

Emmanuel Perez, Cathedral (CA)

Just like the other two seniors on this list, Perez had the race of his life at Woodbridge, running 13:50.70 to take third overall, a whopping 56-second jump from his junior year effort. Unlike Noonan and Fast Horse, Perez has opted to take some time to simply train hard leading up to this weekend and will race for the first time in three weeks at Clovis. Perez is no stranger to the course at Woodward Park, as he finished fourth a year ago in 15:30.60 -- though he later won his Division IV title on the same course. In his third go-around on this course, Perez is certainly a name to keep in mind as the race unfolds.

Joshua Bell, Templeton (CA)

At Woodbridge, there were six boys who found themselves running into the 13s and Bell was the sixth and final one to accomplish the coveted feat. Running 13:59.60, it was his first time under 14 minutes and a great display of the improvement he's shown since the end of the season last fall. With a berth at the Champs National Championships (now back to Foot Locker) last year and a 14:49 5K on the track, Bell is reaping the rewards of consistent and rigid training and is now looking to join the sub-15 club on the grass.

Championship Boys Team Preview

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In a podium finish that saw two out-of-state teams finish first and second, it was Great Oak (CA) who finished as the top California team, with Ventura (CA) and San Clemente (CA) closing out the top three in-state schools.

For Great Oak, the extra push that led them over the rest of was the low-stick duo of Westin Brown (14:09) and Gabriel Rodriguez (14:11) who finished in ninth and 13th. The trio of Jacob Brown (14:48) , Kai Marotta (14:49) and Jack Paradise (14:52) rounded out the scoring for the Wolfpack, putting together a 43-second pack time. If they can maintain a similar spread again this weekend, or even narrow it to under 40 seconds, they remain the team to beat. 

The one key advantage that Ventura has over nearly everyone else is that they have Fast Horse, who is almost guaranteed to score less than three points, which certainly helps their case in such a large field of teams.

After Fast Horse, it took roughly 50 seconds for the next guy donning Ventura's signature gold and black singlet to finish, though it didn't take long for all five to cross the line. Placing 55th, 57th and 65th, the senior trio of Micah Grossman (14:41), Hollis Costa (14:42) and Henry Hammel (14:48) were just seven seconds in-between one another and sophomore Noah Sloan only needed 10 more seconds to join his teammates, finishing 93rd in 14:58.

With only 24 points separating Great Oak and Ventura a month ago, a great showing could be enough to close the gap even further. 

San Clemente is in a similar spot as Ventura, with Brett Ephraim acting as their single-digit scorer, after he ran 14:06 at Woodbridge for a seventh-place finish. Thirty-two seconds later, Taj Clark crossed in 14:38, with Pierce Clark and Dallin Harrington close behind in 14:44 and 14:51. Kai Olsen (15:09) was the final scoring runner for the Tritons, making it a 51-59-71-112 finish for San Clemente, resulting in a 24-point deficit between each cross country power.

However, through each team's first four runners, there is only a seven-point difference, meaning if Olsen can close the gap just a little bit on the Triton trio, then there could be a switch-up compared to the results we saw last month. 

All-in-all, it seems that for now, Great Oak is the team with the target on their back, but both Ventura and San Clemente have the pieces to throw together an upset bid and take the trophy for themselves. The No. 7, No. 11 and No. 22 teams in the MileSplit50 Rankings will have the chance to re-write those rankings in their own words, but it will take elite performances from each to propel the teams to where they want to go.

WHAT TO KNOW

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Here are a few things to know if you're planning on watching the meet in-person or if are looking to keep up the results via virtual results. The meet kicks off bright and early at 7:15 a.m. Saturday morning, with 16 races taking place through 1:20 p.m. The meet itself takes place at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA, and it's $5 per vehicle for spectators. If it makes it easier, it's the same venue that hosts the CIF State Championships. You can find the live results here, and more meet information here. 

Below is a schedule of Saturday's racing.