By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Forty-four Redwood Empire runners are expected to compete in the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno today.
That total includes seven competitors each from the five teams that qualified at the NCS championships last week — the Maria Carrillo boys and girls, the Casa Grande boys and girls, and the Piner boys — and nine kids who qualified individually. Both Pumas squads captured Division 2 titles in Hayward last week, and are aiming for high finishes at the CIF competition.
Based on their NCS times, the top individual Empire entries would include Maria Carrillo’s Ryan Anderson, Casa Grande’s Matt Salazar and Piner’s Efren Reyes among the boys, and Carrillo’s Shaz Breedlove, Mendocino’s Erin Thomas and Santa Rosa’s Delaney White among the girls.