Three months ago, La Jolla High School running star Chiara Dailey said she wanted her girls cross country team to take the state title this season.
Now is the time of year when the Vikings can put that goal in their grasp.
After winning the Eastern League title Nov. 8, the La Jolla High team will compete in the CIF San Diego Section championships on Saturday, Nov. 16, at Morley Field in Balboa Park. Should it place well enough, it will run in the state championships on Saturday, Nov. 30.
Only six runners are on the Vikings varsity team, when many teams field at least seven. But, according to coach Adam Dailey, Chiara’s father, “this is championship season. This is when they come together as a team.
They are doing runs together outside of meets and doing team bonding, Adam Dailey said. The commitment is deeper now. The stakes are higher for everyone. It is a very talented group, but everyone has to do the hard things together.”
The team consists of Chiara Dailey, Navah Lipsky, Ali Gray, Hannah Aalaer, Zoe Dunfee and Thea Tremaine.
“There is accountability that these runners have,” Adam said. “They show up to support each other. This is a team, its bigger than the individual. We want it to be fun, but they have that accountability.”
Each runner contributed something unique to the team this season, he said.
For instance, Chiara, who was ranked among the top five runners in the country last year, “has gotten a lot of national attention,” Adam said.
Chiara, a junior, has led the team since her freshman year, when she won the CIF San Diego Section Division IV individual title and finished second in the state meet.
Last season as a sophomore, she repeated her section championship and won the CIF Division IV state individual title.
And shes continued her top performances this year. In September, she ran a 3-mile race in less than 15½ minutes. To date, only four girls (including Chiara) have achieved such a feat nationwide.
An injury to an IT band (a stabilizing band of tissue that runs between the hip and the knee) caused her to miss some of this season.
“That gave her some ups and downs because she had to cross-train,” Adam said. However, “Chiara wants to be a leader and inspiration for other runners.
Navah, a lifelong friend of Chiara’s, “has had a great season,” Adam said. Shes been running since elementary school with plans to be a Division I runner in college. Navah also faced an injury during the season that required a break and some additional training.
Most improved is Ali, said Adam, who also noted that Hannah, Zoe and Thea have “stepped up a lot.”
Last years La Jolla High team placed third in the state competition.
To get to the top spot, the team members have agreed that they “want to just do better,” Adam said.
“Every girl knows what that means to them, he said. We are looking at where each girl needs to be so they know what it is going to take to be in the top two or three. We don’t have much room for error, but they want to get there.” 