FRESNO, Calif. – The St. Francis cross country finished eighth at the CIF State Cross Country Championships held at Woodward Park Saturday. It was the fifth consecutive Top 10 finish for the Troubadours at the state meet.

Sophomore Sydney Vandegrift led the team for the ninth time this season, crossing the line 17th overall in 18:14.7. Seniors Ariane Arndt and Chase Worthen were 27th and 28th respectively in a near dead heat at 18:25. All three runners had personal-bests over the 3.1-mile course.

Vandegrift, who ran 19:36 as a freshman, improved her time 1:21 seconds from last season. Arndt, who will run collegiately at UC-Berkeley, was 30 seconds faster than 2014 when the Troubies finished third overall in the Division I race. Worthen had a massive improvement, running 1:49 faster to place third overall for the team.

Freshman Sophie DeBenedetti was 88th overall in her first state meet appearance, clocking a time of 19:15. Senior Gabrielle Dyer was 130^th overall I 19:56, improving over 45 seconds from her time as a junior.

Junior Allie Lourim recorded a time of 20:26 to finish 152nd, while sophomore Alana Reyna was 173th overall in 21:09.

Saugus was on the Division II team title with 122 points ahead of Sac-Joaquin Section winner Bella Vista. St. Francis finished with 220 points, joining winner Saugus as the only teams with three runners among the top 30 in the race.

St. Francis Results

17. Sydney Vandegrift, 18:14.7; 27. Ariane Arndt, 18:25.5; 28: Chase Worthen, 18:25.9; 88; Sophie DeBenedetti, 19:15.2;  130. Gabrielle Dyer, 19:56; 152: Allie Lourim, 20:26.4; 174. Alana Reyna, 21:09.3.