But in the final mile, Bergman took off and Hamilton couldn't respond. Bergman won the race, running the 2.95-mile Crystal Springs Cross Country course in 17 minutes, 33 seconds.
Hamilton was second, running a personal best of 18:02. Her performance was good enough to qualify her for the state meet, taking place at Woodward Park in Fresno Thanksgiving weekend. She will be the only member of the Half Moon Bay team running in that meet.
 Half Moon Bay's Sammy Hamilton was close to Valley Christian's Jennifer Bergman at the end of the first mile Saturday. Bergman took off at the end of the second mile, winning the Central Coast Section Division IV title, with Hamilton in second. |
Following Hamilton were Chelsea Michaels (17th, 20:07), Caitlyn O'Connor (59th, 22:15), Kathleen Abadie (63rd, 22:27), Lauren Virgen (87th, 24:14), Anna Mathiasen (91st, 24:36) and Lauren Irish (92nd, 24:38).
Half Moon Bay's boys finished eighth with 209 points. Carmel grabbed the final spot with 82 points.
Ryan Dill was Half Moon Bay's top finisher, placing 30th in 17:30. He was followed by Jared Cilia (32nd, 17:39), Matt Thornton (48th, 18:06), Frank Lima (62nd, 18:44), Bryce Williamson (68th, 19:26) and Dmitry Picchi (73rd, 19:37).
Bergman and Hamilton pulled away from the rest of the field at the end of the first mile. The two of them stayed together for the next mile.
"I made my move at the second mile," Bergman said. "The whole time I was thinking Sammy was close to me. I heard a lot of people were cheering for her."
With each stride, Bergman was separating herself from her main rival.
"She ran an awesome race," Hamilton said. "I tried to keep up with her."
Hamilton was only disappointed with her time.
"I wish I had broken 18 minutes," Hamilton said. "The conditions were nice."
On the boys' side, Dill ran a comfortable race.
"At the mile mark, I heard times being called out," Dill said. "That was my best time. I was hoping to break 18 minutes."
The shock was Williamson's finish. Predicted to qualify for the state, Williamson went through the chute, then headed toward the paramedics for some treatment.
"He just stopped at the two-mile mark," Dill said. "He said he couldn't breathe."
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