Foothill League runners made their mark at Saturday’s CIF Southern Section cross country finals at Mt. San Antonio College as three teams of girls, two teams of boys and two individuals qualified for the state meet.  Hart and Saugus both got each of their teams to Fresno, while Canyon had its girls’ team qualify along with junior Owen Souther. West Ranch junior Braulio Castillo also qualified.  “We’re always a really difficult league, and that comes with its challenges because we have to run at such a high level to get to this point,” Hart coach Darren James said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “But I think we’re all more successful because we have each other … The rising tide raises all ships.” Canyon junior Owen Souther (right) with Cowboys coach George Velarde after qualifying for the cross country state meet. Courtesy photo. James saw his boys take third in Division 3 and his girls place fourth in Division 3. It’s the first time in program history that both teams qualified for the state meet in the same year. He said his boys’ team was expected to finish high after coming into the race ranked first, and the goal is to win the state meet.  “We finished third in a very tight race with the two other teams,” James said. “It’s hard to be in the No. 1 position from a psychological perspective. That’s a lot to carry. And I think we ended up in a situation where we had a lot to lose and the teams behind us had a lot to gain.” Canyon coach George Velarde saw his girls take seventh in Division 3, making them the final team to qualify. It’s the first time a girls’ team from Canyon is running in the state meet since 2003.  The Saugus boys’ and girls’ cross country teams qualified for the state meet together for the first time since 2017. Photo courtesy of David Grant. Saugus junior Annika Marks helped the Saugus girls’ cross country team to qualify for the state meet. Photo courtesy of David Grant. He said the group gradually started to move up as the race went on before holding at seventh place after 2 miles in the 3-mile race.  “The girls want to prove to themselves that, yes, we’re happy we made history, but we want to leave on a good note, you know,” Velarde said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It’s not a, ‘OK, we’re satisfied.’”  Souther, a first-year runner, finished eighth overall in Division 3 at 15:32.6. Velarde said the goal for him is to finish in the top 20.  “For a first-year runner that has no prior history of any background in running, yet alone distance running, it’s pretty uncalled for what he’s accomplishing,” Velarde said. “All the credit goes to Owen with his work ethic and him learning how to get the most out of himself.”  Castillo was just ahead of Souther, taking seventh overall at 15:23.2.  Saugus coach Kevin Berns is taking both teams to the state meet for the first time since 2017. His boys were fifth and his girls were sixth in Division 2.  Senior Sebastian Peraza led the boys with a fourth-place finish at 15:14.2, while junior Lucia Pearson led the girls with a time of 18:26.2 to finish 15th overall.  “To have the legacy continue at Saugus cross country is something that we strive for every single year,” Berns said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “I mean, it’s all about the athletes that have come before us that we try to live up to their standards.”  Most of the Saugus runners improved on their times from the preliminaries held at Mt. SAC the weekend prior, and the Centurions are “peaking at the right time,” Berns said.  The state meet is scheduled for Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno. The Division 2 girls’ race is slated to begin at 9 a.m., followed by the Division 2 boys’ race at 10 a.m., the Division 3 girls’ race at 10:30 a.m. and the Division 3 boys’ race at noon.  The top three teams in each race get a spot on the podium, while the top 10 individuals earn medals.  For more information on the state meet, go to tinyurl.com/2s3acpjs. To purchase tickets (they are only available online), go to gofan.co/app/school/CIF.  The post Foothill League runners stand out at Southern Section finals  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.