First Knight To Win School's First Cross County State Champ

Story by Nick Hastings | Photos by Berry Evans III

When Chloe Hansel wants something, she takes it.

Before the beginning of Hansel’s junior year, the Las Lomas High runner told her coach “I want to win state.”

On Nov. 22, Hansel won the NCS Division III girls’ cross country championship in Hayward. A week later, she outpaced some of the state’s top runners, including conference rival Toni Finnane of Campolindo high school – by less than a second — to be crowned as the top athlete in Division III.

Her title captured, Hansel could be excused for catching her breath and enjoying the spotlight. The first state cross country champion in her school’s histroy had earned the right to be content, to sit back and wait for track season to begin. Instead, Hansel doubled down on her success, challenging herself to improve and grow.

“I want to be higher [than 5th overall] in California. I want to set the NCS course record.”

Coach Cynthia Green, a staple at Las Lomas for the past decade, isn’t surprised by Hansel’s success — nor her winning attitude.

“Chloe is great,” Green said. “She’s a very hard worker, very unassuming. She doesn’t take a lot of the spotlight… She’s very humble around campus.”

Despite her nose-to-the-grindstone mindset, Hansel appreciates the attention.

“I’m known on campus a little bit,” she says with a smile.

But Hansel’s fame isn’t confined to the halls of Las Lomas — or even the hills and valleys of California. Along with Davis’ Fiona O’Keeffe, Hansel was one of only two Northern California runners selected for the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

See the full story of Chloe Hansel in our latest Bay Area issue of SportStars Magazine: First Knight