ALL-COUNTY GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM 

RUNNER OF THE YEAR

Emma Hadley, Canyon

A cross country runner’s goal is to peak at the end of the season when CIF championship meets are on the calendar.

Canyon senior Emma Hadley did just that.

Hadley was Orange County’s fastest girl at the CIF State Championships, leading the Comanches to a second-place finish in Division II.

For being the best at the most significant time of the season, Hadley is the Register’s Orange County girls cross country runner of the year.

Canyon senior Emma Hadley led the way to a second-place team finish in the state and she won the Century League individual title. (Photo courtesy of Canyon High School)

Her time of 18 minutes, 6.20 seconds at the CIF State Championships in Fresno was good enough for ninth place among the 189 runners in the Division II race. Canyon’s 123 points was second to Mira Costa’s 86 in the Division II team competition.

Hadley was the Century League champion, too, and led her team to the league title. She finished second in the Orange County Championships Sweepstakes Race with a time of 17:48.10.

One of the county’s top cross country athletes the past four seasons, Hadley concluded her high school cross country career in the national-level Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships in which she finished 38th with a personal-best of 17:21.09.

Hadey, who still is figuring out her college plans, started running competitively as a seventh-grader and got more interested in distance running as an eighth-grader.

“I just fell in love with the environment,” she said. “Runners are great people. Every year, I’ve loved running even more. It’s a test of will and strength.”

Hadley credited Canyon coaches Steve Frisone and Heather Killeen-Frisone for getting her to run her best in the big, season-ending meets.

“I was listening to my coaches,” Hadley said. “I trust them with my life, and they set me up to have this great opportunity.”

Killeen-Frisone said it was a challenge at times to keep Hadley from trying to do too much too soon, and to trust that the excellent results would arrive at the right moment.

“She is such a competitor,” Killeen-Frisone said. “It was hard to keep her patient. But her patience paid off.”

It took a while for Hadley to reach her top form after dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic last school year.

“Every race is a learning opportunity,” she said. “Coming back from COVID was a little difficult at first. I relearned everything and regrew. It all fully clicked at the end of the season.”

* * * * *   * * * * *     * * * * *     * * * * *     * * * * *

COACHES OF THE YEAR

Steve Frisone and Heather Killeen-Frisone, Canyon 

Their daughter Isabella was about to start running with the Canyon cross country team.

Steve Frisone and Heather Killeen Frisone saw that the team needed coaches, so they pitched in.

Four years later, the Frisones coached Canyon to a second-place finish in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championships and they are the Register’s Orange County girls cross country coaches of the year.

They had a good stable of runners this season. Canyon senior Emma Hadley finished strong and was named the county’s runner of the year. Isabella also had a terrific senior year, and sophomore Makena Oliva and junior Keira Potter were outstanding, too.

The Frisones, married for 25 years, have two other children. They have been coaching for 27 years, most of those spent at Narbonne High in Harbor City. They currently teach in the Corona-Norco Unified School District.

The best moments of this season, their final season as Canyon’s head coaches now that Isabella is graduating and will be at Boise State next fall, were winning the Orange County Championships team title and finishing 19th in the end-of-season Garmin RunningLane national meet in Alabama.

“Winning Orange County was the highlight after getting second place before,” Steve said. “The opportunity to take the girls to Alabama to compete was definitely pretty cool, too.”

* * * * *    * * * * *    * * * * *    * * * * *    * * * * *    * * * * *    * * * * *

ALL-COUNTY TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Emma Hadley, Canyon, Sr. (Runner of the Year)

Holly Barker, Laguna Hills, Fr.

Liesel Blau, St. Margaret’s, Jr.

Melissa Djomby Enyawe, Corona del Mar, So.

Isabella Frisone, Canyon, Sr.

Brynn Garcia, JSerra, Fr.

Allura Markow, Dana Hills, Jr.

Makena Oliva, Canyon, So.

Mackenzie McRae, Huntington Beach, So.

Sophie Polay, Santa Margarita, Fr.

Related Articles

Sydney Rome, Yorba Linda, Jr.

Anastasia, Snodgrass, JSerra, Jr.

Ashlynn Viramontes, Katella, Sr.

Jadyn Zdanavage, Portola, Jr.