Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year: Crystal’s Kaiya Brooks

Brooks and her team ran into program history. The senior claimed the Division V individual state championship, and her first-place finish headlined the Crystal girls’ triumph as Division V team champions. These were the first state titles ever for Crystal.

“It’s incredible,” Brooks said following the race. “I can’t even believe it. I’m just so grateful. Wow.”

Just as incredible is the strength and composure Brooks demonstrated following the race. She was hardly out of breath after breezing to the individual title with a personal record of 17 minutes, 54.2 seconds, finishing over 24 seconds better than the rest of the field — the realizing of her great potential, for sure.

“I knew she could do it,” Crystal teammate Kira Dye said. “If she wants it, she’ll get it. She’s just the most hardworking person I know, and she’s very strong.”

Brooks’ four-year varsity career was anything but a breeze, though.

In earning 2019 Daily Journal Cross Country Runner of the year honors as a freshman — by virtue of capturing West Bay Athletic League and Central Coast Section Division V championships prior to reaching the state podium — Brooks was off to an amazing start. Then things went haywire for the standout distance runner. From the COVID pandemic in 2020, to her suffering through Osgood-Schlatter disease as a sophomore and junior, Brooks didn’t win a single race for two years.

Well, add perseverance to the list to go along with Brooks’ strength and composure, as the senior reemerged in 2022. First, she repeated as WBAL champion, clocking an astounding first-place time of 17:26.6 at Crystal Springs, the 46th best time on the modern 2.95-mile course dating back to 1971. A week later, she repeated as CCS Division V champion at Crystal Springs in 17:44.7.

“I think Kaiya is the hardest working person,” Crystal teammates Anna Salter said. “But she’s also just so humble. It’s just really a reality check. She’s just an amazing runner and person. And she just cares a lot. She does a lot of work.”

Now, Brooks has repeated another honor in being named the 2022 Daily Journal Girls’ Cross Country Runner of the Year.

As to Brooks’ importance to the overall Crystal cross country program, one of the senior’s training partners, Crystal boys’ cross country senior Furious Clay, has a keen perspective.

“A whole other level,” Clay said. “Just incredible, frankly. We’re very lucky to have her in the program.”

Of Crystal’s three state titles at this season’s meet, Brooks’ championship was technically the first one. And one of the secrets of her success? She felt right at home.

Sure, it was the second time she’d run at Woodward Park in 2022, having placed second in the Rough Rider Invitational on a sweltering Oct. 14 day with a time of 18:20.2. In returning for the Nov. 26 state championships, however, Brooks immediately realized it might be her day.

“The weather was perfect,” Brooks said. “When we ran this course earlier in the season it was in the mid-90s, so it’s definitely a big shift. It was very nice.”

What really made Brooks feel at home, though, was the treacherous incline at the first mile marker. Brooks has always taken to hill work, something she has tackled on a regular basis, considering the infamous Cardiac Hill of her home course at Crystal Springs.

That’s precisely where Brooks made her move at the state meet. After running in second place for much of the first mile, she exploded past Convent & Stuart Hall sophomore Sienna Faidi and holding the lead the for the rest of the race.

“The hill right after the first mile, it kind of reminded me of the hill on our home course at the one mile,” Brooks said. “So, I just really tried to take off right after that hill, have some quick steps right after it and just go for it.”

After Brooks and the Crystal girls each delivered championships, the Gentleman Gryphons would follow suit by winning the Division V boys’ team state championship. It’s just the second time in Northern California history the same school won both the girls’ and boys’ team championships in the same season. Campolindo-Moraga was the first, taking home the Division III crowns in 2019.

The two state titles were no coincidence, Clay said, who pointed to Crystal’s storied head coach Albert Caruana as the championship mastermind.

“Definitely no luck involved,” Clay said. “I’ve got to say props to Coach Car. … At the beginning of the season, he gave us the plan, he gave us the lay of the land. … And we just went out and executed every day in practice. … We just find different ways to bond, different ways to establish that sense of community. I can’t say enough how much that helps us out. But if there’s any secret sauce, it’s definitely our coach. It’s in the preparation.”

Brooks, who is committed to run cross country and track at Harvard University next season, has one more high school season before her with track and field starting in the spring.

The senior still has something to prove. Last year, she settled for second place in the 3200 meters at the CCS finals and went on to place ninth in the event at the state championships. But much like the inspiration she brought to Crystal’s girls’ and boys’ cross country teams this season, she could have a similar effect on the program’s track contenders in 2023.

“She’s one of my best friends,” said Clay, who won the CCS boys’ championship in the 800 meters last season, only to just miss the podium at the state meet with an 11th place finish. “We’ve been running together for four years. So, I see her every day in practice. … She’s a huge inspiration for me.”