With A Month Ago Before CIF Finals, Top Teams And Individuals Must Endure League And Section Meets En Route To Woodward Park

By Albert Caruana for DyeStat

Ken Martinez photos

It’s hard to believe that seven state championships have already taken place and yet in California, we are still over one month away from the CIF Championships, which is the last state meet in the country.

For many of the top cross country teams in California it all started in June as teams gathered to prepare for the upcoming season. In mid-September, nationally ranked schools tested their speed and fitness at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. In early October, the Clovis Invitational hosted many of the top teams in that will determine state championships and NXN berths. This past weekend, the 77th running of the legendary Mt. SAC Invitational signaled the last big competition for many teams as they begin the final preparation for the November's league, section, and state meet races.

NXN Contenders

Now that the Mt. SAC Invitational is in the rear-view mirror, there is a clearer view of the top teams and individuals in the state. The NXN favorite for the boys continues to be Jesuit. The Marauders won the Clovis Invitational and followed that up with an easy win this past Saturday at the Flat SAC Invitational (not to be confused with Mt. SAC). 

Campolindo will be in a different race (Division III) at the state meet but will certainly be the Marauders’ biggest challenger in the state merge. At the Rough Rider Invitational, the Campo boys broke the North Coast Section team-time record for the Woodward Park course with a time of 77:32. At their mid-season mania 3,200, Campo rolled to 9:10.80, 9:11.46, 9:17.29, 9:17.75, and 9:28.38 personal bests for its top five runners and took over the HOKA Postal Nationals lead. 

At the state meet, Woodbridge will race Jesuit head-to-head in the Division II race with dead aim on the state title and an NXN berth. The San Clemente boys just captured the D1&2 Team Sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC and have now emerged as slight favorites in a deep Division I field. Other teams in the mix are Redondo Union, Beckman, and Mira Costa.

For the girls, JSerra won the Clovis Invitational and then followed that performance with another victory at the Orange County Championship. The Buchanan girls finished second at Clovis and will have stiff competition at the state meet from Santiago (Corona).

The Mira Costa girls won the Mt. SAC D1&2 Team Sweepstakes race and will be the biggest threat for Buchanan and Santiago (Corona). The St. Francis, SJ girls will be the wild card team competing in the Division III race with a puncher’s chance at possibly securing one of the NXN at-large berths.

Individually, for the boys, Olly O’Connor of Viewpoint and Blake Bay of Fresno Christian continue to be two of the favorites and will push each other in the Division V race at the state meet. The other three spots could come out of Division I, but threats in this division, as well as other divisions, continue to grow. Maximo Zavaleta of Martin Luther King was the fastest California runner at Clovis but finished behind Mario Montoya of Redondo Union at Mt. SAC. Connor Lott is the reigning state Division I and 1,600 champion but just finished third at his team’s invitational, trailing Del Oro’s Noel Huato and Bellarmine’s Stephen Sziebert. The Bell senior and Columbia University commit has been on a roll with a 15:00.2 PR at Clovis and two recent victories.  

La Jolla senior Chiara Dailey has already received a golden ticket for the Brooks national meet as she becomes an automatic four-year qualifier for her hometown’s San Diego national meet. She is now eligible to race at NXN the previous week for the first time provided she runs fast enough at the state meet. 

Aelo Curtis of Ventura finished in 17th place at Woodbridge but has been undefeated since, including a huge breakthrough win at Clovis. Braelyn Combe won the Mt. SAC D1&2 Individual Sweepstakes with a new meet record time of 16:53.2. Irvine senior Summer Wilson won the Orange County Championships with a course record 15:47.3. Eastlake senior Jaelyn Williams finished third at Woodbridge and is always a threat for a big performance at the state meet.

State Team And Individual Favorites

As it should be, the Division I boys race is going to be the most competitive team race. San Clemente has emerged as a slight favorite after its Mt. SAC victory, but it will face plenty of aspiring challengers in Redondo Union, Beckman, Trabuco Hills and Mira Costa. The Bellarmine boys are on a roll and know how to shine at the state meet after a second-place finish last year.

Individually, Lott will have his hands full aiming for a repeat with the likes of Zavaleta and Sziebert in hot pursuit. Watch out for Davis sophomore Elias Thronson, a rising star.

In Division II, Jesuit will be favored to win its 11th state team title over an equally potent Woodbridge lineup. Jesuit is not quite at full strength at the moment and will have about a month to bolster its pack. Aidan Antonio, a Woodbridge junior, will try to get the lowest stick for the two front-running teams in order to finish ahead of Jesuit frontrunner, junior Conor Bilodeau.

In Division III, the defending state champion Campolindo boys are on a roll and should win their school’s third boys state title as well as pursue an NXN berth. Kimball senior Andres Lomeli had the fastest time for any runner in this division at Clovis and won the D3&4&5 Individual Sweepstakes race at Mt. SAC. Noel Huato of Del Oro finished second at the Clovis North Twilight Invitational and ran 15:04.8 at Clovis. Oliver Hunter of Dana Hills was just behind him at 15:05.0.

In Division IV, Foothill Tech and JSerra will battle it out for the top spot here. Foothill Tech may be the slight favorite after an impressive showing at the Ventura County Championship. Individually, the race for the state title is wide open. Miramonte senior Logan Letulle is back from an earlier injury and is the top returner from last year’s state meet. Arizechkwu Nwosu of Oaks Christian had the fastest DIV time at Clovis with his 15:22.3.

In Division V, the University boys may be the slight favorite at this point after a competitive second to West Torrance at Mt. SAC. Pre-season favorite Viewpoint will need the healthy return of two injured runners if they are to contend for the state title. Menlo, the 2024 state champion, will also be in contention for at the very least, a podium finish. O’Connor and Bay will be the top two boys in this race, with the next two contenders being Ryan Fitzpatrick of Nueva and Henry Hauser of Menlo.

For the girls, there are clearer favorites in every division. 

Buchanan will be pursuing its first state title since 2022 after two second place finishes the past two seasons. Combe of Santiago (Corona) will be out to prove that she is more than just an outstanding track runner after her third place individual finish last year.

In Division II, the Whitney girls won the large school varsity race at the Rough Rider Invitational and have moved ahead of the rest of the field. Individually, Curtis of Ventura is the favorite with her 16:44.5 stunner at Clovis. Wilson of Irvine will keep her honest as she has also dipped under the 17-minute mark at Woodward Park.

Ninth grader Alyssa Gutierrez has been the lead runner for St. Francis SJ team and will be one of the top individuals in Division III. Her team’s main competition will come from the following three teams: Santa Margarita was second at the Mt. SAC D3&4&5 Team Sweepstakes race. Oak Park won the Ventura County Championships. El Toro is the defending Division II state champion, which means the teams knows how to rise to the occasion of a championship meet.

Kamilah Salim of West Torrance had the fastest DIII time at Clovis at 17:25.60. 

In Division IV, the only question is the margin of victory and team time for the JSerra girls as they will roll to their school’s eighth state team title. Archie Williams and Sage Creek are both excellent teams and will attempt to make it competitive and collect more hardware for their respective schools. Dailey is the favorite here as she attempts to win her third straight individual title in this division after a second place finish as a freshman.

In Division V, the favorite is the Crystal Springs Uplands School girls. The team is led by Anna Salter, who just ran the seventh fastest 3m200 time in CCS history with her 10:22.19 time at the Campo Mid-Season Mania 3200. Her team’s main competition should be from Immanuel, a team that has finished second at the last two state meets.

Individually, Lick-Wilmerding senior Ella Magannam finished second last year and will be the slight favorite here over defending champion Amelia Sarkisian of Brentwood, Farah Allen of Branson, and Elliana Patterson of Christian, SD.