LA City’s Best Get Ready for ‘24 XC
The Top ‘23 City Runners From Each Division:
(l-r) Angelina Lopez-Sr Canoga Park, Amber Lopez-JR Verdugo Hills, Kellie Mena-Jr MaCES, Blake Sigworth-Jr Palisades Charter, Jorge Montenegro-Sr Monroe, Demitri Hernandez-Sr Mendez, Angeles Feliciano-Sr Santee, Abel Serrano-Sr East Valley, Valerie Palma-Jr Stern, Zoey Morris-So Palisades Charter; Not pictured Carlos Aguiar-Sr Washington Prep (D5)
September ‘24 Issue
Rosemead/Clovis ‘24
West Valley Cluster #1 ‘24
Summer Camps ‘24
Pre-Season Rankings ‘24
COUNTDOWN TO CITY FINALS
Angel Solorio - Sun Valley Magnet
Central Valley League Champion
City Final Qualifiers
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Boys Div 1
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Boys Div 2
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Boys Div 3
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Boys Div 4
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Boys Div 5
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Girls Div 1
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Girls Div 2
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Girls Div 3
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Girls Div 4
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Girls Div 5
The top 4 scoring teams in each heat automatically qualify for the City Finals this Saturday, November 23rd. The next 3 fastest teams across all heats within a division based on team-time also qualify (see blue highlights). Individual athletes that placed in the top 10 in their respective heats and whose team did not qualify may run as individuals in City Finals; these athletes are listed at the bottom of the team qualifiers.
LA City Section Prelims
Pierce College
Saturday, November 16th, 2024
Though the level of competition at City Prelims is often tempered with the high ranking teams running through the event in preparation for Finals and State, this year proved to be the exception. Some of City’s top ranked athletes posted PB’s while rising stars showed they have the potential to shake things up next Saturday. Here are some of the notable performances from the City Prelims.
In the 1st heat of the D1 prelim PAUL TRANQUILLA ran the fastest time at Pierce since 2016, 15:03.0, just missing the Venice school record by less than 3 seconds. For perspective, only 14 City athletes have EVER run a faster time on the 3-mile Pierce course, and only 3 have run faster in the last 20 years.
In D5, ANGEL SOLORIO (Sun Valley Magnet) set a school and division record (3rd time he’s done this in 3 weeks) in 16:00.7. More perspective, only 5 years ago low-17’s won the D5 City Final, this year 4 runners broke 17 minutes in Prelims including DANIEL MARTINEZ, ANGEL JUAREZ, and JONAH VASQUEZ. Look for Solorio and Martinez to be the 1st D 5 sub-16 minute runners at the ‘24 City Finals next week.
ANANYA BALARAMAN ran the fastest girls time of the day in the D1/H1, 18:38.0, in an incredibly controlled tune-up to what should be a sub-18 minute City Final. And that’s conservative - she already has a hand-timed PR of 18:00.0 minutes on Pierce. SCARLET HARRIS placed 3rd in the D1/H2 race in a 43-second PR of 18:48.1 and like Ananya she is still miles away from her potential.
We took notice of MARIO ALUIZO back in 2022 when as a sophomore he placed 11th in the D1 City finals. His school Narbonne now competes in D2 and if Mario’s prelims performance is any indicator (he won the D2/H1 race in 15:57.9) he should be in the running for an individual title next week. He’ll have a bunch of competition from Monroe, Santee and Marshall but Mario is a supremely talented athlete who could be running low 15’s if fully dedicated to running.
Speaking of the Santee boys ROLAND BALDERAS and sophomore ADRIAN AGUIRRE controlled the D2-Heat 2 race from the start to finish comfortably in 1st and 2nd with Pierce PR’s but well off potential. Both of these runners should clear 16 minutes at City Finals, by a lot!
Likewise, the Monroe boys barely broke a sweat on their way to qualifying for City Finals with a 2nd place finish in the D2-heat 1 race. JORGE MONTENEGRO, SEBASTIAN PEREZ and RAUL SANCHEZ will be minutes faster come Saturday with team and individual titles at stake.
Larchmont senior ROSE MATHUE ran 5 minutes 18 seconds faster than her Prelim time last year to win the D5/H2 race in 19:22.8 PR, a school record and only 15 seconds off the D5 Pierce course record. Prelims was only her 4th time running Pierce and so it’s very likely we could see a sub 19-minute D5 performance for the 1st time next Saturday.
The San Fernando running program is on the upswing led by an impressive girls team that had the 3rd best D2 team-time at Prelims and the 7th best time across all divisions. Their top 3 - seniors ALYSSA SANCHEZ, SAMIRA GARCIA and EVELYN RODRIGUEZ - all broke 21 minutes finishing within 20 seconds of each other in Heat 2.
Belmont’s top 2 boys SANTIAGO BARRIOS and EDWIN GOMEZ both broke 17 minutes in the D4-Heat 2 race, a milestone rarely achieved in the D4 Championship race let alone prelim.
Granada Hills did not run their top 3 boys or girls at Prelim but will be ready to secure their State bids next Saturday led by SAMMY PACHECO who will also be looking for her 1st individual title.
The San Pedro boys cruised the 1st 2-miles of the D1H1 prelim race and finished hard coming off of Chalk Hill. This is a menacing team led by EVAN HADEISHI and CHRISTOPHER FRELIX that will be in the fight for both team and individual City titles on November 23rd.
In most years running 19:08.8 in a D2 girls prelim would have earned top seed. Unfortunately for Esteban Torres senior SAMANTHA AVILA she was matched up with Canoga Park and settled for 2nd place. Her time Saturday was almost 2 minutes faster than her Prelim time in ‘23 and ranked her as the 7th fastest performance across all divisions.
Here are the top 10 finishers across all divisions from the Los Angeles City Section Prelims this morning. More to come!
Boys
Girls
Final LA Section Power Rankings - All Divisions
These are the final LACXC.com Power Rankings leading into the LA City Section Championships on Saturday, November 23rd, 2024. The rankings are based on league final results, noteworthy regular season performances, and adjustments for runners who either did not run league finals or tactically under performed. The arrows indicate ranking trends since the pre-season LACXC.com Power Rankings. Best of luck to all City athletes!
POST SEASON HAS ARRIVED!
Team League Champions
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Girls Team Champions
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Boys Team Champions
League Final Images - Pierce, Wednesday
GIRLS-Valley Mission &
Western League
BOYS-Valley Mission &
Western Leagues
BOYS - East Valley
& Northern Leagues
GIRLS - East Valley
& Northern Leagues
League Final Images - Pierce, Thursday
BOYS - West Valley
GIRLS - West Valley
Central Valley, North Valley, Valley
Once the dust settled (Literally) 3,215 athletes from 139 teams representing 21 leagues had finished a qualifying league event. The tables below rank the top 10 boys team and individual performances across all LA City Section league finals at Elysian Park, Peck Park and Pierce College on Wednesday, November 6th and Thursday, November 7th, 2024.
CITY GIRLS
CITY BOYS
Thursday Recap - Pierce
Windy conditions persisted but the Thursday races did not disappoint. Returning after a 2 week vacation SAMMY PACHECO looked stronger than ever to win the first race of the day in 18:29.0 and earn her 2nd West Valley league title. Cleveland’s MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ placed 2nd in the race with the 4TH fastest D1 time across all Pierce league finals. Granada duo SOPHIA BATTLE and REECE TRICE continue to excel and both set Pierce PR’s on Thursday. ECR sophomore SCARLET HARRIS placed 5th in a PR of 19:31.3; Look for Harris to make big improvements over the next 2 weeks and a top-10 placing on November 23rd.
In the boys West Valley varsity race, Taft junior HUNTER BENNET took the individual league title in a brilliantly executed run that earned him a Pierce PR of 15:41.6. Hunter drafted behind Granada Hill’s lead runners for 2 miles and than on the final down hill made his move to the front that he took to the finish line. Hunter’s victory is only the 2nd time in 48 years that a Taft athlete has won the West Valley boys varsity race (Daniel Clements-2000 was the first). JOAQUIN ORTEGA-TOMOSELLI and DANIEL RAMIREZ both posted Pierce PR’s to place 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Later in the afternoon ANGEL SOLORIO (Sun Valley), DANIEL MARTIN (Community Charter) and JOSEPH JUAREZ battled it out for D5 bragging rights. Solorio won the race and the Central Valley title in 16:17.7; close to his Pierce PR from last week, 16:03.0, which is a D5 course record. Martin took 39 seconds off his Pierce best to place 2nd in the race in 16:39.0 and win the North Valley league title. Joseph finished 3rd in the race and 2nd in the Central Valley league in 16:57.9.
Big Races on Wednesday
Wednesday Recap
Though the temperatures at Pierce were ideal on Wednesday the winds were hurricane force, particularly on top of the hill. In spite of the winds and dust the races were some of the best all year and individuals managed to run PR’s. The schedule of races was different than describe below the East Valley and Northern leagues ran together in each of the FS, JV and Varsity races and the Valley Mission and Western Leagues ran together in separate races. North Hollywood’s ANANYA BALARAMAN led from start to finish to win the combined East Valley/Northern and the East Valley league title. This is the first race we’ve seen her in since September and she looked in top form. Eagle Rock freshman OLIVIA CORRIGAN placed 2nd in the race to win the Northern league title in a gutsy race in which she took the lead on the 2nd mile through the switch backs. Monroe senior NAYELLY FLORES placed 3rd in the race and 2nd in the East Valley league. All 3 of these girls posted Pierce PR’s on a less than ideal day for racing.
Note: Amber Lopez (Verdugo Hills) did not run in the League Finals.
The boys East Valley/Northern league race had some of the favorites winning but also revealed some untapped talent. Monroe’s JORGE MONTENEGRO earned his 2nd East Valley league title in a smart race that didn’t earn a PR but got the job done. The big surprises were Monroe junior RAUL SANCHEZ who led the race through 1.5 miles and finished in 2nd place in the combined and East Valley league with a 32-second Pierce PR of 16:23.2. Similarly, Eagle Rock’s OLIVER BARR showed some of his potential to win the Northern League title in 16:26.9; the 1st win for an athlete fully capable of breaking 16 minutes. Monroe’s SEBATIAN PEREZ finished 3rd in the race and in the East Valley league with a performance he’ll be looking improve on come November 23rd.
The girls combined Valley Mission/Western varsity race was a shoot-out between the reigning City D1 XC champion ZOEY MORRIS (Palisades Charter), the top-ranked D2 athlete ANGELINA LOPEZ (Canoga Park), and upstart freshman MAYA HIVELY (Palisades Charter). These 3 broke from the pack early and ran together until about 600 meters when Lopez surged in front and never looked back. Lopez set a PR, the Canoga Park Pierce record, and the ‘24 City top mark of 18:19.5 on a truly miserable day for running. Sub 18-minutes in 2 weeks!
The tables below rank the top 10 performances across all League Finals at Pierce on Wednesday, November 6th, 2024:
Wednesday Preview
The Valley Mission, East Valley and Northern leagues typically compete in a single varsity league final race at Pierce and if the tradition continues this will pit Canoga Park’s ANGELINA LOPEZ, Verdugo Hill’s AMBER LOPEZ, North Hollywood’s ANYANA BALARAMAN, Monroe’s NAYELLY FLORES, and Eagle Rock’s OLIVIA CORRIGAN against each other in head-to-head competition. These are absolutely some of City’s best athletes and this mash-up only happens once a year at league finals. Side note: Amber Lopez ran 18:47.0 at a dual meet at Pierce last week; a performance that would have placed 2nd in the D2 City finals last year.
The Monroe boys led by SEBASTIAN PEREZ and JORGE MONTENEGRO will be racing each other for league bragging rights but Marshal’s BAO LE and RYE JUNKER have made big improvements this year and posted PR’s last week in a dual meet; they will keep it interesting. Kennedy sophomore MATEO CEDILLO and Bravo Medical senior CHRISTOPHER RAMIREZ are both within range of a top 3 place and also showing big improvements headed into November. Looking for more than a couple sub-16 performances on a day that should be perfect for racing.
Later in the afternoon the Western league competes with 2 of the D1 powerhouses going head-to-head in the boys varsity division: Palisades Charter and Venice. Venice’s PAUL TRANQUILLA and CHARLES SIMON have been impressive in the big meets this year and we are expecting nothing less on Wednesday. The Palisades boys will win the team competition but it will take a special performance by BLAKE SIGWORTH, OWEN LEWICKY or ZAC COHEN to win the individual league title. This should be a good one!
The Palisade’s girls will coast to easy team and individual Western league wins and in the past have used this race as a tune-up for City Finals. Expect the usual suspects ZOEY MORRIS, LULU MAMMEN, ELEANOR MAMMEN, and DAILA HARINCK to pack it in and cruise to the finish line. Hopefully we’ll see MAYA HIVELY and GABRIELLE GILYARD run for the 1st time since September and if so look for both to run this all out. Venice’s JADE FLORES and Hamilton’s MARIA CRUZ SANTIAGO should keep the race honest.
October 22nd - 23rd, 2024
The jury is still out on whether the new improved 3.0 mile Mt SAC course is faster (we’ll have a full analysis as well as our opinion next week) but that didn’t get in the way of some fine City performances, both individually and at the team level. Thirty-one City teams competed at this year’s Mt Sac (a City record) and 488 runners completed the new course (also a record). ZOEY MORRIS and PAUL TRANQUILLA set City records on the new course: 19:00.0 and 15:46.0 respectively (no idea why they didn’t time to the 1/10th). Three girls won their races: ANGELINA LOPEZ - 19:27.0 (Sr-Canoga Park), KELIA NARANJO-CHAMPION 19:49.0 (Sr-Garfield) and BRIGETTE TRUJILLO - 20:05.0 (Sr-Miguel Contreras). Eagle Rock freshman OLIVIA CORRIGAN placed 4th in the D2 Varsity Green race in 20:01.0; the 5th fastest City time at Mt. SAC. I think CHARLES SIMON (Venice) is for real! He had a fantastic performances on the flat Woodbridge course and Saturday posted the 2nd best City time on the hilly Mt SAC course, 15:52.0; only one of two City runners to break 16 minutes. The Palisades girls have 5 girls in the City top 10 for Mt Sac; Very impressive!
Some other notable performances. Sisters LULU MAMMEN and ELEANOR MAMMEN have been a big part of Palisades success this year and they proved their worth at Mt. SAC posting the #6 and #7 top City times. Granada senior REECE TRICE had a phenomenal race, almost 2 minutes better than last year, and looks to be back where she belongs. Junior DAILA HARINCK continues to impress in her 2nd year running with a top-10 City performance and finishing as Palisades #3 on a very strong and deep team. CHRISTOPHER FRELIX finished another race as San Pedro’s #1 earning him #3 on the City Top-10 list. JOAQUIN ORTEGA-TOMASELLI is getting close to last year’s post season fitness to lead Granada Hills on Saturday; there’s more there! Freshman OLIVIA CORRIGAN ran a huge race in her 1st Mt. SAC against varsity competition. She held 2nd place after a big move on the 2nd mile and ended up 4th after a very fast finish on the track against 2 Mt Carmel runners. Olivia and BRIGETTE TRUJILLO are going to make the D2 race interesting.
On the team front Palisades dominated both the City girls and boys rankings while running well under top form. The boys finished without Zac Cohen (DNF’d) and Andrew Razo, both top 5 runners for the Dolphins, and the girls were without Maya Hively and Gabriella Gilyard, also top 5 runners for Palisades. The Granada girls showed well without Sammy Pacheco, led by nice performances from Reece Trice and Sophia Battle. Add to the mix Freshman TRINIDAD MONTENEGRO (sister of Jorge from Monroe) who looks like she’ll be an important part of Granada’s scoring and you have the makings of a team that will not be denied a State birth . The Venice girls aren’t going to beat Granada this year but they had some impressive performances by senior JADE FLORES as well as a slew of freshman led by WHITNEY DERBY that should keep the Gondoliers in the top tier for the next 3 years.
On the boys side the team battle for a State bid (3 teams this year) will be intense. Palisades locks the top berth but the 2nd and 3rd place could go to Granada, San Pedro or Venice. These teams #4 & 5 are all within 30 seconds of each other and these runners will determine the State bid. Granada has the edge for sure but San Pedro always shows best at City Finals and Venice ran Mt SAC without their #4 and 5 ALEXANDER DU and MILO POP IV.
In the other divisions, on the boys sides, Monroe (D2), Mendez (D3), SOCES (D4) and Sun Valley Magnet (D5) should take the top spots. Monroe consistently excels and ‘24 is no exception; they ranked as the 5th fastest City team across all divisions at Mt. SAC. Both Mendez and Sun Valley should be commended as well for delivering teams that are on par with top D1 teams.
Canoga Park girls will run away with another D2 title and Belmont looks to have a lock on D4. University has the nod in D3 ( but it’s precarious) and New West Charter (D5) should be planning another trip to Woodward Park.
The table below lists the top 10 City runners across all races on Friday and Saturday at the Mt. SAC Invitational (click on the table to see City team rankings):
Saturday Images
Sophia Battle Reece Trice
Zoey Morris
Yesenia Valdez Alexis Huerta
Paul Tranquilla
Charles Simon
Kelia Naranjo-Champion
Christopher Frelix
Evan Hadeishi
Olivia Corrigan
Alexis Huerta
Eleanor Mammen
Bravo Medical Girls Varsity
Joaquin Ortega-Tomaselli
Reece Trice
Ruben Mendoza
Yasenia Valdez
Trinidad Montenegro
Friday Images
Angelina Lopez
Sebastian Perez
Jorge Montenegro
Joseph Juarez
Angel Solorio
Evelyn Rodriguez
Adrian Vargas
Tigran Tadevosian
Daniel Martinez
Canoga Park Cross Country ‘24
INVIITE HIGHLIGHTS
BELL GARDENS
BELL -JEFF
CENTRAL PARK
WOODBRIDGE
LA City INDIVIDUAL Rankings - October 16th
The individual grade-level rankings below are based on results posted in athletic.net as well as times provided by coaches, as of October 16th.
LA City Team Rankings - October 1st
The rankings below were prepared by Leo Hernandez, head XC coach for Monroe, on behalf of the CIF LA City Section, based on performances through September 28th, 2024 including Rosemead, Woodbridge and Bell-Jeff.
LACXC.com will be providing an “unofficial” ranking prior to post season competitions.
‘The Drive’
Is dedicated to LA City’s high school distance running community
The goal is to evangelize exceptional teams and athletes with high quality, curated content and editorial perspectives in an online periodic publication.
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ENJOY!