GIRLS - Division 3
Reseda will have an easier time winning Division 3 now that Canoga Park has moved up to D2 but Helen Bernstein is still a threat. If either Reseda or Helen Bernstein win, it will be their 1st girls City XC Championship ever.
1. RESEDA
Reseda’s top 2 girls YANILETTE MONTANA and MOLLY SANDRIDGE are the 1st and 3rd-ranked returning division 3 runners from ‘21 and should continue to be the dominate runners for the Regents. Yanilette’s progression from relative obscurity to top ranked City runner last year is a lesson for ALL City runners. No magic but determination for sure - consistent and progressive mileage from summer through November. MOLLY SANDRIDGE also showed impressive improvements last year in her first year running City XC taking almost 2 minutes off her time at Pierce to place 4th at City Finals. Not far behind is ANGELA JIMENEZ-ZEPADA who took almost 3 ½ minutes off her Pierce time to place 7th at the City Finals. Juniors MADISON MAZA and DEBARE VIDUSHI may be the deciding factor in Reseda’s fate at City Finals. If these girls can break 22 minutes at Pierce that should clinch the title for the Regents. Coach Hector Mendoza has done a phenomenal job with a girls team that in 2019 did not qualify for City Finals.
2. CANOGA PARK
The Hunters lost their star runner DULCE GONZALEZ from last year’s championship squad but the rest of the varsity team remains intact. The ‘21 team was young and relatively inexperienced with the exception of Dulce. The ‘22 team has the advantage of another year under their belts and some big improvements in their top runners. On the whole this is a better team than their ‘21 team which is an indication of how keen the competition is in division 3. The team is better but is ranked 2nd! Junior ANGELINA VALLADARES and sophomore ANGELINA LOPEZ will be Canoga’s top runners and both have a legitimate shot at the individual championship. These girls both had superlative XC and track seasons this past year. Junior KARINA PEREZ looks to be their 3rd-ranked runner. She made big improvements throughout the ‘21 XC season and we expect that to continue this fall. ASHLEY PINEDA and SARAH GODINEZ should fill out the score card for the Hunters and the City title will be determined here. This is a well-coached team that knows how to win the big races.
3. HELEN BERNSTEIN
The Dragons only lost one girl from their 3rd-place ‘21 City team and have a very seasoned team this year with 6 returning seniors. DIANA GONZALEZ is off to a fast start this summer and should continue to challenge Bernstein’s top runner from ‘21 XENIA VILLAREAL as well as AMY RAMIREZ. CARLA ORELLANA looks to be on track with last year but she’ll need to show improvement through this season to help her team make a bid for the title. KAREN CRUZ looks to be well ahead of where she was last summer based on time-trials and should be a part of Bernstein’s top 5.