BOYS - DIVISION 2
#1 MONROE
Monroe took the D2 Championship by a single point over Eagle Rock in ‘23. In 2024, the Vikings will win D2 again, decisively. This team has the 2nd fastest top 5 in City, across all divisions, second only to Palisades Charter. Led by seniors JORGE MONTENEGRO and SEBASTIAN PEREZ, both of whom are capable of winning the D2 individual title, they’ll both be targeting times well under 16 minutes on Pierce (Jorge already has a 15:56.4 ). The Vikings have 3 other seniors that should be well under 16:30 including RAUL SANCHEZ, GUSTAVO CORTEZ and OSCAR GARCIA. Look for junior ALAN ALCANTARA to surprise as well; he posted a big 3,200m PR early in the ’24 track that should translate to a sub-17 performance on Pierce.
Sebastian Perez (“Froggy”) wins the ‘23 East Valley XC league finals with teammate Jorge Montenegro close behind.
#2 BRAVO MEDICAL
Bravo Medical will try to improve on their #3 in 2023 with the largest number of returning runners of any City team this fall – fifty - but it won’t be easy. In points they edge out 3rd place Marshall by 6 but in team-time they are 3 seconds behind. Bravo has the advantage of experience, with 5 seniors in the scoring positions including AARON MONTES, CHRISTOPHER RAMIREZ and ANGEL SANTIAGO who all should be setting 16 minutes on Pierce as their target. Sophomore DAMIAN MENDOZA and junior EDWARD LEE both continued to improve this spring and should be looking for breakout seasons this fall. In the end, Bravo’s fate may fall on improvements in seniors JUSTIN MARTINEZ and ALEJANDRO HERRERA who were their #5 and #6 last year but had lackluster track seasons this past spring.
Christopher Ramirez is one of 3 seniors that will set the pace for Bravo Medical this fall.
#3 MARSHALL
The Barrister’s are possibly the most exciting team coming into the 2024 XC season. Led by 2nd-year coach Manny Gonzales who knows something about winning teams (you may have heard of Belmont) they came into the ’23 City Finals as virtual unknowns, led by a young sophomore GABRIEL CABRERA that wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Gabriel made a statement that day placing 3rd (he was leading the race with 600m to go) as did the Marshall, placing 4th. For the ’24 XC season Marshall has a faster top 5 team time than #2 Bravo Medical by 3 seconds but in scoring are behind by 6 points. Senior BAO LE will need to be south of 16 minutes and RYE JUNKER, FAUSTO NOBOA or ANDREW GARDNER will need to breakup Bravo’s very strong top 4 with a low 16-minute performance. None of this is a stretch and for that reason Bravo should be looking over their shoulders.
Gabriel Cabrera posted the 5th fastest sophomore time across all divisions at last year’s City Finals on his way to a 3rd place finish in the D2 race.
#4 EAGLE ROCK
The Eagles only have 2 returning runners from last year’s runner-up Championship team; suffice to say this is a rebuilding year. Seniors LUCIO HIGHTOWER-ROJAS and OLIVER BARR will lead Eagle Rock. The 3-mile is clearly HIGHTOWER-ROJAS’ strong suit and his improvement over the last 3 years has been impressive. He’ll be targeting 16 minutes as well as a shot at the individual City title. Look for BARR to break big this fall. He had a superlative track season earning PR’s of 1:58.75 in the 800m and 4:34.44 in the 1,600. He started out as a sprinter/jumper as a freshman and looks to be hitting form as a distance runner going into his senior year and will be in the mix for an individual championship. With his top-end speed BARR will be hard to beat in a close race. Unfortunately, there is a chasm between HIGHTOWER-ROJAS and BARR and their next runners, literally minutes. So, the Eagles prospects of doing better than 4th are limited. Senior LUCAS HENRICH, junior LUCCA MEDINA and sophomore LUCKY GUERVARRA will be called on to step up their game quite a bit but sub-17 may be a big ask. And LUCAS HEINRICH is a question mark; he’s only run 1 XC season as a junior last year and has never run track so his status for this fall is uncertain.
Lucio Hightower-Rojas is Eagle Rock's #1 entering the '24 XC season and is the #5 returning D2 runner from '23. #5 ROOSEVELT
Roosevelt finished the ‘23 season with the 3rd largest boys XC program across all City divisions. In 2024, the Rough Riders takes advantage of their program size, the return of their top 6 runners from ‘23, AND the move from D1 to D2 to take the #5 ranking. But this ranking is precarious. Rival factions (i.e. - Canoga Park) are close behind and the prospects for Roosevelt moving up the rankings are limited. So, the Rough Riders top 3 - junior NICHOLAS GOMEZ, senior JOSUE RODRIGUEZ and sophomore NICOLAS GONZALES - will need to be at the top of their game to protect their #5 ranking. That means consistent improvements over last year and big performances on Championship day. To lock in the #5 ranking they’ll need help from senior PABLO MURILLO and junior CHRISTOPHER SALAS who both need to be comfortably in the 17-minute range. This is a well balanced team that has made qualifying to City Finals the norm in the last several years. Expect this to continue in 2024.
Nicholas Gomez led the Roosevelt varsity XC team in ‘23 and is the top returner this season.
Division 2 Best of the Rest . . .
CANOGA PARK’s #6 ranking in ‘24 is where they left off in ‘23. The Hunters should have 3 runners in the mid-16’s led by seniors THEODORE SHNIDERMAN and ANGEL GUTIERREZ . ALEXIS GONZALES will NOT be running for Canoga this fall which is a big loss. He was at least their #3 and maybe better than that. Junior JOSHUA TRUJILLO had a nice track season and will likely vie for the #3 spot with ALEJANDRO QUEVADO and PEDRO ALVARADO all of whom should be targeting mid 17’s in November.
SANTEE returns 3 runners from their 5th place City Finals team last year but this ’24 squad is a better team. Unfortunately, the top teams in D2 have also improved so Santee will need some big moves to get into the top 3. But Santee is a team with a true distance pedigree that leverages the track season to prepare for XC. And that pays dividends in terms of big improvements and breakouts. Senior ROLAND BALDERAS is the Falcons top returning athlete and an example of the programs success. He placed 7th in last year’s City Finals in 16:11.7 which was minutes off his PR the year before. He’s coming off a brilliant track season where he earned PR’s of 4:40.05 and 9:46.84 so the progression continues. He’ll be in the mix for an individual title and should be looking for a Pierce time of sub 15:30. Look out for sophomore ADRIAN AGUIRE too. He posted crazy PR’s this spring of 4:38.20 and 10:03.85, as a freshman! He could be the big surprise breakout in D2; based on his 3,200m time he’s fully capable of breaking 16 minutes on Pierce. We predict Aguire is going to shock and awe. To make at the top 5 SAAID ROSALES, GAEL MONDRAGON and DIEGO LARIOS all need to improve in the Santee way. AND, one of these 3 needs to break big – 2 minutes at least – to make inroads on the top teams. Rosales had the best track season of the 3 but Gael (who actually did not run track this past spring) showed the most improvement last year and may be the runner that can pick up minutes of time in ’24. Senior CHRISTIAN GUTIERREZ showed some promise this spring and could be influential in only his 2nd XC season.
HUNTINGTON PARK is ranked #8, led by the junior duo of RUDY CHAVEZ and NOE CERON. Both CHAVEZ and CERON should be eying sub 16:30 Pierce times and their teammates DIEGO TAPIA and DEREK CONTERAS should be looking at the low side of 17. But they desperately need a #5 that can break 19 minutes.
SAN FERENANDO makes a big move on the boys side to #9 after not making it out of prelims last year. The Tigers XC program has made big progress over the last 2 years and should be commended. Sophomore BRYAN MARTINEZ and junior PEDRO RODRIGUEZ both had strong track seasons and should help their top returner senior EFREN TEPOLE make a difference. WILLIAM GEURRERA showed the most promise as a freshman 2 years ago but was not on pace last year. He could make a difference if he gets back on track. This is a young team with no clear front runner, rather a core of 4-6 runners with similar capabilities. And that could play to their advantage if they train together and consistently – teamwork is magic!
Is the once great Chatsworth cross country team rising like the Phoenix? Our fingers are crossed. They boys made it into the City Championship last year and look to be on track this year to do the same. This is a well balanced team that has all of their ‘23 runners returning. Junior ANTHONY JIMINEZ is the top returner followed by senior JARED WILLIAMS and sophomore BRAXTON JORDAN. The scoring will likely be complete with seniors EMILIO REYES and RYAN DORNFIELD though 2 sophomores showed promise, AZEEM RAHIMUDDIN and KALEL VASQUEZ.
Senior Theodore Shniderman leads a Canoga Park team that is on the cusp of a top-5 ranking.
Roland Balderas is the #5 returning D2 runners. He’ll be looking for this #1 spot this year after an impressive track season.
Rudy Chavez impressed in XC and track as a sophomore last year. Look for some big performances this season that could have him placing in the top 10 at City Finals.
Juniors Pedro Rodriquez and William Guerrero are top runners on a young San Fernando team. This is a program on the upswing and a team to watch in the next several years.
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