Coach Bernardo Abrego
Granada Hills
Coaching Matters
If there was a knock against Granada XC teams in the last 5 years it might be that they didn’t always perform their best at City Finals. Over-raced, under trained and misplaced priorities related to the State meet were just a few of the accusations. It should be noted that in the 4 years that coach Abrego has been head coach of the Granada Hills XC program the teams’ records are 2nd only to Palisades . . . so criticism NOT deserved. But results are the final arbiter of a team’s legacy and Granada’s last City XC Championship was 2019. In 2024 Coach Abrego’s Highlanders got it all right. On a rock-solid foundation of fundamentals and metric-based training Granada was one of the few teams to show continued improvement across their top 5 scoring runners from Woodbridge to post season, culminating in an impressive City Finals performance that saw 9 of their top 10 runners (boys and girls) run Pierce PR’s. The girls’ upset of incumbent favorites Palisades Charter made the headlines. But lost in the celebration was an equally impressive boys performance that had three runners breaking 16 minutes and 2 underclassman finishing in the top 5, earning the team a 2nd place finish in a very competitive D1 championship. Looking forward . . . both the girls and boys teams will be formidable D1 title contenders for at least the next 2 years.
The picture above was taken on the top of Reservoir Hill on day 2 of this year’s Mt. Sac Invitational. In a scenario not unlike many I witnessed this season, Coach Abrego is encouraging Isabelle Ulloa on top of Reservoir Hill in the afternoon of a very long day in the the girls D1 junior varsity yellow race . This is the stuff I see but know that off the course Coach Abrego is an advocate for the coaches and teams that are his fiercest rivals in the spirit of making the LA City Section that best it can be.
Around the Track
Dec 13th he ran a 9:47.45 for 6th place and at the Redondo Winter Qualifier this past weekend he ran 4:06.85 in the 1,500 which converts to a 4:24.21. Both times place him in the top 5 in most years at the City Finals.
San Pedro senior JACK BUTTERFIELD has started the ‘25 track season strong posting PR’s in the 3,200m and 1,500m. In the December Distance Night 3,200m on
By now everyone should know the name of North Hollywood junior ANANYA BALARAMAN after her sensational win at the LA City Section Championships in November. Ananya looks to be continuing her success into the track season with a win at the Yorba Linda Winter Qualifier this past Saturday where she ran the #1 time in California in the 1,500m 4:50.89 (converts to a 5:12.33 1,600m) in her first ever high school performance at this distance. athletic.net - Ananya Balarman
Palisades Update: The long-term impact of the devastating wild fires that ran through Palisades 2 weeks ago won’t be fully understood for years but the short-term impacts are already being felt by the parents, students and coaches of Palisades Charter. Though the school was mostly spared, with no place to live many families have had to relocate outside of the LAUSD. So the Palisades track and XC distance teams will likely be gutted, at least for the next several seasons, with some of their top varsity runners already making moves to Palos Verdes, Mira Costa and Corona del Mar. Given the gravity of this situation high school sports programs may seem a minor consideration but the Palisades runners are and always will be a part of the LA City family and as with most tragedies family matters!
Rob Hockley Update: In brighter news, it looks like Coach Rob Hockley will remain as the Palisades XC country for the foreseeable future, leadership that will be greatly appreciated as he attempts to rebuild a program quite literally from the ashes. Unfortunately, that commitment will not apply to the track season where he was forced out of the distance coaching position he has been involved with for ten years, despite significant protest by his athletes and their parents. For the time and dedication Coach Rob has put into the Palisades distance programs AND the success he has achieved this seems a meritless change in the opinion of LACXC.com.
Season Highlights
South Valley Bandits
Mammoth Camp
The South Valley Bandits continued a long tradition of summer running camps at Mammoth Mountain started by an affiliated City school over 30 years ago. And, in the spirit of the original team camps in the 1990s the Bandits still do it old school, foregoing condos for tents and sleeping bags.
Nayella Flores & Angelina Lopez
Watermelon Run
In performances that would foreshadow post season results, Monroe senior NAYELLY FLORES (left) and Canoga Park senior ANGELINA LOPEZ (right) placed 2nd and 1st respectively in the ‘24 season opener Watermelon Run on August 3rd at Balboa Golf Course.
Alexis Huerta
West Valley Cluster #1
Almost without recognition Birmingham junior ALEXIS HUERTA accomplished a feat in September - October that has not been accomplished by any West Valley athlete, boy or girl, since the inception of the cluster format back in 2018; winning all 3 clusters, in impressive fashion no less. A break out season for sure, Alexis personified a level of performance and consistency that is the hall mark of 2nd year coach Fernando Fernandez. Looking for more of this from both athlete and coach in ‘25.
San Pedro Varsity
Woodbridge - Day 1
The San Pedro boys varsity’s coming out party at Woodbridge was a resounding success and gave notice that San Pedro is back. EVAN HADEISHI won the race with the top City performance of the day, 14:55.8, but not far behind were CHRISTOPHER FRELIX (15:07.2) and JACK BUTTERFIELD (15:21.2). For all 3 these performances were huge PR’s and a shot across the bow to the other D1 programs that the Pirates would be a factor in November.
Maya Hively
Woodbridge - Rated Race
There had been whispers of another Palisades freshman phenom as early as July but no hard evidence until Woodbridge. In only her 2nd race MAYA HIVELY posted the 14th fastest City time (and 2nd fastest City freshman time) at Woodbridge in the last 20 years, 17:39.2, to lead the Dolphins to a 9th place finish. The only City runner to post a better time at Woodbridge in ‘24 was Granada Hills junior Samantha Pacheco (17:34.2 #12 all time) heating up a rivalry that was already red hot.
Paul Tranquilla
Woodbridge -Gold A
Venice senior PAUL TRANQUILLA gave notice that the ‘24 XC was going to be special in his season opener at Rosemead. But the Rosemead course is “fast” by any standard so the true test would be Woodbridge and Paul passed with flying colors. Placing 2nd in the Varsity Gold 14:29.7, Paul posted the 4th fastest time ever by a City runner.
Samantha Pacheco
Bell-Jeff
Granada Hills junior SAMANTHA PACHECO was on a roll coming into Bell-Jeff with wins at Rosemead and Woodbridge. She placed 2nd at Bell-Jeff behind a formidable runner that would vex City runners at Bell Gardens later in the month but Sammy’s Bell-Jeff performance was best in City and her combined record ranked her as the front-runner for a D1 City championship.
Christopher Frelix
Bell Gardens Invite
Up until Bell Gardens senior CHRISTOPHER FRELIX was running in relative anonymity as San Pedro’s #2 amongst a slew of talented City D1 athletes. But on this day he made a statement in the 3rd mile to surge from 7th place to 2nd to post the top City time. The performance wasn’t an aberration as Christopher continued to excel finishing his City high school XC career with the 9th best Pierce performance all time, 14:53.0, at the D1 City Championships.
Mako Holt
Bell-Jeff FS Large School
Sophomore MAKO HOLT led a Palisades contingency that placed 1-3 at Bell-Jeff, proving that the hype behind the Palisades underclassmen was based in reality. Mako went on to be an important part of Palisades varsity championship team at City Finals running 15:50.5 to place 14th as Palisades #3.
Isabella Sakalowsky
Central Park Invite
Taft sophomore ISABELLA SAKALOWSY scored her one and only win of the ‘24 XC season at Central with a dominant performance over some big D1 southern section teams. Isabella continued to improve throughout the season, slashing over 2 minutes from her West Valley Cluster #1 time to place 9th at City Finals in 18:45.9, the top Taft finisher.
Sebastian Perez
Mt. Sac Invite - Day 1
Monroe senior SEBASTIAN PEREZ held the City “new course” Mt Sac record for exactly 1 day, posting the top City time on Friday afternoon to place 2nd in the D3 Varsity Red race in 16:40. This picture was taken at approximately 1 mile into the race with Sebastian positioned well in the lead pack. Times on the new course, which eliminated “Poop Out Hill “ and extended the final section to finish on the track, averaged slower than previous years.
Olivia Corrigan
Bell Gardens Invite
Half way through the freshman race at Bell Gardens and on her way to her first invitational win Eagle Rock freshman OLIVIA CORRIGAN manages a smile in a race she won by over 40 seconds in 19:14.5. It was a big year for Olivia and the Corrigan family, a City running dynasty that includes Olympian James Corrigan, as she continued to improve ultimately placing 3rd in a gutsy Championship performance.
Adrian Aguirre
Bell Garden Invite
Santee sophomore ADRIAN AGUIRRE’s performance at ASICS Cool Breeze in August was the first indication of a breakout season that would culminate with a 2nd place finish in the D2 City championship, posting the top City sophomore time in the process. Adrian’s performance at Bell Gardens, though competent, was one of his lesser in the ‘24 season but I did like this picture and in truth it was one of the few I managed to get of Adrian. This is a huge talent with big upside.
Paul Tranquilla
Mt. Sac - Day 2
To say that PAUL TRANQUILLA had a monkey on his back as he lined up for the Rated race at Mt. Sac is an understatement. Now in his senior year at Venice he still did not have a noteworthy XC performance on a hilly course and the misfortunes of last year’s Mt. Sac were weighing heavy. While ‘24 Mt. Sac was not his best race of the season (that, it turns out, would be a very high standard) he ran 15:46.0 to take top City honors, set the City “new-course” record, and squash any rumors that he couldn’t run hills.
Evelyn Rodriguez
Mt. Sac - Day 1
Senior EVELYN RODRIGUEZ was San Fernando’s top finisher at Mt. Sac and the 8th fastest City girl after Friday’s races had completed. But this was just a hint of what was to come from an unheralded team that almost took down Canoga Park in the D2 City Championships. Evelyn, along with teammates SAMIRA GARCIA, ALLYSA SANCHEZ, CHLOE SANCHEZ, and HAZEL ARCE, all posted PR’s (not just Pierce PR’s but all course PRs!) at City Finals with only a 41-second gap on their scoring runners to take the runner-up spot, only 4 points behind 1st place Canoga Park. Phenomenal results for the San Fernando athletes and coach Neomi Tovar.
Yesenia Valdez
Mt. Sac - Day 2
In August at the Watermelon Run Birmingham junior YESENIA VALDEZ promised big things in the coming XC season and she didn’t disappoint. Throughout the season she continued to improve besting her sophomore PR by more than 5 minutes to place 10th in the D1 City Championship in 18:59.9. This picture is from the start of the D1 Varsity Green race at Mt. Sac and frankly I could of chosen 3 other pictures that were equally as good. Both Yesenia and teammate Alexis Huerta consistently create some of my best pictures.
Kelia Naranjo-Champion
Mt. Sac - Day 2
Four girls won their races at Mt. Sac this year, a City record that likely won’t be challenged for a while. One of those winners was Garfield senior KELIA NARANJO-CHAMPION who placed 1st in the D1 Varsity Green race on Saturday afternoon. Kelia started the ‘24 XC season better than in ‘23 and continued to improve, setting a PR at Bell Gardens where she broke 19 minutes for the first time (18:53.7) and a Pierce PR at City Finals where she placed 11th in the D1 Championship in 19:09.4. That same 19:09.4 would have placed 2nd in the ‘21 D1 City Championships, an indication of the quality of the current City girls XC programs.
Olivia Corrigan
Northern League Finals
The last time a freshman had won the Northern league title was back in 2018 when another Eagle, Keely Mayamoto, won by over a minute in 20:02.2, a performance that at the time ranked as the #1 Pierce performance by an Eagle Rock athlete. When OLIVIA CORRIGAN arrived at Pierce for the Norther League Finals she was already ranked as Eagle Rock’s all-time #2 based on her performance at Bell Gardens. But just a week earlier a resurgent Bravo Medical team had placed two girls in front of Olivia in a late-season dual meet. And the league title race would be Olivia’s first on the venerable and vaunted Pierce course, a course that has been unkind to more than a handful of runners in the past. But like all the greats Olivia transcended the moment to win the title going away in 19:15.8, the best Northern League Finals performance in over 10 years, the top all-time Pierce performance by an Eagle Rock girl, and the #2 all-time Eagle Rock performance on any course, just ahead of sister Celeste Corrigan. She would go on to place 3rd in the D2 City Championships in 18:55.5.
Nayelly Flores
East Valley League Finals
In one season NAYELLY FLORES has done what most City athletes may never accomplish in four years. That’s the good news. The unfortunate news is Nayelly started running XC her senior year and so, like a shooting star, she’ll be gone almost as soon as she arrived. But boy did she shine! Starting with the Watermelon run in August where she placed 2nd to eventual D2 champion Angelina Lopez, to a string of dual meet wins in September and October, to her 2nd place finish in the East Valley League Finals and the D2 City Championships, Nelly left her mark. When the glowing embers of the ‘24 XC season had faded Nayelle held the 8th fastest all-time 3-mile time at Monroe.
Hunter Bennett
West Valley League Finals
Up until the West Valley League Finals Taft junior HUNTER BENNETT had never won a high school XC race. He had been close 2 weeks prior when he placed 2nd at the West Valley Cluster to Birmingham’s Alexis Huerta in a PR of 16:10.2. But, by now we should have known that Hunter is a slow burn who saves his best for post season and the ‘24 XC season continued that M.O. His league title win on November 7th in a then PR of 15:46.1 was transcendent; in a single race Hunter transformed from mid-pack runner to front runner and took this new attitude into the City Championships. While his win at league was impressive his performance at City Finals was even more so. In the fastest City Final in section history he was in the front pack through the half way mark and held on for 6th place, posting a time of 15:20.1; a Taft record for the City Championship and just 5 seconds off the Taft course record set in 1990 by Brian Godsey.
Oliver Barr
Northern League Finals
Eagle Rock senior OLIVER BARR seemingly came from no where at the ‘24 City Track City Championships to place 4th in the 800m in 1:58.2, a time that would have won the race in many others years. His cross-country performances to that point were decent and improving year-to-year so there was anticipation that the ‘24 XC season would be his breakout season. His performance at Rosemead in September was ominous, 19:44.5 on a notoriously fast course. Performances at Bell Gardens and Mt. Sac were better but still not to expectations. It wasn’t until November 6th at the Northern League Finals that Oliver showed his potential, winning in 16:29.9 over stiff competition from Marshall and Bravo Medical.
Sammy Pacheco
West Valley League Finals
Granada Hills junior SAMMY PACHECO entered the ‘24 West Valley League Finals as the incumbent champion and was up against Cleveland’s Meztli Velazquez, the same athlete who a year ago had placed 2nd behind Sammy in the same race. But, Meztli was a much better runner this year and Sammy had teammates Sophia Battle and Reece Trice to contend with, both who had posted impressive performances in October. So this would not be the walk in the park that the ‘23 race had been. Unphased, Sammy took the race out hard in typical fashion and led from start to finish in 18:29.0, at the time the 2nd best Pierce performance that year.
The backstory: Sammy’s win at Woodbridge was a big miss for LACXC.com; clearly one of the City highlights of that meet and not a single image to show for it. I was very late arriving to the the West Valley League Finals, caught in traffic, in jeopardy of missing some of the races and praying the varsity races would be later in the day. No luck . . . hers was the first race. Sprinting from the parking lot to the spot on the course where I took this picture I pointed and shot. Thankfully I got this image because all of the pictures from this point to the finish were unusable.
Jorge Montenegro
East Valley League Finals
Monroe senior JORGE MONTENEGRO had some unfinished business as he headed into East Valley League on November 6th. A year ago he toed the line at Pierce as the clear favorite to win league only to lose to teammate Sebastian Perez by less than 2 seconds. His consolation that year was a D2 individual title 2 weeks later at the City Championships. The league title run this year looked more perilous than ‘23 with Sebastian edging out Jorge at Mt. Sac just 2 weeks earlier and another teammate, Raul Sanchez, making big improvements. But on this day Jorge made a statement leading from start to finish to clinch the East Valley League title and lead the Monroe boys team to a perfect score of 15 and the team title.
Mateo Cedillo
Valley Mission League Finals
In most years a sophomore running 6:14.0 on Pierce would rank as the top grade-level City performance. But the ‘24 XC season has seen a plethora of talented underclassmen and so Kennedy sophomore MATEO CEDILLO hasn’t received his due. At the Valley Mission League Finals, which was run as a combined race with the Western League, Mateo posted the top underclassman time of 16:49.0 to win the title and help the Golden Cougars to a team title as well. Mateo would go on to run a PR of 16:12.0 at Prelims and place 20th at the D1 City Championships in 16:14.3.
Paul Tranquilla
D1 City Section Champion
All said, Venice athlete PAUL TRANQUILLA had one of the most successful senior seasons of any City runner in recent memory. From Rosemead, to Woodbridge, and then Mt. Sac, Paul topped current and all-time City rankings in every race. Headed into the post season expectations were high and Paul did not disappoint. In the Western League Finals Paul capped off a 2-mile tempo with an 800 meter progression run to easily win the league title in an unremarkable 15:26.0. In a more purposeful effort, Paul nearly bested 15 minutes in Prelims, running 15:03.0 to set the City standard going into the championships. Though rains threatened the morning of November 23rd at the City Finals the weather was ideal, 52 degrees with very little wind when the gun was fired at 8:50 am for the start of the boys D1 race. A pack of ten runners crossed the 1-mile mark together at 5:26 - 5:28 (slightly off the pace set by Justin Hazell in 2017, the last sub-15 minute performance, who crossed in 5:24) that included Paul, Blake Sigworth (Palisades), Evan Hadeishi (San Pedro), Christopher Frelix (San Pedro), Hunter Bennett (Taft), Arman Vasquez (South East), Charles Simon (Venice), Jack Butterfield (San Pedro), Zac Cohen (Palisades), and Daniel Ramirez (Granada Hills). On the downhill after the 1st mile the first 4 runners broke free and continued as a pack through the 2-mile at 10:37 (5:11 for the 2nd mile just a second off Justin who ran 10:38). With 600 meters to the finish 3 runners remained with a chance to win the City title: Paul, Blake and Christopher. And in these last 600 meters Paul surged in front and then proceeded to lay down the fastest 600 meter split ever, 1:41*, to win the race convincingly in the 2nd best time ever run at a City Championship, 14:44.6. For reference, Justin’s time for the last 600m split was 1:50.
*Some hyperbole here, LACXC.com only started recording the 600m times in 2019. Justin Hazell’s splits from 2017 are based on video.
Ananya Balaraman
D1 City Section Champion
In a year with many superlative performances North Hollywood junior ANANYA BALARAMAN’s run at the LA City Section D1 Championships was the best, by a long shot. Headed into the ‘24 XC season Ananya was certainly in the conversation for a top finish at City Finals but even as late as November 7th the odds still favored Samantha Pacheco, Maya Hively and Zoey Morris, in that order. Ananya had several notable performances at Pierce in September and October that presaged her post season. One in particular, a dual meet against Verdugo Hills on Pierce, where she recorded an impressive 18 minutes flat. And while this was the top recorded time on Pierce so far in ‘24 it was hand timed and team recorded so hardly official. No worries. At the City Championships she made it official. Buoyed by a Prelim performance a week earlier that she led from start-to-finish with little apparent effort, Ananya sprinted to the lead in the first 100 meters at the Finals and never relented, building increasingly bigger leads at 1-mile, 2-mile and the finish. When the dust had settled Ananya’s 17:38.0 title run was the 8th fastest City Final performance ever; only 5 girls have beaten this mark: Marissa Williams (‘12, ‘13, ‘14 -Palisades), Katjia Goldring (‘06-Hamilton), Valerie Flores (‘99-San Pedro) , Natalie Stein (‘00-N. Hollywood) and Sofia Abrego (‘18-Granada Hills).
Angelina Lopez
D2 City Section Champion
ANGELINA LOPEZ ran 17 races in the ‘24 XC season and won 14, setting D2 City Championship and Pierce schools records along the way. And for the critics that might argue that Angelina competed against smaller schools, know that one of those wins was at the combined Valley Mission/Western league finals where she won the Valley Mission league title AND overall race against D1 powerhouse Palisades Charter. Like many of her predecessors including Angelina Valladares and Dolce Gonzales (both D2 City champs as well) Angelina earned these merits on modest mileage, a credit to her talents and the Canoga Park coaching staff.
Mario Aluizo
D2 City Section Champion
There could not have been a starker contrast to Angelina Lopez’s season than D2 Champion MARIO ALUIZO’s senior XC season at Narbonne. All in, Mario ran a mere six races, winning only two. But those two were the only ones that mattered. At prelims he posted his first sub-16 minute performance on any course to win his heat with the best D2 time on the day, 15:57.9 (a modest 5 second PR). But prelims are a fools game; I don’t have enough hands to count the number of times a runners has crushed a Prelim only to be crushed in the Finals. So the lingering question as Mario toed the line on November 23rd, did he have enough to beat a very competitive D2 lineup that included at least 6 runners with the potential to break 16 minutes. Answer: Resoundedly! Leading from the start Mario took control of the race and pressed hard to drop all but 2 runners at the first mile. He crossed the finish line in 15:41.3, the 4th fastest D2 City Final time ever and the Narbonne school record. Like most things in running fortune played a role in Mario’s City championship; just a year earlier Narbonne ran D1. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that Mario is without a doubt one of the great talents in City running.
Amber Lopez
D3 City Section Champion
The incumbent D3 City Champion, Verdugo Hills junior AMBER LOPEZ started the ‘24 season where she left off in ‘23. She placed 2nd in her race at Bell-Jeff, with the 8th fastest City time on the day against the sections best runners. She continued with a string of impressive dual meet performances at Pierce, her best, 18:47.0, would have placed her 10th in the D1 City Championship. Headed into post season Amber ran the 4th best City time at Mt. Sac, 40 seconds ahead of her time a year ago on a new and slower course. In ‘23 she just missed breaking 19 minutes at City Finals and based on her trajectory through October aspirations of a sub-18 minute performance at the ‘24 City Championships had to be front of mind. But then . . . . Amber was a no show at League Finals, and then again at Prelims. And the discussion quickly turned to would she be running at the Championships? And if she ran, would she be able to win? The answer to both questions, “YES”. In a race that was never in doubt from the start Amber won comfortably in a pedestrian time of 20:24.9. Surely not the performance she had wanted or deserved but like all champions she did what it took to win the City title, both individually and for the team.
Demitri Hernandez
D3 City Section Champion
If there’s a team and runner that haven’t received their due this year its Mendez and their top runner DEMITRI HERNANDEZ. Mendez moved up to D3 in 2023 and in that first year made impressive inroads on Verdugo Hill’s dominance. In 2024, the Demitri-led Mendez team absolutely dominated D3 and the championship race placing runners in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 10th to win both the individual and team City titles and score a championship best 21 points. Throughout the year Demitri has impressed, winning all but 1 of his league and post season races culminating in a confident win at City Finals in 16:15.2. This photo is one of my favorites, capturing a moment of rare exuberance at the apex of a runner’s high school career.
Kellie Mena
D4 City Section Champion
Quietly, without fanfare, KELLIE MENA has accomplished what only 2 other runners have accomplished in City history, she’s won 3 City titles in a row. The other girls on this list: Birmingham’s Emmaline Hartell (2003-05) and Pierce course record holder Palisade’s Marissa Williams (2012-14). If Kellie wins a 4th City title in 2025, she’ll be the only runner, boy or girl, to accomplish that feat. In her 3 years running for MaCES she’s only posted 14 times, 9 of those compulsory post season races. That’s a single season for most runners. So LACXC.com’s documentation of Kelli’s record-breaking attempt is lean to say the least and focused exclusively on Prelims and Finals.
Santiago Barrios
D4 City Section Champion
Senior SANTIAGO BARRIOS started running for Belmont as a junior and in that first year quickly became the Sentinels #2. This year he moved to Belmont’s #1 but he was difficult to find since he didn’t run any invitationals and his league performances were lost amongst stiff Mendez competition. So it wasn’t until this year’s Prelims that he finally popped with a top finish in the heat and the top D4 performance overall. This picture is Santiago crossing the finish line at this year’s City Prelims. One of my frustrations with the City Finals format is that they do awards ceremonies while races are in progress. And this year the awards were presented during the boys D4 championship race so I do not have an image of Santiago from the City Finals race. Suffice to say, Santiago continued his success winning the D4 City title in a close race over teammate Edwin Gomez and posting the top D4 City time at the State meet a week later.
Rose Matheu
D5 City Section Champion
Something magical happened after ROSE MATHEU’s junior year. For the two year’s prior she had run consistently unexceptional times for Larchmont while still managing to place in the top 2 in most league races. But in her first race this past October she took more than 4 minutes off her Peck Park PR and by the end of the season had cut over 5 1/2 minutes off her Pierce PR to go undefeated in LA section competition. At City Finals she set another PR of 19:13.4 to win the D5 title decisively and at State she had the #20 City performance across all divisions. Rose was absolutely THE break-out City athlete of the ‘24 XC season.
Angel Solorio
D5 City Section Champion
For a runner in top form in September, their Woodbridge performance is a decent predictor for City Finals in November. So when Sun Valley junior ANGEL SOLORIO ran 16:17.4 in this year’s Woodbridge, a full 90 seconds faster than anything he had run as a sophomore, prospects looked good for November 23rd. It should be noted that teammate Joseph Juarez and D5 rival Daniel Martinez of Community Charter had faster times at Woodbridge, 16:07.44 and 16:03.7 respectively, school records for both runners. So if rules of thumb played out the D5 Championship would be historic with at least 3 runners vying for a first-ever D5 sub-16 minute performance. Angel went on to win the Central Valley League title in 16:17.7, post the top D5 time in City Prelims of 16:00.7, and win the D5 City title in 16:00.6, in the process setting the D5 Pierce course record and the Sun Valley 3-mile record. No sub-16 minutes this year which may have been the only let down in a phenomenal season. But Angel led a record -breaking contingency of 5 runners that broke 17 minutes at City Finals and has another year to break 16 minutes. We’re guessing he’ll be closer to 15:30 in 2025.
‘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.
Each volume will include a ‘Special’ section, as well as Athletes of the Week/Month, ‘The Week in Pictures’ including a ‘Picture of the Week’, ‘The Numbers’, and ‘Heard on the Trail’.
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