Fifteen of LA City’s top XC athletes take a break from training:
Front (l-r): Brynn Bogue, Kyra Morris, Sammy Pacheco, Meztli Velazquez, Angelina Valladares, Gabi Nascimento
Back (l-r): Alec Flores, Allie Nobregas, Paul Tranquilla, Ethan Barok, Max Fields, Joseph Vargas, Jude Sandridge, Kelia Naranjo-Champion, Owen Lewicky
Breaking News
Photos from the ‘23 XC season can be found here!
Franklin High School has lost the coaching team that produced 3 of City’s top athletes over the last 3 years. Twins Cesar and Saul Narro coached David Martinez who broke the Franklin HS 3-mile school record in ‘21 (15:31.2), Francisco Rodriguez who set the school and D3 records on Pierce in ‘22 (15:48.1) and won 2 individual XC titles, and Mathew Lamban who set new school and D3 records in ‘23 (15:39.1) and scored a 3rd consecutive individual City title for Franklin. The Narro’s moonshot was a first ever Franklin HS City championship that they almost accomplished in 2022. Best of luck to a phenomenal coaching team.
In related news, it appears that Mathew Lamban will not be running track in his final semester at Franklin.
The Best of 2023
Grand Prix
Our favorite photo of the year! A sprint to the finish, up close and personal, from the West Valley league finals.
l-r: Ethan Diaz, Hunter Bennett, Benjamin Niebla
1st Place - Joaquin Ortega-Tomaselli’s break-out performance at the West Valley League finals where he placed 3rd.
2nd Place - A nascent Palisades boys team on the threshold of greatness.
l-r: Blake Sigworth, Andrew Razo, Max Fields, Owen Lewicky, Axel Mammen, Zachary Cohen
3rd Place - I took over 100 pictures of runners summiting Chalk Hill at Pierce and this is my favorite. Angelina Valladares at the Valley Mission league finals.
4th Place - Jorge Montenegro winds it up in the East Valley, Northern, Valley Mission League Finals.
5th Place - “A” for effort. Ananya Balaraman had posted some of the top City times prior to the East Valley league finals so I was determined to get an image of her. I chased this picture for 1 1/2 miles!
Honorable Mention - Joseph Vargas and his brother check out race results after his 14:44.4 performance in the Rated race at the Woodbridge Invitational.
Favorite Team Shots
Canoga Park Varsity Girls Prepare for an Epic Performance at Mt. Sac - Angelina Valladares and Angelina Lopez placed 1st & 2nd and the team placed 3rd to kick-off City running on day 1 at Mt. Sac.
(l-r) - Sarah Godinez, Dulce Godinez, Heidy Torres, Angelina Valladares, Angelina Lopez, Karina Perez
Kennedy Boys on the Rise The Kennedy boys varsity pose after placing 2nd at the Mission Valley league finals. Freshman Mateo Cedillo placed 2nd and went on to post the top freshman time at the LA City Prelims.
front l-r: Josiah Castro, Mateo Cedillo, Brayant De La Rosa
back l-r: Jacob Enriquez, Diego Cedillo, Mathew Barragan, Moises Covarrubias
Eagle Rock Girls Strike a Pose - The Eagle Rock girls were part of a City blitzkrieg that crushed the competition in the Girls Varsity XL race at Bell-Jeff. Safya Burke led the Eagles to a 5th place finish.
l-r: Safya Burke, Alexandrah Naranjo, Tenaya Figueroa, Catalina Alvidrez, Emery Casucci, Sadie Lieb, Faye Walrath
East Valley Falcons Soar High - The East Valley varsity boys warm down after scoring 19 points to win the Valley league finals. Abel Serrano led the Falcons with a 1st place finish; he would repeat this performance 2 weeks later to win the D5 individual title and help his team to the D5 team title.
l-r: Ernesto Hernandez, Sergio Delsid, Mario Lopez, Marvin Johnson, Abel Serrano, Esteban Montoya, Jose Gonzales
Ready to Launch - The Cleveland girls team poses in their pink kit prior to their Mt. Sac performance. The team placed 13th in the Individual Sweepstakes race led by Meztli Valazquez running in her 1st race for her new team. l-r: Charlize Bolton, Kayla Lopez, Eleanor Culliton, Anisah Khan, Lucy Culliton, Meztli Velazquez, Yana Sen
Mendez Varsity Boys at City Championships
l-r: Jonathon Alfaro, Micheal Juarez Estrada, David Garcia, Edwin Perez, Demitri Hernandez, Emanuel Salas Jiminez, Luis Coronado-Tomas
Garfield Girls Varsity
l-r: Marisol Avalos, Anahi Lopez, Estrella Ruiz, Natalie Velez-Torres, Sophia Naranjo-Champion, Kelia Naranjo-Champion, Celeste Ortega
MACES Varsity Girls Team at LA Championships
l-r: Janely Gonzales Reyes, Solymar Acevedo, Emily Duenas, Kellie Mena, Ailanie Zendejas,
SOCES Varsity Girls at Mt Sac - Elizabeth Castillo, Destiny Lee, Jose Valle (Coach), Jasmyn Talactac, Mai Sakamoto
Most Improved
Gabriel Cabrera - Marshall HS - So
Gabriel’s best time on any course his freshman year was 19:01.2 so his 5th place in this year’s Northern League Finals came as a surprise. But he backed up this performance by winning the City D2 Prelims and then placing 3rd in the City Finals in 16:02.5.
Ulyses Morales Perez - University HS -Sr
Ulyses ran 31 seconds faster in City Finals than just 2 weeks earlier when he placed 10th in the Western League Finals. His 16:40.0 at City Finals earned him a 4th place and was a 2:41.5 minute improvement over his ‘22 City final performance.
Lucio Hightower-Rojas - Eagle Rock - Jr
Lucio’s 15:52.8 at Rosemead gave notice that this wasn’t the same athlete who had run a 19:46.0 in the same race a year ago. His 3rd place at the Northern League Finals was a 2:20.0 minute Pierce PR which he improved on at City Finals with a 16:08.0 that earned him 5th place.
Ellie Perez - Central City Value -So
Prior to the ‘23 XC season Ellie had never run better than 24 minutes on a 3-mile course. Enter the ‘23 City Prelims and Ellie posted a time of 20:49.5 to place 2nd. She followed up with a 2nd place in the D5 City Finals with another PR, 20:38.7.
Kennedy Brannon - Taft HS - Sr
Kennedy was Taft’s #6 last year on a team that had 5 varsity runners returning in ‘23. By the time the dust had settled on the D1 City Championship Kennedy emerged as Taft’s #1 placing 9th with a new PR of 19:36.1.
Catalina Alvidrez - Eagle Rock - Sr
Despite injuries that kept Catalina out of competition early in the season she rallied in post season, placing 5th in the Northern League Finals and then 5th again in a very competitive D2 City Championships. Her PR of 19:40.2 at City Finals was a 2:22.6 minute improvement over her best time at Pierce in 2022.
City’s Champions
BOYS
Div 1 - Joseph Vargas-Cleveland-Sr 15:07.7
Div 2 - Jorge Montenegro-Monroe-Jr 15:56.4
Div 3 - Mathew Lamban-Franklin-Sr 15:39.1
Div 4 - Carlos Aguiar-Washington Prep-Jr 17:23.5
Div 5 - Abel Serrano-East Valley-Jr 16:59.2
GIRLS
Div 1 - Zoey Morris-Palisades-Fr 17:41.0
Div 2 - Angelina Valladares-Canoga Park Sr 18:36.6
Div 3 - Amber Lopez-Verdugo Hills-So 19:00.0
Div 4 - Kellie Mana-MACES-So 20:40.0
Div 5 - Valerie Palma-Stern-So 19:45.5
Abel Serrano-East Valley
Joseph Vargas-Cleveland
Valerie Palma-Stern
Zoey Morris-Palisades
Jorge Montenegro-Monroe
Amber Lopez-Verdugo Hills
Angelina Valladares-Canoga Park
Mathew Lamban-Franklin
Kellie Mana-MACES
League Finals
Race
East Valley, Northern, Valley Mission
Date
11.01.2023
Mathew Lamban won the Northern League final and the overall race that included Valley Mission and Northern leagues. His time of 15:47.1 set a school record. Sebastian “Froggy” Perez won the East Valley league title and Jude Sandridge took the Valley Mission title.
Anglina Valladares posted the best time on the day to win the Valley Mission league title and the combined race. Amber Lopez claimed the East Valley title and Tory Yetter the Northern league. Angelina Lopez placed 2nd in the combined race and posted the 4th fastest time across all league finals at Pierce. Ananya Balaraman placed 2nd in the East Valley and Sofia Najarro placed 2nd in the Northern league.
Race
West Valley
Date
11.02.2023
The two favorites took home West Valley league titles - Samantha Pacheco led from start to finish to post the best time of the year on Pierce and Joseph Vargas won his 2nd league title. Meztli Velazquez placed 2nd to help Cleveland to a 2nd place team finish while Alec Flores led Granada Hills to their 2nd consecutive team title with a 2nd place finish.
Race
Western League
Date
11.02.2023
The Palisades teams used the Western League Finals as a tune-up for the City Championships dominating team competition with a perfect 15 score for the girls and 17 for the boys. Zoey Morris won the girls title in a precursor to her City Championship performance while Max Fields won the boys title in the fastest time on Pierce since 2016. Paul Tranquilla broke the Palisades sweep with a 4th place finish.
The Mountains are Calling
Race
Mt. SAC XC Invite
Date
10.21 - 10.22.2023
The Canoga Park girls kicked-off day 1 with Angelina Valladares and Angelina Lopez going 1-2 in the D4 Varsity Red race on the modified 2-mile course. Demitri Hernandez (Mendez) posted the top boys on the 2-mile course. Amber Lopez had the top girls time on the 2.93-mile course on day 1 and Jorge Montenegro the top boys time. On day 2, Samantha Pacheco won the D1 & D2 Varsity Green race in one of the best City times ever on the Mt. Sac course. Joseph Vargas posted the top city time (15:31) placing 14th in the individual Sweepstakes race.
City on a Tear
Race
Bell Gardens Invite
Date
10.14.2023
The Palisades boys varsity team scored a perfect 15 in the first race at Bell Gardens led by Max Fields who won the race in 15:05.5. The Pali girls followed in the next race scoring 16 points led by Kyra Morris’ 3rd place finish. Angeles Feliciano placed 2nd and Bridgette Trujillo 4th in the Junior race while Paul Tranquilla placed 6th in the boys Junior race. Samantha Pacheco placed 2nd and Alexandra Villanueva 6th in the girls Sophomore race.
City Takes Griffith Park
Race
Bell-Jeff/Sacred Heart Invite
Date
09.30.23
Ten City teams placed in the top 3 across the 14 races at Bell-Jeff and 10 City runners placed in the top 5. Samantha Pacheco, Giada Rice and Ben Barnett won their respective races and City teams swept the girls large-school varsity race: 1-Palisades, 2-Bravo Medical, 3-Granada Hills, 4-ECR, 5-Eagle Rock.
WOODBRIDGE!
Race
Woodbridge XC Classic
Date
09.15 - 09.16.23
The Palisades Charter boys set a City team record (1:16.20.5) for Woodbridge with their top 5 averaging 15:16.1 and Max Owens claiming the top City time of 14:35.2. Cleveland’s Joseph Vargas showed his intentions running an impressive 14:44.4. Samantha Pacheco and Angeles Feliciano scored their second consecutive victories winning their respective races in 17:43.4 and 18:46.9.
1st Race at PIERCE
Race
West Valley Cluster #1
Date
09.07.23
In an early season look at some of City’s top teams and runners on the Championship course at Pierce, Granada Hills boys won the boys team competition while Taft won the girls race. Efrain Hernandez won the boys varsity race leading Birmingham to an impressive 3rd place and Taft’s Kayla Tjenalooi placed 1st in the girls race. The ECR girls surprised placing 3rd led by Daniella Nistoran and Jasmine Ascencio.
Community Service
Race
Pierce Clean-Up
Date
08.26.2023
Taft High School assisted the West Valley Eagles Track Club in a community effort to clean up the Pierce course prior to the start of league XC competitions. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield officiated and presented the group with a letter of recognition.
Valley Preview
Race
Balboa 5k
Date
08.12.2023
Five of the top Valley teams competed in an early season “friendly” race at Balboa Park. Taft dominated the boys competition, with sophomores Ethan Barok and Hunter Bennett placing 1st and 2nd while Angelina Valladares led a dominant Canoga Park girls team to place 1st with the top individual girls performance in the last 9 years.
ALL CITY 1st TEAM - BOYS
ALL-CITY 1st TEAM - GIRLS
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOODWARD PARK - FRESNO, CA
Saturday, November 25th, 2023
The LA City Section’s track record at the State XC Championships has been spotty at best. Certainly there have been superlative individual performances - Justin Hazell’s (ECR) win in 2017 , Marissa Williams’ (Palisades) two 2nd place finishes in 2013 & 2014 and Pablo Rosales’ (San Pedro) 2nd place in 2009 to name a few. But from a team perspective State has typically been a let down from the exuberance of the City Championships. Even the great Belmont teams of the 1990’s struggled to deliver their best at State and they were some of the few teams in the history of LA City that had the luxury to “run through” City Finals to focus on State. On Saturday, the legacy of disappointing team performances ended when the Palisades Charter boys laid down one of the best performances by any team at any State Championship in their D1 race.
Here are some highlights from the Palisades boys historic State performance:
Their team-time of 1:18:18.4 broke the previous City course record held by the 1998 Belmont team by 2 minute 37 seconds
This is the 40th best State performance all time by any California team across all divisions and the 46th best performance by any team on the Woodward Park course
They are the 1st City team to have their top 5 scoring runners all run under 16 minutes at State and the 1st City team to break 1 hr 19 minutes
Their top 5 had a finishing time “spread “ of a mere 12.3 seconds!!!!
Blake Sigworth posted the best performance all time by a City sophomore on the Woodward Park course
Maybe the most impressive aspect of the Palisades performance, and a point not very obvious in the numbers, is their execution in the 3rd mile. Running in 4th place at 2.1 miles, Palisades held position against D1 powerhouses such as Great Oaks, Mira Costa and Crescenta Valley; teams that are renowned for their prowess on the Woodward Park course, particularly in the final mile. From start to finish this was perfect execution.
Here are the top 10 LA City boys team performances all time at the State meet (revised 11/29/23):
Note: The CIF State meet began in 1987 but LA City teams did not begin participation until 1988.
Palisades Charter Boys Preparing for Their Historic Performance:
(l-r) Andrew Razo, Axel Mammen (1253), Blake Sigworth (1255), Max Fields, Coach Rob, Zac Cohen, Lajus Collins, Owen Lewicky
Here are some other big performances at the 2023 State Championships:
Freshman ZOEY MORRIS (Palisades) posted the 11th fastest time EVER by a City girl at State and the 2nd best freshman time, 18:18.0
ALEXANDER MENDOZA set the Cleveland school record on the Woodward course, 15:44.2
ANGELINA LOPEZ set the Canoga Park school record on the Woodward Park course, 19:07.8
ARMAN VAZQUEZ set the South East school record on the Woodward Park course, 16:09.0
Canoga Park girls set their school record on the State course, 1:44:56.2
VALERIE PALMA set the Stern school record for Woodward Park, 19:40.9
ABEL SERANNO set the East Valley school record for Woodward Park, 17:29.1
MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ set the Cleveland school record for Woodward Park, 19:41.7
BRIGETTE TRUJILLO set the Miguel Contreras school record for Woodward Park, 19:46.1
JAMES MENDEZ set the Rise Kohyang school record for Woodward Park, 17:33.2
East Valley set their school record on the State course, 1:52:43.3
ELLIE PEREZ set the Central City Value school record for Woodward Park, 21:28.8
JAQUELINE JUAREZ set the East Valley school record for Woodward Park, 21:29.5
DANIEL MARTINEZ set the Community Charter Early College school record for Woodward Park, 18:28.5
TESSA SOLANO set the Lakeview Charter school record for Woodward Park, 22:22.0
JACKIE ORNELAS-VENTURA set the Rise Kohyang school record for Woodward Park, 22:44.0
JUAN ALTAMIRANO set the Washington Prep school record for Woodward Park, 19:02.1
TOP 100 STATE - BOYS
Revised 11.29.23
TOP 100 STATE - GIRLS
The rankings above list the top 100 individual performances at the State meet by an LA City Section athlete from 1988 - 2023
RED = Division Record
BLUE = Grade-Level Record
Highlight = New Ranking in 2023
* Average pace is based on a course length of 3.1 miles.
THE CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS
PIERCE COLLEGE
Saturday, November 18th, 2023
The decision to run an improvised Pierce course wasn’t made until 60 minutes before the 1st scheduled race at 8am. But after several hours with no rain, some course remediation with sand, and a course modification that had competitors turning into the lower trail used for the start of the race, City officials gave the green light and the Championships were on. And while the weather was perfect the course was not fast; there was slick mud throughout which made several of the turns precarious and the silty top soil tended to cake on the shoe treads in the earlier races. We’re estimating overall course conditions were 20-30 seconds slower than optimal conditions. Nonetheless, many runners and teams persevered with PR’s and course, division and school records.
JOSEPH VARGAS won the D1 title in 15:07.7 setting a school record on the Pierce course and giving Cleveland their first XC city championship ever on the 3-mile course .
The Palisades boys team broke the City Pierce course record running 17:21.1 to beat a 25 year old record set by the great ‘98 Belmont team. Congratulations to MAX FIELDS (15:18.5), BLAKE SIGWORTH (15:20.2), AXEL MAMMEN (15:30.0), ZAC COHEN (15:31.4) and OWEN LEWICKY (15:41.0).
MATHEW LAMBAN (Franklin) won the D3 individual City title (the 3rd title in a row by a Franklin runner) in 15:39.1 to set a D3 and Franklin school record for the pierce 3-mile course.
ZOEY MORRIS (Palisades) won the girls D1 race in the 2nd best time by a City freshman on Pierce EVER - 17:41.0. Only Sofia Abrego (Granada Hills ‘21) has a better freshman time, but not by much 17:33.9.
BLAKE SIGWORTH (Palisades) posted the best time by a City sophomore on the 3.0 mile Pierce Course, 15:20.2 since 1976. Phenomenal performance from an athlete that continues to show big improvements.
ANGELINA VALLADARES (Canoga Park) ran a course PR and a school record time on Pierce to win the D2 individual title and lead her Canoga Park team to a D2 City Championship. Canoga’s team time was the 3rd best girls time across all divisions at the Championship.
Junior ARMAN VAZQUEZ (South East) placed 5th in the D1 race 15:27.0 to set a school record for the Pierce 3-mile course. This is the highest place by a South East runner since 1976.
Junior BRIGETTE TRUJILLO (Miguel Contreras) placed 4th in the D2 race in 19:06.2 to set a school record on the Pierce 3-mile course and make the All-City 1st Team.
VALERIE PARMA (Stern) won the D5 race by almost a minute, 19:45.5, in the process setting a school record on the Pierce course.
Monroe junior JORGE MONTENEGRO won both the individual and team D2 titles in the last 100 meters with a monster finish that earned him a sub-16 performance, 15:56.4, and Monroe a 1-point team advantage over 2nd place Eagle Rock.
Verdugo Hills’ sophomore AMBER LOPEZ posted the 5th fastest time on the day, 19:00.0, to win the D3 individual title, set the Verdugo Hills school record for Pierce, and post the 2nd best D3 performance ever by a girl on the Pierce course.
East Valley girls and boys teams both won City titles with times that ranked in the top 15 across all divisions. ABEL SERRANO clinched the individual title in a thriller against favorite JAMES MENDEZ (Rise Kohyang). Both posted sub-17 minute performances and both earned school records for the Pierce course.
The 1st km of the boys D1 race and Palisades is setup for a strong finish. Max Fields leads the front pack with Joseph Vargas two places behind.
The girls D1 race is strung-out single file at 1km with Granada’s Sammy Pacheco leading the train, followed closely by Zoey Morris.
The tables below rank the top City team times across all divisions from the City Finals:
CITY PRELIMS
PIERCE COLLEGE
Saturday, November 11th, 2023
All 5 divisions competed Saturday in the LA City Section Prelims including 104 schools and 1,191 athletes. Here are some of the highlights:
SAMMY PACHECO posted the 1st sub-18 minute girls performance on Pierce since 2019, running 17:56.7 in the D1 heat 1 race.
In the same race, Palisades freshman ZOEY MORRIS ran 18:09.5 for the 2nd fastest time in the Prelims and a 1 minute 11 seconds course PR.
Junior ARMAN VAZQUEZ (South East) ran 15:43.9 for 3rd place in the D1H1 race in what is possibly a school record (LACXC.com is confirming). Since City began running the 3-mile course at Pierce in 1976 no runner from South East high school has every placed in the top-10 at Finals; Arman could be the first.
Canoga Park’s ANGELINA LOPEZ won the D2 girls in 19:11.8. The Canoga girls team posted the top D2 time and the 4th fastest time across all divisions. And that’s with their top runner ANGELINA VALLADARES running well below her potential.
D5 phenom VALERIE PARMA (Stern) took 27 seconds off her PR from last year to post the 4th fastest girls time on the day 19:20.5.
The Palisades boys cruised through in their D1 heat 1 race. MAX FIELDS and BLAKE SIGWORTH placed 1st and 2nd to lead the team to a score of 18 points. Palisades team time of 1:19:05.0 is 1 minute 22.2 seconds off the 1997 Belmont course record of 1:17:42.8; each of Pali’s runners will need to take 17 seconds off their prelim time to get the record. Definitely possible - see below.
Less than 50 seconds separated the top 3 teams in boys division 2 qualifying led by Eagle Rock. The big surprise was Marshall who had the 2nd fastest D2 time led by 2 runners ranked 1st and 4th individually in D2: GABRIEL CABRERA (16:24.5) and BAO LE (16:39.3). Bravo had the 3rd best team time but the favorite for D2 boys is Monroe led by SEBASTIAN PEREZ and JORGE MONTENEGRO; look for both of these athletes to run a minute faster at City Finals.
Verdugo Hills girls and boys teams were the top qualifiers in D3. The girls should clinch the City Championships but the boys will be challenged by Mendez. Mendez’s DEMITRI HERNANDEZ had the top boys D3 qualifying time in 17:12.2 while Reseda’s MADISON MAZA was the top girls qualifier.
Big surprises in girls D4 as Orthopedic qualified ahead of perennial State qualifier New West Charter, but only by 3 seconds. Each team’s 3-5 runners are within 10 seconds of the other team so this will be a fire fight! GABRIELA NASCIMENTO leads New West while KELSY BAEZ (23:06.0) leads Orthopedic. KELLY MENA (MACES) had the top girls D4 time 21:10.8.
Both the East Valley girls and boys dominated D5 qualifying and should clinch City Championships. SUSANA CRUZ had the top girls time for East Valley and ABEL SERRANO the top boys time.
The Pali boys cruise to an easy qualifier in the City Prelims. Their team time of 1:1905.0 was tops at Prelims and bested their ‘22 City Championship time by 37 seconds.
(l-r) Andrew Razo, Zac Cohen, Blake Sigworth, Owen Lewicky, Max Fields, Axel Mammen
Three of City’s top runners lead the D1 heat 2 City Prelim race.
(l-r) Alec Flores-Granada Hills, Alex Mendoza -Cleveland, Joseph Vargas-Cleveland
20<16 In LACXC.com’s quest for 20 LA City runners to finish under 16 minutes at the City Championships we’ve done a quick analysis of the post-season performances so far and results are encouraging. 24 boys have run a Pierce equivalent of 16:20 or faster at League Finals or Prelims. On average over the last 4 years (17, 19, 21, 22 - no prelim in 2018) the top 20 finishers at City Finals have improved their times by 20-30 seconds compared to Prelims. So the 24 boys should all have a fair shot at breaking 16 but it won’t be easy. The only 3-mile City Championship to have 20 runners under 16 minutes was in 1982.
20<20 On the girls side 23 runners posted times of 20:30 or better in post season so the probability for 20 girls beating 20 minutes at the City Championship is similar to the boys. Over the last 10 years girl athletes have accomplished 20<20 at City Finals 2 times, in 2013 and 2017.
The tables below rank the top 3 teams for each division based on City Prelim times:
League Finals
In total 2,874 athletes from 117 teams competed in City league finals this past week. The rankings below are based on the top 5 performances from each school across all league finals races held at Elysian Park, Peck Park and Pierce College. Performances at Elysian Park and Peck Park were converted to a Pierce-course equivalent for this ranking.
In total 2,874 athletes from 117 teams competed in City league finals this past week. The rankings below are based on the top 5 performances from each school across all league finals races held at Elysian Park, Peck Park and Pierce College. Performances at Elysian Park and Peck Park were converted to a Pierce-course equivalent for this ranking.
Division Ranks-Girls
Division Ranks-Boys
The stage is set for an incredible City Championships!
Granada Hills flexed their power with a dominating league finals performance at Pierce. Their girls teams posted the top team-time at Pierce this year while winning both the team and individual West Valley title and the boys had the 2nd best team time and also claimed the West Valley team title. SAMMY PACHECO led the Highlander girls with the best time this year at Pierce. ALEC FLORES was the top Granada boys runner posting a course PR in 15:49.8. In the Western League final Palisades swept the girls race and almost did the same in the boys. Palisades’ Freshman ZOEY MORRIS ran an honest race finishing in 19:20.8 to win and post the 3rd fastest time at Pierce this week. The rest of the Palisades girls varsity team, which included 1 freshman and 2 sophomores, finished together in under 22 minutes. MAX FIELDS won the boys race with the top City time at Pierce since 2016, 15:06.3. Younger runners excelled at League sophomores: BLAKE SIGWORTH (Palisades) and JOAQUIN ORTEGA-TOMASELLI (Granada Hills) both posted top-10 times, Blake posting an impressive 15:49.4.
Below are the rankings for the top 20 finishers at all City league finals on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov 1st and 2nd this past week. Performances at Elysian Park and Peck Park have been converted to a Pierce course equivalent.
East Valley, Northern &Valley Mission
League Finals
Pierce College - Wednesday Nov 1st, 2023
UPDATE
As predicted, the Canoga Park girls dominated yesterday’s league finals placing 1st and 2nd in the combined individual race, placing 1st in the Valley Mission team scoring and posting the top girls time across all divisions. ANGELINA VALLADARES won the combined race in 18:36.8 to win the Valley Mission league title, just missing a PR she set last week in a dual meet. Teammate ANGELEA LOPEZ battled most of the race with sophomore AMBER LOPEZ of Verdugo Hills to take 2nd followed by Amber who placed 3rd and won the East Valley league title. North Hollywood sophomore ANANYA BALARAMAN had the 4th best time, 20:03.7, and 2 freshman, San Fernando’s ANGELLA HOYUELA and Kennedy’s GEORGIA ILLINGWORTH made the top-10 in final results. TORY YETTER (Eagle Rock) claimed the Northern Value League title.
City League Girls Champions:
Amber Lopez - East Valley Champion
Tory Yetter - Northern Champion
Angelina Valladares - Valley Mission Champion
LACXC.com had Monroe ranked 3rd at the beginning of the season but yesterday’s league finals let it be known Monroe is the team to beat in D2. Much like the Canoga girls, the Monroe boys dominated at every level. SEBASTIAN PEREZ and JORGE MONTENEGRO placed 1st and 2nd in the East Valley league and across all division 2 runners, the team won the East Valley league title, and the Monroe team-time was the fastest on the day. MATHEW LAMBAN (Franklin) won the combined race and the Northern League individual title in a supremely confidant run that bodes well for the City Final. He clocked 15:47.1 in what looked like a tempo run for the 1st 2 miles; Mathew has the potential to run faster! JUDE SANDRIDGE (Reseda) won the the Valley Mission title and placed 4th in the combined results.
City League Boys Champions:
Jude Sandridge Valley Mission Champion
Mathew Lamban - Northern Champion
Sebastian Perez - East Valley Champion
Three of City’s top leagues compete in a single race on Wednesday that should be a preview for what to expect in the division 2 & 3 City Championships. In the boys varsity race, Franklin’s MATHEW LAMBAN and Reseda’s JUDE SANDRIDGE meet for the 1st time this year in a division 3 showdown. Mathew should take the Northern league title and Jude the Valley Mission title. JORGE MONTENEGRO (Monroe) looks to have the edge for the East Valley title and 3rd place in the combined race following a big race at Mt Sac but he’ll be challenged by teammate SEBASTIAN PEREZ as well as Eagle Rock’s CONNOR DOLAN and Verdugo Hills top 2 DUSTIN HARZMANN and EVAN ELLERSIECK.
Franklin senior MATHEW LAMBAN has the 5th best 3-mile time in City and is the top ranked division 3 runner coming into the league finals. He should win the combined race and take the Northern League title, Franklin’s 3rd in a row if Mathew wins.
Reseda junior JUDE SANDRIDGE is the returning Valley Mission league champion and should win the title again this year. He doesn’t have any posted times for the ‘23 XC season but we have it on good authority that he’s run a 16:18 on Pierce in October which should be enough to place 2nd in the combined race.
Below are the top-10 City boys varsity rankings for the combined East Valley, Northern & Valley Mission league finals:
In the girls varsity race, look for Canoga Park to dominate both the individual and team competitions. Led by ANGELINA VALLADARES and ANGELINA LOPEZ Canoga should place 4 runners in the top 10 combined results. Verdugo Hills’ sophomore AMBER LOPEZ should win the Eastern Valley title and TORY YETTER (Eagle Rock) the Northern league title. North Hollywood sophomore ANANYA BALARAMAN has continued to improved and is ranked 5th for the combined race. The lone freshman in the top-10 rankings, San Fernando’s ANGELLA HOYUELA, makes her presence felt after big races at Pierce and Mt. Sac.
Below are the top-10 City girls varsity rankings for the combined East Valley, Northern & Valley Mission leagues finals:
ANGLEINA VALLADARES is the prohibitive favorite for the the Valley Mission title as well as the combined race. She has her eyes squarely on a sub-18 minute performance at City Finals and league finals will be a dress rehearsal.
ANGELINA LOPEZ will need a big race to place 2nd in Wednesday’s combined race and if October is any evidence she is ready to pop. In October she’s run a Pierce time that would have won last year’s City Championship and she placed 2nd last week at Mt. Sac.
MT. SAC
Mt San Antonio College
October 20th - 21st, 2023
Notes:
Times for this event were captured to the nearest second, not to 1/10th of a second that is the norm for high school XC races.
Race officials adjusted measurements from 2.0 to 1.8 miles for the Friday afternoon races. All references in this post to 2.0 miles relate to the 1.8 mile races.
Some big performances as well as disappointments on day 2 of Mt. sac:
SAMMY PACHECO won the D1/D2 Varsity Green race and posted the top City 3-mile time for the 2 days, 18:44.0. Her 1st 2 miles were unusually conservative but her patience paid off in a final mile where she improved her lead by over 20 seconds. Sammy was the lone City winner on day 2 at Mt. Sac.
JOSEPH VARGAS was the fasted City boy, placing 14th in 15:31.0 in the Individual Sweepstakes.
Freshman ZOEY MORRIS led a very talented Palisades team to 5th place in the Indiviudal Sweepstakes race. Zoey finished in 17th place in 19:10.0, the 2nd fastest City 3-mile time.
Four sophomore made the City Top-10 for the 3-mile at Mt. Sac, 2 broke 16 minutes: ZAC COHEN (Palisades 15:51.0), BLAKE SIGWORTH (Palisades 15:56.0), ANDREW RAZO (Palisades 16:32.0), and JOAQUIN ORTEGA-TOMASELLIE (Granada Hills 16:40.0).
Two of City’s best DNF’d, MAX FIELDS and PAUL TRANQUILLA both were forced to stop on the top of reservoir. Quite often its darkest before the dawn!
Day 2 Recap
SAMMY PACHECO checks out the scenery on the ‘Airstrip’ with 300 meters to go in the D1/D2 Varsity Green race. By this time she had a +20-second lead and was on her way to posting the best City Mt. Sac time since 2018 and the 3rd best time in the last 10 years - only City greats Marissa Williams and Sofia Abrego have run faster.
Here are the top City 3-mile finishers for the combined day 1 and 2:
JOSEPH VARGAS descends ‘Reservoir Hill’ in the D1/D2 Individual Sweepstakes race at Mt. Sac. His time of 15:31 was the best in City for the 3-mile course and earned Joseph a 14th place finish.
Division 1 teams dominated the boys races, claiming the top 10 spots in the City rankings. On the girls side, 5 division 2 teams made the City Top 10 led by Santee who had the 4th best 3-mile City time.
The Granada/Cleveland rivalry is heating up, for both the both and girls. Granada won the day on all accounts but the difference was small and Cleveland looks to have the better chance for improvement over the next month. MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ, running in her 1st race for Cleveland on Saturday, will be looking to improve on her City ranking in November in order to give Cleveland a chance for a State bid. For the boys, Cleveland’s ALEX MENDOZA and Granada’s ETHAN DIAZ, who both ran way off their potential on Saturday, will likely be the factors on who wins the boys state bid.
The Bravo Medical boys let it be known that they are the team to beat in division 2. No one broke 17 minutes but their top 4 finished within 21 seconds of each to post the 4th best City team time.
The division 2 girls rankings is nearly a dead heat between Santee and Bravo Medical - only 20 seconds separated the teams on Saturday with Santee getting the nod. ANGELES FELICIANO led the Santee team but 7 Santee and Bravo runners followed within 38 seconds of each other. Bravo was without one of their top runners ANGELIQUE MORALES.
These 3 runners will likely decide the fate of the 2nd State team qualifier for City (l-r) JOSEPH VARGAS, ALEC FLORES, and ALEX MENDOZA. Palisades should have a lock on the 1st slot but Cleveland has the talent to match up with the 2nd ranked Highlanders.
Here are the top City 3-mile team times for days 1 and 2 based on the top 5 runners across all races:
The Cleveland varsity girls team warms down after finishing 13th in the D1/D2 Individual Sweeps at Mt. Sac. MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ (not pictured) and LUCY CULLITON (2nd from right) were top finishers for Cleveland, both ranking in the City Top-10. Their team time was 25 seconds behind Granada Hills to rank as the 3rd best City team for the combined days 1 & 2.
The Canoga Park girls varsity put on a clinic Friday afternoon taking 1st (ANGELINA VALLADARES) and 2nd (ANGELINA LOPEZ) and placing 3rd in the team results. We’ll get a glimpse of how this team fares against Bravo Medical and Eagle Rock on Nov 1st at Pierce.
Palisades’ MAX FIELDS completes the 2nd lap in the ‘Valley Loop’ in the D1/D2 Team Sweeps at Mt. Sac. Max had made a big move in mile 2 to move up 16 places to 12th but quad issues that began on ‘The Switchbacks’ caused him to DNF at the top of ‘Reservoir Hill’. He was running a sub-15:20 pace when he stopped.
Temperatures rose to 95 degrees by noon leading race officials to make the decision to began running the 1.8 mile course beginning with race 14 at 12:05 through race 36 at 3:41. Of the 42 races scheduled for Friday, 21 races (12 boys, 9 girls) we’re reduced from 3 to 1.8 miles. The 1.8-mile course is essentially the standard 3-mile course less ‘Poop-Out’ and ‘Reservoir' hills.
The Canoga Park girls placed 1st and 2nd in the Girls D4 Varsity Red 1.8-mile race to help the team to a 3rd place finish. ANGELINA VALLADARES surged on the switchbacks to take a commanding lead that she took to the finish. ANGELINA LOPEZ made a similar move to clinch 2nd place.
Sophomore AMBER LOPEZ (Verdugo Hills) had the fastest City 3-mile time for the girls, 20:37.0, to place 5th in the D3/D4/D5 Sophomore Green race.
Miguel Contreras had 2 runners ranked in City’s top 5 for the 1.8 mile, BRIDGETTE TRUJILLO and MARITZA RAMIREZ. Really like what this program is doing.
Junior DEMITRI HERNANDEZ (Mendez) posted the top City 1.8-mile time of 10:18.0 in the Boys D4 Varsity Yellow race.
The East Valley boys team was in the lead at mile 1 but impressive 2nd miles by both the Heritage Christian and Thacher teams handed East valley a 3rd place finish. Nonetheless, their top 3 ABEL SERRANO, ERNESTO HERNANDEZ and MARVIN JOHNSON all had fine races to rank on the City Top-10 for the 1.8-mile.
The Community Charter boys took 3rd place in the D5 Varsity Green 2-mile led by DANIEL MARTINEZ and JOSUE GONZALEZ who had the 3rd and 4th best City 1.8-mile times.
The Monroe boys placed all 5 of their runners in the City Top-10 rankings for the 1.8 mile on their way to placing 5th in the D3 Varsity Red race.
The Verdugo Hills boys did nearly the same with DUSTIN HARZMANN taking the lead for Verdugo followed in the next second by EVAN ELLERSIECK.
ANGELLA HOYUELA of San Fernando was the only freshman to make the City top-10 lists.
SOCES senior NATHAN MEDINA was the lone runner from his school to rank in the City top 10.
Day 1 Recap
Here are the top 10 City finishers for the 3-mile races on day 1 at Mt. Sac:
Here are the top 10 City finishers for the 2-mile races on day 1 at Mt. Sac:
School records and a chance to make the All City Top-10 are possibilities on Saturday in the boys and girls Sweepstakes races. Here are the top performances at Mt. Sac by City runners:
Here are the Mt. Sac school records for Cleveland, Granada Hills and Palisades Charter:
El Dorado East Regional Park, Long Beach - Oct. 14th, 2023
Bell Gardens has traditionally been a showcase for City’s best and Saturday was no exception. Nineteen City teams and 382 runners competed in grade-specific races on the El Dorado course that was first introduced last year. Though this year’s performances were off last year’s when 5 City runners won races (this year MAX FIELDS was the lone City winner), much of this can be attributed to the top runners and teams preparing for next week’s Mt. Sac invitational. Granada Hills did not run most of their varsity teams. Nonetheless, there were some noteworthy performances:
The Palisades boys and girls ran their varsity squad in the senior race and the results were impressive; the boys posted a perfect score of 15 and the girls scored 16 points to win both of the races.
EVAN ELLERSIECK (Verdugo Hills) and LUCIO HIGHTOWER-ROJAS (Eagle Rock) continue impress with another set of sub-16 performances.
ANGELES FELICIANO (Santee) had the 3rd fastest girls City time and the 10th fastest overall, almost breaking 19 minutes to place 2nd in the Junior race in 19:05.1.
SAMMY PACHECO (Granada Hills) posted a 32-second course PR, 18:08.6, to place 2nd in the girls Sophomore race.
Sophomore AMBER LOPEZ (Verdugo Hills) has exploded onto the City XC scene posting times on Pierce this year that would have won the Division 3 championship last year. She posted the 5th fastest time at Bell Gardens and looks to be well on the way to breaking 19 minutes.
BRIDGETTE TRUIJILLO posted a 2-minute course PR to place 4th in the Junior race in 19:52.4. This time puts her in the very top echelon of Division 2 runners and someone to watch on November 25th.
ZOEY MORRIS (Palisades) had the top freshman time at Bell Gardens, placing 7th in the Senior race in 19:17.7.
VIRGINIA O’NEILL set a PR Saturday on the same course that was her break-out performance last year. Her time of 19:40.0 is the first time she’s run under 20 minute and places her in City’s top -10 best performances this year based on adjusted times.
Cleveland sophomore NATHANIEL MELGOZA placed 4th in the Sophomore race in 16:35.8.
The tables below rank the top-10 City times across all races at Bell Gardens:
MAX FIELDS posted the 2nd fastest time on the day to win the Senior race in 15:05.5, a solid performance for sure but really just enough effort to win.
Cleveland’s ALEX MENDOZA and JOSEPH VARGAS opted for a tempo run at Bell Gardens in preparation for Mt. Sac.
Palisades’ sophomore phenoms ZAC COHEN (1842) and BLAKE SIGWORTH (1852) placed 3rd and 4th in the Senior race. Both are continually running under 15:30 and Saturday was no different, finishing in 15:24.0 and 15:25.9.
KYRA MORRIS led the girls Palisades’ team to 1st place in the Senior race at Bell Gardens. Kyra placed 3rd in the race in 18:38.1.
Sophomore LULU MAMMEN took over a minute off her Bell Gardens time from last year to post an impressive 19:08.4, placing her 6th in the Senior race and Palisades #2 crossing the finish line.
Freshman ZOEY MORRIS was Palisades 3rd runner to cross the finish line in the Senior race in 19:17.7, a time that would have won the Freshman race.
The tables below rank the top City teams at Bell Gardens based on each team’s top 5 runners across all races:
PAUL TRANQUILLA starts out the Junior race at Bell Gardens. The Glendora juniors made this the most competitive race on the day taking the 1st 4 places. Paul finished in 15:39.4 to place 6th.
ANGELES FELICIANO is a contender! She placed 2nd in the Junior race in 19:05.1, the 3rd fastest City time and the 10th fastest girls time at Bell Gardens.
Cleveland’s NATHANIEL MELGOZA went out strong in the Sophomore race and leads a pack at 1-mile. He finished in 4th place in 16:35.8.
SAMMY PACHECO leads the girls sophomore race at Bell Gardens at 800m into the race. Sammy placed 2nd to West Covina’s Becky Osario for the 2nd year in a row in what is building into an exciting rivalry.
The tables below rank the top team times at Bell Gardens based on the top 5 runners for each team across all races (City team in BOLD):
Palisades Girls Win Bell Gardens Senior Race:
(l-r) Kyra Morris, Lulu Mammen, Cece Tierney, Virginia O’Neill, Zoey Morris, Daila Harinck, Gabriella Gilyard
Clovis Invitational
Woodward Park, Fresno - Oct. 7th, 2023
Big day of redemption for Ventura who won both the Girls Bill Buettner and Boys Rob Brenner individual sweepstakes titles after big upsets at Woodbridge. MAX FIELDS ran as an individual in the Rob Brenner race placing 25th in 15:33.14 in a race that went out in a blistering 4:37.5. 1st mile. The Granada Hills girls ran in the XL Varsity race placing 24th. SAMANTHA PACHECO led the Highlanders placing 7th in 19:01.2. The Granada boys ran in the XL Varsity race, placing 18th. ALEC FLORES was the top Granada finisher placing 21st in 16:24.3; ETHAN DIAZ was Granada’s 2nd finisher in 16:44.3
Palisades senior MAX FIELDS rounds a turn at about 1,000m from the finish of the Bill Buettner Sweepstakes race.
Granada sophomore SAMMY PACHECO sprints to the finish with about 200m to the go.
ALEC FLORES finishes strong to catch 5 runners in the last mile at Clovis. His time of 16:33.4 is 46 seconds faster than his ‘22 State performance .
Senior ETHAN DIAZ continues to improve in his 1st year of high school competition. He placed 41st in a time of 16:44.3.
Granada Hills’ varsity team prepares for the XL Varsity race at Clovis.
l-r: Ryan Dudley, Joaquin Ortega-Tomaselli, Kellan Kloss, Daniel Ramirez III (hidden), Benjamin Niebla, Alec Flores, Ethan Diaz
West Valley Cluster #2
Pierce College - Oct. 5th, 2023
On an afternoon when temperatures neared 100 degrees, Taft’s girls and Cleveland’s boys made big statements at that West Valley Cluster #2 giving notice that they will be serious contenders in the City D1 title hunt.
Taft placed 4 girls in the top 10 to win in team scoring, led by junior KAYLA TJENALOOI who placed 2nd in 21:19.3. Granada Hill’s senior LILIANNA MOREIRA won the race in a course PR of 20:31.7. Five girls in the top 10 had course PR’s including Taft’s TAALY SCHREIER and ANAEL FARKASH, SCARLETT HARRIS (ECR), and Cleveland sophomore YANA SEN. These girls all had Pierce times 42 seconds or better than their previous PR. Most of Granada Hill’s varsity team did not run due to Clovis Invite on Saturday.
Cleveland placed 4 boys in the top 6 to win the boys team title led by their stand-out duo JOSEPH VARGAS and ALEX MENDOZA, who placed 1-2, respectively. Teammate ELLIOT LOPEZ placed 4th in a 45-second course PR and sophomore NATHANIEL MELGOZA had a huge 75-second PR to take 6th. Seven runners in the top 10 had course PR’s including 4 sophomores; the top sophomore was Birmingham’s ALEXIS HUERTA who ran an impressive 16:49.5. Birmingham has made big improvements in their boys program this year! Granada’s varsity boys were also on hiatus due to Clovis.
The Cleveland team wore their ‘Pink’ kits in recognition of October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a tradition inaugurated last year by former coach Eddy Vasquez.
LILIANNE MOREIRA takes the win in the West Valley girls varsity race at Pierce College on Thursday, October 5th.
KAYLA TJENALOOI placed 2nd for Taft followed closely by teammate KENNEDY BRANNON.
The table below ranks the top 10 girls at the West Valley Cluster #2, across all races:
LUCY CULLITON was the top finisher for Cleveland, placing 4th in 21:39.1. Taft’s TAALY SCHEIRER is close behind and looks to be back in form after a junior year plagued by injuries.
Division 5 East Valley ran in the same race and competed admirably. JAQUELINE JUAREZ led East Valley in 22:01.0.
The table below ranks the top 10 boys at the West Valley Cluster #2, across all races:
l-r JOSEPH VARGAS, EFRON HERNANDEZ, and ALEX MENDOZA lead the West Valley Cluster #2 varsity race just before mile 1. Joseph won the race followed by Alex and Efron.
Cleveland’s ELIOTT LOPEZ had a big race finishing 4th in a course PR of 16:43.3.
Birmingham’s ALEXIS HUERTA was the top sophomore posting a huge 52-second course PR to place 5th in the race in 16:49.4.
Race Updates - Sept 30th
Nike Portland XC Invite -
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City
The Granada Hills and Cleveland varsity boys and girls teams travelled to Oregon City to run in the Nike Portland XC invite on Sat, Sept 30th.
Cleveland’s JOSEPH VARGAS posted the top City time, 15:53.2, to place 19th in the Danner Championship 5k race. Cleveland teammate ALEX MENDOZA posted an impressive 15:59.5 for 27th place. Granada Hills top runners was ALEC FLORES who finished in 46th in 16:14.1.
In case you missed it, Cleveland beat Granada Hills in the team tally taking 20th to Granada’s 24th and a 48 second team time difference.
Cleveland’s LUCY CULLITON was the top City girl finisher in the division 1 race finishing the 5k course in 20:55.7 for 65th place. Sophomore KIANA DIAMOND was the top Granada Hills finisher, taking 77th in 21:10.3.
Cleveland beat Granada Hills in the girls competition but in fairness Granada was running without their top 2 runners who competed at Bell-Jeff.
Sorry, no pictures!
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LA CITY POWER RANKINGS
SECTION OVERVIEW
Big shifts this season as sixteen schools changed divisions including Venice and RFK who moved up to D1 and Helen Bernstein who moved up to D2, LACES and Mendez moved up to D3 and New West Charter moved up to D4. See attached for a full list of school/division changes.
Athlete transfers also impacted City Section teams this summer. In division 1, two of the top runners from ‘22 XC transferred to another City team, the result being a much more competitive landscape among both the boys and girls top teams. In division 2, three of the top five girls from the ‘22 City finals will NOT be running this fall. See the division overviews below for more details. Finally, D3 City runner-up OMAR FABILA (Roybal) transferred out of City Section to Cathedral.
Five teams held summer high-altitude training camps this summer; Palisades, San Pedro and Taft trained up at Mammoth while Cleveland and Granada Hills trained at Big Bear. I’ll be posting pictures from my visits to 4 of these training camps in the next several weeks.
At Woodbridge this month, 13 City boys broke 16 minutes and 11 girls broke 20 minutes. In comparison to the last 7 years these ‘23 performances are average for the boys but well below average for the girls. Of all the stats I look at (and I look at lots of stats) the Woodbridge 16-minute (boys) and 20-minute (girls) counts offer some of the best predictors for what to expect of City athletes in November and to answer the question, “How many boys/girls have the potential to break 16min/20min at Pierce?”. The benchmark for boys is 20, set at the 1982 City Finals. So there’s the challenge, to City runners, coaches, and parents . . . 20 runners under 16 minutes on Pierce:
20 < 16
To paraphrase a top coach “16 minutes is easy…” :)
Now, without further adieu . . . The LACXC.com POWER RANKINGS!
TOP-10 Girls Teams
GIRLS - TEAM OVERVIEW
Granada’s quest for a 6th consecutive City title is in jeopardy. This year, Palisades Charter’s top-5 look to be the best in City, with margin to spare in a large and talented bench to draw from. And a much faster Cleveland team, made better with improved existing runners as well as transfers, has a chance at State as well; LACXC.com has the adjusted* time difference between Granada and Cleveland’s top 5 at less than 10 seconds. All 3 of these teams have the talent to earn a State berth and win the City title. This will be a fun one!
The individual City D1 title will be a battle between former teammates MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ, the reigning D1 champion who now runs for Cleveland, and Granada Hills phenom SAMMY PACHECO who’s undefeated this year in her 1st 3 invitationals .
The Canoga Park team, led by ANGELINA VALLADARES, has continued to improve since last fall and has usurped Bravo Medical for the top rank in D2. Bravo was top ranked following the ‘22 City Championships but Canoga has made big improvements across their top 5 to move on top.
Bravo may be without their top runner and last year’s D2 city champ BRYNN BOGUE. Stay tuned for updates!
Lookout for Santee! ANGELES FELICIANO leads a very strong 5-person team that has impressed so far this season and will be a factor in November.
These 3 D2 programs - Canoga, Bravo and Santee - are putting together excellent teams that compete at levels comparable to D1’s best teams - phenomenal athletes and coaching!
The girls D2 runner-up last year, Marshall’s GABI CANNESSON, is not running this fall. Also, ELIZABETH CORRIGAN (formally with Eagle Rock) has transferred out of LA City. Along with Brynn Bogue, that’s 3 of the top 5 runners from last years City championship that are not running this fall!
Division 3 has former division 4 champion Mendez going up against very strong Verdugo Hills, Reseda and SOCA teams. Mendez should be able to edge out these teams for the City title but the ranking is tenuous and if these other teams can find a 5th girl under 25 minutes the title is theirs for the taking. SOCA sophomore ALEXANDRA VILLANUEVA is the front runner for the individual D3 title but a rapidly improving MOLLY SANDRIDGE will stake her claim come November.
New West Charter should win the D4 team championship easily but GABI NASCIMENTO will have a tougher time claiming the individual title against Maywood’s KELLIE MENA who won the D4 title last year and is coming of a commendable track season.
Stern sophomore VALERIE PARMA is the 10th-ranked City runner and the only division 5 runner to make the Power Rankings All-City 2nd team. She should clinch the individual title going away.
BOYS - TEAM OVERVIEW
Palisades Charter looks unbeatable and has some lofty goals on their agenda for the ‘23 XC season: winning the City Championship, setting the Pierce course team record (Belmont 1998 - 1:17:42.8) , and placing top 5 at State.
Granada Hills should secure a State bid but they’ll be challenged mightily by a much improved Cleveland team. After adjusting for transfers LACXC.com calculate a difference in scoring of less than 10 points.
Venice is a young and supremely talented team that should make an impact in their 1st year back in D1 since 2016. This may be the year that Taft beats rival El Camino Real. Taft has a strong front 3 that have performed well so far but ECR is a late bloomer that runs their best in November.
Palisades MAX FIELDS will be running for his 3rd City XC title, a feat never accomplished by any City athlete on the 3-mile course. He’d likely make a run for the City Final record as well (Pablo Rosales-San Pedro 2009, 14:31.3) but may be tempered by his goals for State.
Cleveland’s JOSEPH VARGAS will challenge Fields for the City title. He’s coming off a break-out track season and a superb summer that should set him up well for City Finals. Venice’s PAUL TRANQUILLA is uber-talented and should break into the top 3; he’s probably the fastest City runner at the back-end of a 3-mile race. ALEX MENDEZO, the #4 returning D1 runner from ‘22, joins Cleveland this fall and on the right day he’s one of City’ best. ZAC COHEN and junior OWEN LEWICKY are two of City’s most talented runners; both are setting grade-level records at Palisades where there is a long legacy of great runners. Look for a much improved ALEC FLORES from Granada to round out the D1 top 5. The dark horse may be Palisades’ BLAKE SIGWORTH. He get’s lost amongst all the talent at Palisades but he’ll be someone to watch November 18th.
If the conditions are right at Pierce, the top 3-5 runners should be under 15:10 at City Finals, a level of performance we haven’t seen since pre-2000.
Some other D1 athletes that have a chance to break the 16-minute milestone mark at Pierce: Palisades’ AXEL MAMMEN; Granada Hills’ ETHAN DIAZ, BENJAMIN NIEBLA and RYAN DUDLEY; Cleveland’s ELLIOT LOPEZ and NATHANIAL MELGOZA; Birmingham’s EFRAIN HERNANDEZ; and Taft’s ETHAN BAROK and HUNTER BENNETT. That’s 17 boys just in D1!
Bravo Medical looks to be the top team in boys D2, primarily on the strength of their 4th and 5th runners. But Eagle Rock and Monroe are within striking range and any one of these 3 teams can win on the right day. Based on adjusted* times, the 5 top runners are all within 14 seconds of each other led by Eagle Rock’s CONNOR DOLAN, Bravo Medical’s DIEGO DIAZ and Monroe’s top JORGE MONTENEGRO and SEBASTIAN PEREZ.
Verdugo Hills will be looking for their 4th consecutivet D3 City team championship and likely will not face much competition. The individual title on the other hand should be a fire fight between Franklin’s MATTHEW LAMBAN (is anyone noticing the number of great runners this program is producing!) and Reseda’s JUDE SANDRIDGE.
Mendez is the prohibitive favorite in D4 led by junior DEMITRI HERNANDEZ. New West Charter sophomore AARON LEE will challenge Hernandez for the title.
Community Charter has made huge improvements since their 10th place finish at the D5 City final last year and they now look to be the team to beat in ‘23. Their led by juniors DANIEL MARTINEZ and JOSUE GONZALEZ. JOSEPH JUAREZ of Sun Valley looks to hold the pole position for the individual City title.
* Adjusted Times: Times for Rosemead, Mt. Carmel, Raiders, and Cool Breeze have been adjusted to a Woodbridge equivalent.
Girls All City 1st Team
1. Sammy PACHECO So-Granada H. D1
1. Meztli VALEZQUEZ So-Cleveland D1
2. Angelina VALLADARES SR-Canoga D2
3. Louisa MAMMEN So-Palisades D1
4. Kyra MORRIS Sr-Palisades D1
5. Zoey MORRIS Fr-Palisades D1
6. Lilianna MOREIRA Sr-Granada D1
7. Angeles FELICIANO Jr-Santee D2
Having a shared #1 rating may seem a cop-out but truth be told there was no basis for comparison between SAMMY PACHECO and MEZTLI VELAZQUEZ. Meztli hasn’t competed in league competition since last fall and her 1st run this season won’t be until Mt. Sac. What is clear though is that these 2 are the cream-of-the-crop. Meztli is last year’s D1 City champion and Sammy has absolutely dominated her competition this year winning her 1st 3 invitations - Rosemead, Woodbridge and Master’s. So I’ll let them work out who gets to be #1. :)
ANGELINA VALLADARES is the one to beat in D2. She’s been on a tear since last fall and looks to be in top form following a very successful track season. She’ll be looking for both an individual and team D2 City title in November.
Palisades’ trio of LULU MAMMEN and sisters KYRA and ZOEY MORRIS are the core of a very talented team that has a singular mission, to take back the D1 City title that they last won in 2016.
Santee’s ANGELES FELICIANO and Granada’s LILIANNA MOREIRA enter the list as the most improved from the ‘22 season. Angeles has won her 1st two invites this season - Rosemead and Woodbridge - and in addition to making a run at the individual D2 title November will lead a resurgent Santee team.
BOYS All City 1st Team
1. Max FIELDS Sr-Palisades Charter D1
2. Joseph VARGAS Sr-Cleveland D1
3. Owen LEWICKY Jr-Palisades D1
4. Zac COHEN So-Palisades D1
5. Alec FLORES - Sr Granada D1
6. Paul TRANQUILLA Jr-Venice D1
7. Alex MENDOZA Sr-Cleveland D1
MAX FIELDS heads into his senior year with a lot on his shoulders. He’ll be looking for an unprecedented three-peat individual City title while at the same time ensuring his team captures the team title AND saves enough for a strong State performance. Some of the best teams in LA Section history have tried the same with varying degrees of success (see Belmont 1996). But this is a special team as evidenced by the other 2 Palisades runners on this list, OWEN LEWICKY and ZAC COHEN. And there are at least 2 other boys from this Palisades team that deserve consideration for 1st Team All City. Expect a slow burn from this team with a very impressive bang in November.
JOSPEPH VARGAS is on fire! He hasn’t had a bad race in two years, and his really good races are absolutely amazing. Expect another break-out performance like he had in track (4:16.76 1,600m) this XC season - We’re thinking 60-seconds off his current Pierce PR. No pressure :)
ALEC FLORES by his own account had a less than stellar junior XC season. He’s looking to change that in ‘23 and this new chapter began back in June when he began a dedicated summer running program . The dividends are paying off so far with comparable times well over a minute faster than last year. He’ll be looking for a top 5 finish in November with a goal of getting close to 15 minutes at Pierce.
In most years PAUL TRANQUILLA’s performances would earn him top rank in D1. It’s a testament to the quality of the competition that he’s #6. But the differences are slight among the top 7 and Paul has the talent to beat anyone on the right day. He had a superlative track season this past spring and his 1st two XC races this month have been impressive.
ALEX MENDOZA is the wild card on this list. From a pure talent perspective, he’s probably closer to #3 or #4. The last time he raced in a City uniform, for Granada at the ‘22 XC City Championships, he placed 5th. It’s a year later (he’s now running for Cleveland) and in that year D1 has become more competitive. That’s the logic for his #7 ranking but the reality may be very different. We’ll find out soon enough at Portland Nike XC on Sept 30th.
WOODBRIDGE 2023
MAX FIELDS and JOSEPH VARGAS make the Woodbridge All Time Top-10 City performances:
Cleveland’s JOSEPH VARGAS posted the 6th best ever City time, 14:44.4 in the Rated Boys race.
Here are the top 10 City finishers at Woodbridge:
SAMMY PACHECO scored another victory in the Varsity Blue race at Woodbridge in 17:43.4.
ANGELES FELICIANO wins with a big finish at Woodbridge in the Junior White race in 18:46.9.
Venice’s PAUL TRANQUILLA posted the 3rd best City time in the Rated race at Woodbrige, 15:16.7.
ALEC FLORES led Granada Hills at Woodbridge with a 15:20.5 in the Varsity Blue B race.
Taft’s #1 ETHAN BAROK placed 5th in the White Soph race at Woodbridge in 16:07.5.
Here’s how City runners compared to all runners at Woodbridge:
ETHAN DIAZ (15:39.2) and BENJAMIN NIEBLA (15:40.4) finish the final 800m in the Varsity Blue B race. They’re Granada’s #2 &3.
Palisades’ BEN BARNETT placed 24th in the Blue Junior race in 16:42.8.
west valley cluster #1
Thursday, Sept 7th
The boys varsity passes through the 1-mile mark. No course record today as many were preparing for the Woodbridge Invite in 2 days.
Birmingham senior EFRAIN HERNANDEZ held back for the 1st 2 miles then made his move on the final climb up to horseshoe to win the varsity race in 16:55.9, only 14 seconds off his PR from last year.
KAYLA TJENALOOI takes the win in the girls varsity race posting her 2nd best time on the Pierce course, 21:27.6.
Taft sophomore ETHAN BAROK makes the final ascent up “Puke Hill” on his way to a 2nd place finish in the varsity race in 17:13.8.
KENNEDY BRANNON placed 2nd for Taft in 21:39.6.
ECR sophomore DANIELLA NISTORAN ran over a minute faster than her previous Pierce best in the varsity race to place 3rd in 22:08.3.
Watermelon Run
Saturday, Aug. 12th
In what’s become an annual event and the unofficial launch of the XC season, 5 Valley teams met at the Sepulveda Golf Complex at Balboa Park on August 12th. The run is all-in with boys and girls running together and some teams using the run as a basis for identifying the varsity teams. Participants included Canoga Park, Cleveland, ECR, Monroe and Taft. Taft’s boys and Canoga’s girls took the team titles. Click here for the finish sheet.
Start of the 2023 Watermelon 5k Run
Taft’s boys warm up prior to the run
Taft sophomore ETHAN BAROK had the top time, 16:40.0
Canoga Park senior ANGELINA VALLADARES was the top girl finisher in 18:58.0 and the 14th finisher overall.
Summer Training Camps
Cleveland - Big Bear - Aug 11th
Cleveland ‘23 XC Team - Gray’s Peak -Big Bear Lake
Cleveland girls varsity: (l-r) Kayla Lopez, Anisah Khan, Lucy Culliton, Siena Middleton, Eleanor Culliton, Ashley Leon Martinez, Emily Cardona
Cleveland boy’s varsity: (l-r) Bipin Kc, Joseph Vargas, Aaron Navarro, Sebastian Alarcon, Kevin Park, Nathaniel Melgoza, Elliot Lopez
JOSEPH VARGAS gets in an easy 3-mile run up Gray’s Peak on Cleveland’s final day at Big Bear.
The Culliton twins, Lucy and Eleanor, on Gray’s Peak. They’re top runners on the top-rated Cleveland team.
San Pedro’s top 3 girls were close behind
Senior ANISAH KHAN finishes a brilliant summer and is in top form to make big improvements in 2023.
Siena Middleton leads out the Cleveland girls up Grey’s Peak. In tow are Eleanor Culliton (not visible), Lucy Culliton, Emily Cardona, Yana Sen and Ashey Leon Martinez.
Kevin Park, Nathaniel Melgoza, Bipin Kc finishing up a run.
San Pedro - Mammoth Lakes - Aug 5th
The San Pedro runners who conquered Mammoth Rock (Cocoa hitched a ride up).
The Small Things Make a Difference - The great programs go the extra mile - each San Pedro runners records their daily mileage on their shirt.
#1 up the Mountain, CHRISTOPER FRELIX summits Mammoth Rock from Sherwin Creek.
#2 up the Mountain, EVAN HADEISHI.
San Pedro’s top 3 girls were close behind
Best smile after 1,500 vertical feet!
TAFT - Mammoth Lakes - August 4th
All 30 Taft campers pose in front of Twin Falls
Taft’s boys varsity running the Twin Lakes loop.
Taft girls varsity, too!
Taft coaches TRACY and MARIO
PALISADES - Mammoth Lakes - July 28th
The boys varsity cools down after their final run at Mammoth Lakes, an easy 5 miles around convict Lake.
The Pali girls, wearing their camp T’s proud!
The Small Things Make a Difference #2
(back of T-shirt)
MAX FIELDS finishes up an easy run at Convict Lake.
Siblings AXEL and LULU MAMMEN will play important roles in Palisades quest for team City Championships this season.
Sophomore BLAKE SIGWORTH (Front) should be one of Palisades top runners along with OWEN LEWICKY. They’re finishing up a 2nd loop on Convict Lake.
‘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’.
ENJOY!