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!