Friday night may be for the smaller schools at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, but that doesn't stop the big performances! We saw four girls enter the top 10 in the California rankings last night, with a total of 5 going under 17:30 (plus 5 guys breaking 15 minutes).
Girls Friday Night Highlights
It was the Varsity A race in the Red division that really brought the thunder, with Misty Diaz (Norwalk) taking the race out hard. She paid for her early lead, though, when Colony freshman Amber Rios took over late and won in 17:00.1. Lucina Vincent (El Dorado) took second with a 17:05.9 time, with Diaz coming across in third place. The team scoring was super muddled in the A race, with St. Lucy's winning at 137 points over Granite Hills (142). In the Red Varsity B race, Amanda Navarro (Elsinore) won in 17:41.4 as Trabuco Hills put Natalie Regalado and Bailey Watts 2-3 to take the team win.
The White division Varsity A race also produced a top time, with Mariah Moro (Notre Dame Sherman Oaks) pulling away from the field for a 23-second win, clocking 17:08.5. Sophie Gitlin finished second, leading her Flintridge Prep squad to a commanding win over Bishop Amat in the team scoring. Freshmen dominated the White Varsity B Race, with Sophia Gutierrez (Orange Lutheran) clocking 17:22.40 to outrace Kayley Bond (La Canada) and Minci Puskas (Bishop Gorman).
Boys Friday Night Highlights
The best boys' race of the night actually came from the Varsity B Race in the Red division, where Arizona's David Nelsen (Hamilton) blasted a 14:30.1 to defeat Caleb Terrill (West Torrance) and Gedeon Pichardo (Sunny Hills). That finish alone accounted for three of the five sub-15's on the night! West Torrance pulled out a narrow team victory over Sunny Hills in that race, 44-53. The Varsity A race in that division was also tight, although just a little slower: Hayden Johnson (South Torrance) ran 15:03.9 to hold off Mario Trasvina (El Camino Fundamental), but his team narrowly lost to Indio.
The trend continued in the White division, as the Varsity B race produced the other two sub-15 marks: Sean Byrn (Santa Margarita Catholic) won in 14:52.40, pulling away from Jose Mosqueda (Kerman) by 6 seconds. That race had the best team battle of the night, with Ocean View totaling 85 points to hold off El Segundo (91) and Dinuba (94). In the White Varsity A race, Seattle Prep (WA) had the most dominant team performance of the evening, scoring just 57 to Big Bear's 132. Another Washington standout won the race individually: Alec Ritter (Enumclaw WA) posted a 15:07.5 to defeat Jacob Erbes (Oaks Christian).