XC 2022 CLOSER LOOK - LA CITY SECTION
* * *
Ten different Los Angeles City Section cross country teams captured section championships in 2021.
Some won by a wide margin -- Palisades Charter's boys won Division 1 with just 29 points.
Some won by the narrowest of margins -- Verdugo Hills boys won D-3 by just five points and the Mendez girls won D-4 by just four points.
One kept a title-win streak going -- Granada Hills Charter girls won a fourth D-1 title.
And another snapped a non-title streak -- Monroe boys won the Division 2 crown for the first time since 2009, and New West Charter won the D-5 crown, the program's first section title ever.
With so many different title scenarios playing out, the L.A. City Section showed its competitiveness in each division and how anything can happen in a given year.
Individually, six of the 10 champions, three boys and three in the girls divisions, were runners who are slated to return in 2022.
Division Changes: Angelou, D-1 to D-3; Diego Rivera, D-1 to D-2; Huntington Park, D-2 to D-1; Marquez, D-1 to D-2; Marshall, D-1 to D-2; Sylmar, D-1 to D-2; Canoga Park, D-3 to D-2; Fairfax D-2 to D-4; Legacy, D-3 to D-2; Jefferson, D-2 to D-3; King Drew, D-2 to D-3; Roosevelt, D-2 to D-1; University, D-2 to D-3; Downtown Magnets, D-3 to D-4; Roybal, D-4 to D-3; VAAS, D-3 to D-4; Sotomayor, D-4 to D-3; Collins Family, D-5 to D-4; Crenshaw, D-5 to D-4; Belmont, D-4 to D-5; Rise Kohyang, D-3 to D-5; and Rancho Dominguez, D-4 to D-5.
LA City Section Division Champions (Boys)
Division 1: Palisades Charter 29, El Camino Real Charter 59, Granada Hills Charter 97.
Division 2: Monroe 30, Bravo 87, Eagle Rock 124.
Division 3: Verdugo Hills 44, Franklin 49, Bernstein 90.
Division 4: East Valley 74, Mendez 91, Rancho Dominguez 91.
Division 5: Alliance Marc and Eva Stern 57, New West Charter 79, Sun Valley Magnet 93.
2022 L.A. City Section Cross-Country Finals
Saturday, November 19, L.A. Pierce College, Woodland Hills
Team To Watch Profile on MileSplit
Granada Hills Charter
BOYS
* * *
The newest chapter, 2022, is about to be written and it is worthwhile to remember the success of a few returning individual LA City Section champions who will have their sight set on defending their titles. Palisades Charter junior Max Fields (15:22.50, pictured above), Franklin's Francisco Rodriguez (15:48.10) and Rancho Dominguez Prep junior Alan Sotelo (17:53.50, pictured below) triumphed in CIF Division 1, Division 3 and Division 4, respectively.
Fields' success keyed Palisades Charter's dominating Division 1 team championship, besting El Camino Real Charter and Granada Hills Charter. Furthermore, the next highest placing returning runner in last year's section final was San Pedro's Daniel Ruiz, who finished fifth in 15:47.60. Ruiz is a senior this season.
In Division 2, Monroe's all-senior team comprised its 30 points to win the section championship handily. The top non-Monroe runner who is returning this fall is Venice sophomore Paul Tranquilla. He finished fifth in the section race in 16:49.60.
The Division 3 team title went to Verdugo Hills (44 points to runner-up Franklin's 49), which was led by Evan Ellersieck, who finished fifth in 16:44.60. Ellersieck will be a junior this season.
East Valley won the Division 4 title with 74 points and the top returning runner to help them in that quest was Ernesto Hernandez, who will be a sophomore this season. Hernandez finished 11th in 19:02.30. Sotelo's performance for Rancho Dominguez Prep helped the team equal Mendez in team points for second place.
Alliance Marc and Eva Stern came away with the CIF Division 5 team title despite a huge performance from New West Charter. The latter had three of the top four places secured, including champion and graduated senior Brandon Adreani (16:47.20) and current senior William Bujake finishing second in 17:34.50. But Stern got a big boost from Alvarado Ortiz Cristian's third-place finish (17:38.70) and Machic Jonathan's seventh-place mark (17:50.40), to win the team title. Both Cristian and Jonathan will be juniors this season.
Top Returning LA City Section Boys X-C Runners
Division 1
| 1 | Max Fields | 10 | Palisades Charter (LA) | 15:22.50 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Daniel Ruiz | 11 | San Pedro (LA) | 15:47.60 | 6 | ||
| 9 | Joseph Vargas | 10 | Cleveland (Grover) (LA) | 15:59.00 | 9 | ||
| 11 | Mateo Glass | 10 | El Camino Real Charter (LA) | 16:01.00 | 11 | ||
| 12 | Reece Robles | 11 | Granada Hills Charter (LA) | 16:01.30 | 12 | ||
| 13 | Adrian Sverlow-men | 11 | San Pedro (LA) | 16:03.60 | 13 | ||
| 15 | Isaac Torres | 11 | El Camino Real Charter (LA) | 16:11.00 | 15 | ||
Division 2
| 5 | Paul Tranquilla | 9 | Venice (LA) | 16:49.60 | 5 | ||
| 9 | Adam Lewis | 11 | Eagle Rock (LA) | 17:15.60 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Christopher Ramirez | 9 | Bravo (Francisco) Medical Magnet (LA) | 17:33.80 | 13 | ||
| 14 | Arman Vazquez | 9 | South East (LA) | 17:37.10 | 14 | ||
Division 3
| 1 | Francisco Rodriguez | 11 | Franklin (LA) | 15:48.10 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Jude Sandridge | 10 | Reseda (LA) | 15:56.00 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Ferbin Orellana | 11 | Bernstein (Helen) (LA) | 16:39.40 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Evan Ellersieck | 10 | Verdugo Hills (LA) | 16:44.60 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Carlos Argueta | 11 | Canoga Park (LA) | 16:55.60 | 7 | ||
| 8 | Dustin Harzmann | 10 | Verdugo Hills (LA) | 16:55.60 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Anthony Ragasa | 11 | Bernstein (Helen) (LA) | 17:08.30 | 9 | ||
| 13 | Jesus Gonzalez | 10 | Canoga Park (LA) | 17:37.00 | 13 | ||
| 15 | Jonathan Castro | 11 | Verdugo Hills (LA) | 17:42.60 | 15 | ||
Division 4
| 1 | Alan Sotelo | 10 | Rancho Dominguez Prep (LA) | 17:53.50 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Kevin Flores Nava | 10 | Animo Ralph Bunche Charter (LA) | 17:59.20 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Delen Fernandez | 11 | Vaughn Learning Center (LA) | 18:13.70 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Mynor Maldonado | 11 | Orthopedic Medical Magnet (LA) | 18:27.80 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Lucas Jia | 11 | LACES Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LA) | 18:42.50 | 7 | ||
| 11 | Ernesto Hernandez | 9 | East Valley (LA) | 19:02.30 | 11 | ||
| 13 | Miguel Morales | 11 | Mendez (LA) | 19:14.20 | 13 | ||
| 14 | Ricardo Espinosa | 10 | Rancho Dominguez Prep (LA) | 19:15.90 | 14 | ||
| 15 | Jesus Arteaga | 10 | Northridge Academy (LA) | 19:19.40 | 15 | ||
Division 5
| 2 | William Bujake | 11 | New West Charter School (LA) | 17:34.50 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Alvarado Ortiz Cristian | 10 | Alliance Marc & Eva Stern (LA) | 17:38.70 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Juan Morales | 11 | Central City Value Charter (LA) | 17:43.50 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Machic Jonathan | 10 | Alliance Marc & Eva Stern (LA) | 17:50.40 | 6 | ||
| 12 | Jose Meza | 10 | Oscar De La Hoya Charter (LA) | 18:26.20 | 11 | ||
| 13 | Felix Carmona | 11 | Alliance Marine (LA) | 18:26.30 | 12 | ||