CIF SS Division I-V Preview
The 2024 cross country season was one that featured some insanely talented squads top to bottom, and as we move through this new era of track-flation, the 2025 season is surely going to be another season that shifts our notion of what is possible for high school distance runners here in Southern California. Before we begin delving into each division's top DAWGS, we want to make a couple things known first. While it's easy to meticulously dissect each division's top returning teams and hypothesize their potential for this upcoming season by looking at who is returning, what times have they run at Mt. SAC or Woodward park, and what times they ran this past track season. Nothing can indicate which squad of boys are going to endure the trials of miles this Summer and unite around a common vision of success this Fall eventually manifesting in the opportunity of a lifetime, standing atop the podium at Hilmer Lodge Stadium this November. So with that said, this article is intended to highlight some of the sharpest looking squads coming out of the 2024-2025 school year and give some kudos to squads who have really embodied the spirit of development that we feel is unique to our sport.
How we will go about previewing each division is we will offer a short recap of the 2024 season and then promptly dive into three superlatives featuring three of the top returning programs from each division. We will then mention some programs that are on our radar and offer our take on what they might be capable of. In this article, we are placing a heavy importance on which teams are returning quality times on the Mt. SAC and Woodward Park course. As many high schoolers experienced last Fall, the "faster" Mt. SAC course came with a bit of a learning curve, and in our humble observation, produced times similar to that of the state meet course. Since our post season here in the Southern Section runs through the treacherous hills of Mt. SAC, we believe it only makes sense to prioritize them when considering the strengths of each team. Without any more delay, here is our preview of the CIF SS Division I-V seasons!