The Moore League cross country championship at Heartwell Park was another green and gold affair in the boys’ race. Long Beach Poly senior Ronan McMahon-Staggs officially stamped his name in the history books by winning an individual title (15:00) and his Jackrabbits won their 13th consecutive Moore League championship, and 23rd in the last 24 seasons.
McMahon-Staggs has been the league’s best distance runner this year and was the overwhelming favorite to bring home his first league title, but that didn’t mean he took the gold medal for granted.
“I was a little nervous before the race, I’ve been thinking about this for four years,” said McMahon-Staggs. “I wanted to go for it today.”
Poly took the top four spots, as Zane Witter, TJ Bryson, and Ezequiel Barraza finished behind him before Millikan’s Scott Kirchhoff finished in fifth (15:31). The Rams finished second in the team standings; Poly and Millikan will be joined in next weekend’s CIF Southern Section prelims by Wilson and Lakewood.
“I’m extremely happy,” said Poly coach Mike Fillipow. “The guys were like a freight train today, they’ve really risen up and run this season.”
Wilson’s top finisher was Cadel Elsesser (6th, 15:32), Lakewood’s was Aiden Alegria (16th, 16:17), Cabrillo’s was Salvador Hurtado (27th, 17:55), Compton’s was Jesus Lopez (30th, 18:23), and Jordan’s was Andrew Gallardo (31st, 18:28).
Moore League Boys’ Varsity Full Results
