The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2023-24 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by an anonymous donation, in appreciation of Coach Ron Allice.
The Millikan Rams dominated the boys’ cross country season last fall, led by super senior Jason Parra. The Rams hadn’t won a Moore League team championship in boys’ cross country since 1992, but led by Parra’s record-setting time of 14:30 at league finals, Millikan had seven of the top eight finishers to cruise to a long-awaited victory.
““It was very important for us to win the team title,” said Parra after his fourth consecutive win at Heartwell Park. “That was honestly the bigger goal in mind today. I thought we were gonna get it my first year, and I thought we were going to get it my junior year too. But destiny kind of slipped away from us–it feels so good to come out here and do it today.”
That was just the beginning for Parra, who went on to win a CIF-SS Division 1 title at Mt. SAC, and then a CIF State title at Woodward Park in Fresno. That made him just the second boys’ distance runner from Long Beach to win a state title, joining Poly’s Chad Durham who won in 1997.
After ruling California, Parra was invited to the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, becoming the second runner from Long Beach to earn that prestigious invitation. Parra finished 8th against the nation’s top distance runners, and had the fastest time of any California runner, closing out a memorable cross country career for Millikan.
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