The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
There’s a budding, yet friendly rivalry brewing in Moore League girls’ cross country, with a pair of talented juniors who have gone back and forth during their high school careers.
Junior Avery Peck won the Moore League individual title as a freshman for Long Beach Poly, then Nadia Mejia won it last year as a sophomore for Millikan. Both runners have endured offseason injuries in their careers, but both should be healthy and ready to go at it in 2024, though their first head-to-head matchup will be delayed by a few weeks, and the names on the front of the jerseys will be different.
The team title went to Poly in 2023, and there’s no reason to assume the Jackrabbits will slow down this fall as they pursue a fourth consecutive Moore League crown.
“I’m feeling really good,” said head coach Mandy Wainfan of this year’s group. “I think this is, frankly, the strongest team that I’ve seen, maybe in the last decade … Their training has been super solid. They’re happy and healthy and motoring, even at the beginning of the season here. So I’m pretty stoked for the team at large.”
Peck should again be among the league’s best, and Wainfan has seen first hand how fast she can go. During an offseason club trip up to Mammoth, Wainfan actually challenged Peck to a race up a challenging route called Duck Pass. Wainfan–a former Division I runner at UC Davis who says she’s in the best shape of her life–is certainly no slouch, and wanted to see how Peck would handle the competition at altitude, making a 3,000-foot climb over almost four grueling miles.
“She smoked me. No question,” Wainfan admitted happily. “She’s been super healthy, super consistent, her workouts have been going great. Even at our Bun Run she was only 10 seconds away from her personal best. She’s injury-free, happy, healthy, and she’s definitely ready for something big this season.”
Other returners include senior Alexa Harnandez-Lujan, who finished third at league finals a season ago and has been a consistent varsity performer for the Jackrabbits over her career. Senior Emmie Chun has made huge strides from last season and should be one of Poly’s top runners in 2024. She’s already dropped a whopping 30 seconds off her PR, running a 19:02 in her season opener.
The Jackrabbits also added reinforcements with promising freshman Sienna Young, who is already looking like one of the top runners on the squad. Back in July, she competed for the Long Beach Flyers in the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships, placing 17th in the 3000m while competing against the nation’s best young distance runners.
Wainfan says there’s a strong group of 9-10 runners competing for those varsity spots, including returning talent like sophomores Poppy Wells and Hannah Marsh.
The biggest offseason story for Long Beach cross country was Nadia Mejia’s move from Millikan to Wilson. Mejia comes from a family of Bruins and will be an immediate difference-maker once her 30-day sit-out period ends in late September, after the first league meet at El Dorado.
“She’s like family,” said Bruins head coach C.J. Brewer, who coached Nadia’s older sister a decade ago at Wilson. “We have an instant athlete/coach connection, and are working hard together at bringing her back to ‘fighting shape’ after the injury she had during track season that had her sidelined for a couple months. Things have been very positive, she has been focused on getting better everyday and keeping her eyes focused on November.”
Brewer is the program director for cross country, who is heading up both the boys’ and girls’ program along with assistant coach Jorge Moscoso. They’ve got a younger group of runners with a big sophomore class competing at the varsity level.
Sophomore Avery Errecart turned heads by dropping an impressive 2:30 off her season-best time from last season when she ran at the Cool Breeze Invitational. Classmate Audrey Buckley also produced a massive PR in that race as both runners went sub-20 to start the year. Sophomore Olivia Jones has also seen improvement from her 9th grade times and classmate Leti Tovar is in the mix as well.
Junior Juanita Shotwell had a strong track season as an 800m runner during the spring, and Brewer is excited to see how she holds up in distance racing. Junior Ashlei Aguayo, and seniors Olivia Lugo and Andrea Sanchez are also expected to contribute for Wilson this year.
Mejia’s departure leaves some questions over at Millikan, where coach Pedro Ramirez sees a trio of returners leading the way for the Rams in the season ahead. Junior Madison Caceres and seniors Emma Buth and Yamile Rodriguez have stepped up as the top runners for Millikan and will look to provide leadership as a group.
“Those three girls are pretty close together, so right now I’m trying to get them to run together as much as possible,” Ramirez said. “From there, it’s kind of open.”
Sophomores Jocelyn Jimenez and Dali Ramirez are looking ready to contribute at the varsity level and round out the Top 5 for Millikan, as they hope to remain in the top three teams in the Moore League and earn a chance to compete at the CIF meet.
Lakewood head coach Daniel Sorenson is high on a pair of senior returners for the Lancers this season. Maia Lopez is looking to qualify for the CIF-SS meet, as she did during her sophomore season. Classmate Nikie Costa was limited by injuries in 2023 but will challenge for Lakewood’s top spot as a 12th grader.
There will be a small team at Cabrillo this season, with freshman Kattie Flores hoping to lay the foundation for the program moving forward.
St. Anthony continues to see its numbers rise in their cross country program, and there’s a trio of returners looking to lead the way for the Saints this year. Seniors Gabrielle Born and Alexandria Valdes bring experience to the lineup, and sophomore Olivia Contreras is back after earning All-League honors as a 9th grader.
“The girls have been working very hard and we have had an influx of sophomores and freshmen that have doubled the size of the girl’s team,” said third-year head coach Alejandro Salinas. “It will be exciting to see who will rise up and contribute to the varsity team.”
The Moore League season gets underway on Sep. 25 at El Dorado, with league finals set for Nov. 6 at Heartwell Park. The CIF-SS meet will be held on Nov. 23 at Mt. SAC.
