The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
Three Moore League schools will be at Mt. SAC on Saturday morning, hoping to run their way to State at the CIF-SS Cross Country Championships.
The day will get started bright and early at 7:45 a.m. with the Division 1 girls’ race, where Wilson and Long Beach Poly will face off once again.
The Bruins had a great showing at prelims last weekend, finishing as the No. 9 team in Division 1, led by junior Nadia Mejia with the 8th fastest time among individuals. It’s the first time since 2004 that Wilson has reached the finals as a team, and they’ll only need to improve by two spots in order to punch their ticket to Fresno, as the Top 7 teams automatically advance to the CIF State meet.
Moore League champions Long Beach Poly ended up at No. 11 in the combined D1 results, with junior Avery Peck posting the No. 6 time to lead the way for Long Beach’s runners.
Both teams will have a shot to make the Top 7, but will need to run a great race against a tough field. Should the teams remain on the outside looking in, there’s also a strong chance for both Peck and Mejia to earn an individual bid to State. Individual bids are given to the Top 5 runners who are not members of a State-bound team, so long as they finish in the Top 20 in their division.
In the boys’ race, the Millikan Rams are in a similar position ranking 12th in their division after prelims. With top runner Maximiliano Ramirez still out injured, the Rams are hoping for new runners to step up and lead their balanced squad to State. Led by Bryce Cobabe, the Rams had their Top 5 runners finish between 81st and 114th in the combined results.
The boys’ Division 1 race is scheduled for an 8:25 a.m. start time on Saturday.
CLICK HERE for live results provided by Finished Results.
