Rather than go to school with their peers on Nov. 9 and 10, top cross country runners from six Santa Maria-area high schools hopped onto team vans or buses, and headed south.
Though they had slightly different starting points, the runners shared the same destination: Riverside City Cross Country Course.
There, they were joined by dozens more of the best runners in the state—hailing from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles—for the CIF Southern Section preliminaries race.
“I have no words to explain how happy and excited I am,” St. Joseph High School freshman runner Alexis Medina told the Sun via phone a day before she and her teammates would make the trek to Orange County.
Medina has every reason to be psyched.
Each year, boys’ and girls’ cross country teams throughout the state mark the November CIF races on their calendars. They’re what the whole season builds toward. But not every team winds up qualifying. It’s like the playoffs for football or basketball; you have to earn the chance to compete against the best of the best.
“We train in July to run in November,” explained Matt Wuchner, a St. Joe’s cross country coach. “And now’s the time to put everything we’ve been working on since July into effect.”
The preliminaries meet, on Nov. 10 and 11, is teams’ and individuals’ chance to qualify for the CIF Southern Section finals meet, held on Nov. 17 and 18. If a team or runner finishes near the top at prelims, they’re promised a spot in the section finals. Kill it in the finals, and you get a crack at the state meet.
But to even get invited to the CIF prelims, runners have to prove themselves in the league races throughout the season. For St. Joe’s Medina, who said she was determined to be running in November as a freshman, that meant shaving down her mile time over the course of the season, from 6:40 to 6:05.
And her determination was contagious. Senior runner Clare Wheeler told the Sun that her teammates’ enthusiasm made the St. Joe’s team click this season. Because the Knights are so young (their other top runner, Katie Magni, is also a freshman), Wheeler admitted that the team’s success surprised her at first. Now, she has the highest of expectations for the team.
“It was really amazing to see us all improve meet by meet,” Wheeler said. “I feel like we have a lot of new runners who are a lot more enthusiastic about running. Seeing these young ladies really stepping up has given us a lot of oomph.”
The boys’ team at St. Joe’s has also excelled this season and easily qualified for the CIF meet. They’re led by junior Joseph Domingues, Jacob Gomez, Chancellor Roach, and Bryce Edens.
Joining St. Joe’s in Riverside for CIF prelims were the Santa Maria boys’ team, Lompoc boys’, Cabrillo boys’ and girls’, Santa Ynez girls’, and Nipomo boys’.
Santa Maria won its first Los Padres League cross country title ever in school history on Nov. 1. The Saints ended up racing Division 1 in CIFs, which is “the hardest division in the entire nation,” according to head coach Brian Wallace.
“We got a tough draw, but that’s OK,” Wallace said.
He added that the mindset of the team going into CIFs is a lot different this season.
“We went last year and we were just really happy to be there,” Wallace said. “This year, the kids are much more focused, which is cool for me because it’s a whole other level of coaching.”
The Saints like to run as a unit, with Cesar Ayuso leading the way and John Barajas, Jose Lepe, Dennis Tello, and Alexis Garcia not far behind.
Santa Ynez girls’ are also in the mix, led by senior Emily Donahue, who finished second overall at the Los Padres League finals meet. The Cabrillo girls’ team stars Elena Estrada, and the Cabrillo boys’ team, Nathan Schwartz. Devin Diaz and Joe Gocke headlined the Nipomo boys’ team; they were the top two finishers in the Los Padres League finals. Lompoc boys’ were also in Riverside, led by junior Greg Wuitschick.
Contributor Peter Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 16-23, 2017.