<\/p>\n
When a team wins the Moore League cross country title, they get more than just pride: they get a nice big trophy, to show off as they choose on campus until the conclusion of the following season. <\/span>And, for the last five years, that trophy hasn’t done nearly as much traveling as the runners competing to earn it. <\/span>In fact, it’s resided in the same trophy case, at Poly High School\u2014and today, at El Dorado Park at 3pm, the Jackrabbits will begin their quest for a record-tying sixth straight league title, against perhaps as stiff a field of competition as they’ve faced in the last five years. <\/span>Check out our brief primer on the top four programs, and be sure to come back tomorrow for our meet writeup, and a highlight video!<\/p>\n Poly The big names for Poly’s girls’ program\u2014Dynasty Gammage and Rachel Pavey, both juniors\u2014are looking to pace the ‘Rabbits on their quest for title defense. <\/span>But with the way cross country is scored, you need depth to truly compete\u2014which is why Poly is glad to have a quality crop of runners behind them. <\/span>There’s Elliott Gentile, who was an all-league selection as a freshman last season, as well as Tia Leake and Jessica Brock, the third-and-fourth finishers for Poly at the Woodbridge Invitational two weekends ago. <\/span>“We’ve had fifteen girls run varsity for us,” says Poly girls’ coach Nate Bershtel. <\/span>“We may run a very different team in the next league meet.” <\/span>With a stacked roster, it would be surprising if Poly didn’t come out of the first meet with an advantage, but it could be crowded at the top of the leaderboard, thanks to strong individual runners at Wilson, Lakewood and Millikan.<\/p>\n The boys’ side will likely be a lot closer, but Poly does return first team all-leaguers Sean Price and Christian Penn. <\/span>They may be led by Eric Riehl, one of the surprises of the Woodbridge race, as the junior ran a lifetime-best 15:18 to notch the league’s fastest time\u2014if he can continue to improve this season, they could hold off Wilson to sweep both genders, as well as capturing the team title.<\/p>\n For the boys’ and girls’ runners, top to bottom (scores from frosh\/soph and JV count in cross country as well as varsity), the Jackrabbits share that common goal: “They understand it’s the expectation,” says Bershtel. <\/span>“But not because of the streak\u2014that’s the goal of every team in the league, to win it.” <\/span>We’ll find out this afternoon if Poly takes their first steps towards doing just that.<\/p>\n Wilson The Bruins have proven to have a strong team throughout nonleague, with good finishes at Woodbridge and at last weekend’s Dana Hills invitational. <\/span>Edwin Rodriguez took an unblemished league record to LBCC after graduation last year, but plenty of runners will try to step up and fill his shoes. <\/span>Andrew Godsil, an all-league selection last year, will lead that pack, and he’ll be backed by senior Kamren Robinson (who also ran a sub-16 minute time at Woodbridge), and a very complete team behind them. <\/span>The Bruins had 6 of the top 16 league boys’ finishers at Woodbridge, and they’re very much in contention for a boys’ title this year.<\/p>\n On the girls’ side, Haley Kirk and Alexandra Grageda, both juniors, will lead the Bruins. <\/span>Wilson may finish high as a team even without putting a lot of runners in the top spots\u2014Lakewood and Millikan both placed higher runners than the Bruins at Dana Hills, but Wilson’s overall depth meant they finished highest as a program, coming in seventh.<\/p>\n Lakewood The Lancers might have the league’s most promising athlete of the future in Kirstyn Nold, a freshman who could challenge Gammage, Pavey, and Millikan’s Pettway for an individual title if she keeps getting faster. <\/span>She had the fastest girls’ time of the league teams at Dana Hills, as she won the freshman race outright by running an 18:08. <\/span>On the boys’ side they have a little more depth, with senior Sean Graham leading David Pleitez and Anthony Perry. <\/span>If Ian Nold steps into the role of a strong fourth, the Lancers could potentially compete with Poly and Wilson for the boys’ title\u2014they don’t show a lot of depth on the girls’ side, but watch Nold as she jockeys for position today in her first league race.<\/p>\n Millikan Millikan’s best runner is Paisley Pettway, a force to be reckoned with who will definitely compete with Gammage, Pavey, and Nold for the league title. <\/span>The senior was the second girls’ finisher in league at Woodbridge (behind Gammage), and took third in the senior race at Dana Hills last weekend\u2014she’s a competitive runner who has always seemed to leave a little gas left in the tank for the home stretch when we’ve covered her races. <\/span>That makes sense, since she was a top-three state finisher in the 800 in Fresno. <\/span> Behind Pettway, the Rams don’t have the depth of Poly or Wilson, but Kassandra Delgado, a junior, has potential. <\/span>On the boys’ side, they’ll hope for production from Pablo Cardenas and Zach Ellis, their top finishers from Dana Hills.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today at El Dorado Park, the Moore League cross country season kicks off\u2014check out our league preview to get up to speed on what teams will be out in front, and which runners you’ll want to keep your eye 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