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The 2026 Metro Conference cross country championship meet is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, at Rohr Park. The San Diego Section championship meet follows Nov. 14 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
Two more highlight meets provide a great build up to the end of the season: the California state championships Nov. 28 in Fresno and the Brooks Nationals Dec. 12 in Balboa Park.
The Metro Conference finals will crown individual champions in both gender fields in the Metro-Mesa League, Metro-South Bay League and Metro-Pacific League Team championships will also be awarded in all three leagues.
The girls varsity race steps off at 12:30 p.m., followed by the boys varsity race at 1 p.m., the girls JV race at 1:30 p.m.and the boys JV race at 2 p.m.
The section finals are open entry, meaning there is no qualifying meet. The Metro finals are a standalone event.
The section finals remain a qualifying meet for the state championship meet. Teams qualify by division along with a select number of individual qualifiers.
The top three teams in both the Division I and Division II fields advance to the state meet while the top three boys and top four girls teams in Division III do so. Only the top two boys teams and top three girls teams in Division IV qualify while the top three boys and girls teams in Division V advance.
For individual qualifiers:
If two teams qualify for the state meet in a race, the top five highest-placed individuals not on a qualified team must finish among the top 12 place-finishers.
If three teams qualify for the state meet in a race, the top five highest-placed individuals not on a qualified team must finish among the top 14 place-finishers.
If four teams qualify for the state meet in a race, the top five highest-placed individuals not on a qualified team must finish among the top 16 place-finishers.
There are no alternates for the state meet.
The Brooks Invitational is seeded by invitation.
Boys team champions from last year include Poway (Division I), Mt. Carmel (Division II), Cathedral Catholic (Division III), Sage Creek (Division IV) and Francis Parker (Division V).
Girls team champions from last year include Canyon Crest Academy (Division I), Point Loma (Division II), Cathedral Catholic (Division III), Sage Creek (Division IV) and Santa Fe Christian (Division V).
Eastlake and Olympian are both contending to qualify for the state meet in the Division I boys field. They met up in a high profile dual meet last Friday with host Eastlake winning 20-40.
Top individual boys this season in the Metro-Mesa League include Olympian senior Micah Schenko, Eastlake juniors Anthony Manquero-Mendez and Padraic Kerns, Otay Ranch senior Santiago Blanco, Olympian junior Jaeden Arvizu, Bonita Vista junior Elias De Anda, Otay Ranch junior Noah Shorey, Eastlake junior Sergio Propst, Olympian junior Adrian Lara, Eastlake seniors Owen Anderson and Chayse McNamara, Eastlake junior Carlos Montenegro, Otay Ranch freshman Andre Hlucka, Eastlake sophomore Noah Cante, Olympian senoir Omar Moreles, Bonita Vista senior Julian Mason, Bonita Vista sophomore Dustin Mack, Otay Ranch senior Gabriel Kwak, Otay Ranch junior Gavin Warren, Otay Ranch senior Grady Stephens and Olympian sophomore Caleb Schenko.
Top individual girls this season in the Metro-Mesa League include Bonita Vista sophomore Betty George, Olympian junior Andrea Carrasco, Otay Ranch junior Sayen Osorio, Otay Ranch sophomore Eva Molano, Eastlake freshman Melanie Sanchez, Olympian freshman Kristy Rincon, Bonita Vista Nora Traba, Otay Ranch senior Sofia Carrillo, Eastlake junior Madeline Mahoney, Eastlake senior Asha Mohamed, Otay Ranch junior Ilana Devore, Eastlake senior Charlize Cruz, Bonita Vista sophomore Mila Arreola, Otay Ranch junior Lexi Hluckova and Otay Ranch sophomore Mina Vuong.
Manquero-Mendez finished 20 seconds ahead of Kerns and 27 seconds ahead of De Anda in the varsity boys field at the Eastlake-Bonita Vista dual on Oct. 22 while George topped the varsity girls field by a whopping 55 seconds ahead of runner-up Sanchez.
Sudden impact
Regular season dual competition ended last Friday with a pair of showcase meets: Olympian at Eastlake and Otay Ranch at Bonita Vista.
Eastlake and Olympian shared last year’s Metro-Mesa League championship. Eastlake captured last Friday’s highlight dual 2 with six of the top eight runners and seven of the top 10.
Manquero-Mendez (15:26.3) out-dueled Micah Schenko (15:34.1). Three Titans followed: Kerns (16:00.6), Montenegro (16:06.8) and Propst (16:11.6). Olympian’s Lara was sixth in the field, followed by two more EHS runners: Anderson (16:27.2) and Cante (16:39.6).
Otay Ranch placed six of the top eight finishers in last Friday’s 21-38 dual win at Bonita Vista, including top two finishers Blanco (15:55.8) and Shorey (16:10.3).De Anda (16:43.1) and Mack (16:50.9) were the top Barons immediately following the Mustang duo.
Manquero-Mendez has set a goal to finish among the top three place-finishers at the Division I meet. If so, he could help propel the Titans to the state meet.
Blanco and Shorey have similar goals of placing at CIF to qualify for state as individuals. Blanco, in fact, did last year in the rain (20th place medal).
“My goal is to go out and aim for league, aim for CIF,” Blanco said. “Be aggressive on the course.”
“Solid training, great coaching and stay healthy,” Shorey added.
Metro Conference league championships are weighted one half on dual meet finishes and one half on conference finals performance. Co-championships are not uncommon.
Lady first
George (15:15.3) remained undefeated in league with a commanding 59-second win over Otay Ranch’s senor Sofia Carrillo (16:14.0).
The Lady Mustangs were challenged in the top five finishing positions with three going to the host Lady Barons (first, third, fourth) and two for the Lady Mustangs (second, third). But Otay Ranch wrapped up the 26-33 dual win by filling out the remaining five scorers (sixth through 10th).
Can George dominate the combined Metro field with runners from the Metro-South Bay League and Metro-Pacific League also competing?
Despite her relative newness to the sport, she’s picked it up fast.
“I enjoy running, it’s a sport where you have to be disciplined,” she said.
She gained notice on the track and field oval last spring with strong finishes in the 1600 and 3200 distances. She also has played basketball.
“I like cross country more because it’s challenging. I kind of just run. I sprint on the flat surfaces and maintain my pace on rocky ground.
“It was the summer of eighth grade and I tried cross country just for fun. We had a time trial and I got first.”
She hasn’t stopped yet.
“I would love to go to state, God willing,” she said. “God shows the way for me.”
Around South County
Eastlake is the defending Metro-Mesa League girls champion while Hilltop won last year’s Metro-South Bay League girls title and Mar Vista swept both the boys and girls Metro-Pacific League banners.
Eastlake junior Kareli Rascon, a power on the track in the mid-distances, could be stepping back into action. Mater Dei Catholic’s top runners include junior Victoria Kelly, senior Jarika Chan, sophomore Kianna He and junior Dorella Oliva. Caslte Park is led on the course by freshmen Lina Meza and Jaslynn Perez,
Mar Vista’s top performers include sophomore Azaea Apodaca and seniors Chloe Azhocar, Varley Diaz Colin and Alegra Alcazar.
Southwest is the defending Metro-South Bay League boys champion. Top performers this season for the Raiders include seniors Esteban Aquilera, Carlos Martinez and Alan Barajas.
The Raiders slipped past Hilltop, 20-38, last Friday with six of the top eight finishers.
Other runners to watch include Mater Dei Catholic senior Manuel Hernandez, Hilltop sophomore Desmond Rodriguez, Hilltop freshman Iker Castro Sweetwater senior Ricardo Servin and Mar Vista sophomore Trevor Ehrhardt.
Otay Ranch High School: See how they run
Photos by Phillip Brents
