Senior Cooper Castleberry and junior Alessandra Santavicca are two key members of the Poway Cross Country boys’ and girls’ teams.
A third-year captain and standout runner, Castleberry crushed the competition on Oct. 18 at the team’s second league cluster of the season, combining Palomar League and Coastal League on a course through Del Norte High School.
“This was probably my best race of this season, running a personal record (PR) of 14:14 and winning the race,” Castleberry said.
He’s no stranger to the podium, having gained a California Interscholastic Federation, San Diego Section (CIF) Champion title in 2024 and breaking his own school records.
The league race also harbored his favorite memories of the season so far, as he loves seeing teammates succeed.
“A lot of PR’s for our guys and girls who gave up Homecoming that night for the team, and just altogether some standout performances,” Castleberry said.
Castleberry plans to keep his passion for running as a major part of his life in the future, with prospects wanting him to compete in college as a Division 1 athlete.
“My decision should be made by the end of this cross-country season,” Castleberry said.
A captain of the girls’ cross country team, Santavicca is on the up and up this season, also hitting a PR in the team’s most recent meet of a 17:14 for three miles, earning fourth place.
“I really enjoyed the race because I liked the course. It had great competition, and I enjoyed running at night under the lights,” Santavicca said.
Throughout her time in the program, she is most proud of qualifying for the state championships consecutively in 2023 and 2024.
“This season, my biggest achievement is being ranked in the top five for North County and the top twelve for all of San Diego County,” Santavicca said.
As a unit, Santavicca believes the team is doing better than ever.
“Our team is super close, and everyone has been improving and getting faster as the season goes on,” Santavicca said.
Beating out Cathedral Catholic (CCA) and Del Norte High School at the CCA Invitational and coming in second as a girls’ team gave them a big confidence boost, with many girls’ scores making the team soar.
“We have a few new freshmen who have been really stepping up and pushing the team to be even better,” Santavicca said.
She was awarded MVP of the girls’ team last year and received a sportsmanship award. She also plans on running at the collegiate level.
Fellow teammate Madison Li believes both of the athletes are an essential part of the team building that comes with the sport.
“Ally always pushes us to be the best. She knows our potential and always boosts our confidence. Cooper has been leading the pack for three years now and led the boys team to being one of the top teams in the country,” Li said.
Both teams’ next meet will be on Nov. 1 at University City High School for the HOKA Postal 2-mile race, with CIF Championships just weeks away on Nov. 15.
At at the Mt. Sac Invitational Oct. 24-25, Cas- tleberry placed 4th with a time of 14:54.3 and San- tavicca placed 9th
with 18:26.1
