A close-knit team with big goals, boys’ cross country won the Division 1 CIF championships on Nov 15. The team took seven boys’ runners to the championship, with five of them making top twenty in the race.
In CIF, the XC team with the lowest score, accumulated by adding together all the team’s runners’ placements in the race, wins the overall title. Poway boys gathered a total score of 49, winning the race in a landslide by 57 points over San Marcos High School with 106 points.
Placing second overall, sophomore Blake Littrell was a key member in helping the team reach the victory. His final time was 15:09:60, only one second behind the first-place runner from San Marcos High School. On the morning of the race, it was pouring rain, which caused the mainly dirt course to be tracked in mud. “We haven’t ever ran in that type of rain, so overall it was a great experience and a very cool memory,” Littrell said.
With tremendous success so early on in his high school career, Littrell continues to impress coaches and teammates. “Blake was the one who really pulled his weight for the CIF win. He managed to step up when I was falling off and almost took the title for himself,” senior Cooper Castleberry said.
Castleberry’s final time was 15:20:00, coming in fifth place overall in the race. He also had a good experience running in the rain. “It made it way more interesting to run through flooded portions and do everything we could not to slip on the mud,” Castleberry said.
Senior Anthony Menlascino played a crucial role in the team’s success. His final time was 15:55:80, coming in thirteenth overall and fourth for the team. “Anthony came up big for the team. He closed the gap from our first runner to our fourth runner,” Littrell said.
After CIF, the team of seven headed for state championships on Nov. 29 in Woodward Park. The athletes ran a 5,000-meter race to place 9th as a team. Castleberry came in 6th place, Littrell at 39th, and Menolascino in 138th out of 202 runners. “We prepared by continuing our training and doing what we have been doing all year. Cutting down mileage and making sure we are all healthy is important,” Menlascino said.
