Many of us wait all week for Saturday mornings and the chance to forget about work. But not the Wilson girls’ cross country team.
After finishing ninth at last year’s CIF-SS Cross Country Championships at Mt. SAC, the goal for this team has been clear ever since. And after 364 days of waiting, the Bruins were back in Walnut and ready to clock in.
“We came here for one job,” said senior team captain Ashlei Aguayo. “And it was just to go to State.”
In the last race of the day–the CIF-SS Division 1 girls’ final–the Wilson Bruins did their job, and made some history, too. Their sixth-place finish was the best ever for a Wilson girls’ team, and they became just the second team in program history to qualify for the CIF State Championships.
“I was actually on my way to the tent, and then I heard (on the loudspeaker), ‘Wilson qualifies for the first time since 2002!’ and I started clapping really loud and cheering,” said Aguayo. “It was just hard work that’s been paying off for this whole month. And since last year, we really wanted to go to State, and since we finally got it, it was just a happy moment for everyone. And as a team captain, it’s the greatest feeling ever.”
It’s been a steady build for the Wilson program in recent seasons, and what was once a young team of Bruins has matured into one of the top teams in the area, led by Moore League champion Nadia Mejia, who was the top finisher from Long Beach. Her time of 16:58 was a season best and was good for 13th position.
Despite sunny weather on Saturday morning, the heavy rains of the past week left the trademark hills at Mt. SAC too muddy for competition. That meant the “rain course” would be utilized, as it was for this year’s prelims and the CIF-SS finals two years ago.
“It felt weird, because we’re coming back and we’re doing the rain course, even though it’s sunny out, feels like sophomore year all over again,” said Mejia after the race. “It was really tough, it was just really a mix of all the top runners all together. Everyone was moving around, so I was kind of fighting through it with all that pain. It was either focus on breathing, focus on form, or just focus on speed, one or the other. So I kind of kept myself accountable for one thing at a time, but it seemed to pay off because I got 16:58.”
Mejia said she would have preferred the hillier course because she enjoys the challenge, but overall was happy to see the team achieve their goal and advance to next week. Junior Audrey Buckley was the next Bruin to finish, placing 37th in a time of 17:45, just ahead of Aguayo in 38th with a time of 17:49.
“It means a lot,” said Buckley of earning that State qualification. “We worked so hard all summer so I know today there was a lot of passion going into our race. I think everyone really gave their all all summer, and by the end, it was a really emotional time. We would have some workouts where we’d kind of end in tears, just because we wanted it so bad. So it means a lot to make it to State. It’s a really big deal, especially with our team being as good as it is.”
Buckley said she was a little surprised with how quickly the race started, and that her 5:28 first mile was the fastest she’d ever gone out. That fast start caught up to her in the third mile, but she was able to hang in for that Top 40 finish.
Junior Avery Errecart finished 58th in a time of 18:05, followed by classmate Riley Jones in 77th, clocking an 18:33 to round out the Top 5 for the Bruins. Their point total of 190 was just one point ahead of ML King in seventh, and 12 points clear of Beckman, the first team out of the State finals in eighth.
Freshman Ella George ran a time of 18:37 in her CIF debut and junior Leticia Tovar came across in 18:53 for the Bruins.
Long Beach had another representative in the D1 girls’ final as Millikan freshman Amberly McDowell showed out for the Rams. Her improvement has been impressive over the course of the season and she capped off the year running a PR of 17:40 to finish in 34th place.
“Just being in this race is a huge accomplishment, and throughout the race it was pretty hard, but I got a new PR by two seconds, so that feels pretty good,” said McDowell, who got some valuable experience from this race. “I just learned how fast people are, they’re, like, really fast.”
The Wilson Bruins will hope to be really fast next Saturday when they compete at the CIF State Championships in Fresno. The race will be held on Nov. 29 at Woodward Park to close out the 2025 cross country season.
