The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
It’s hard to overstate just how successful Long Beach track & field programs have been recently, and the Wilson Bruins are right at the heart of that success.
Under the guidance of co-head coaches Shannon Fisher and Neil Nelson, the Bruins have asserted themselves as a national powerhouse. Now with a recent sponsorship deal with New Balance, the Bruins have a fresh new look, and even more resources as they look to add to their trophy collection this spring.
Girls’ Track & Field
All these Bruins know is winning State.
For three years running (pun intended) the Wilson girls have brought home the top prize in California, and they’re eager to do it again. Only one team in California history has even won four state titles in a row, and Wilson believes they’ve got the talent and depth to join their rivals from Long Beach Poly in that elite club.
“We take pride in knowing how to win a state title,” said Nelson. “Everybody can say, ‘Oh, you’re gonna win State.’ You have to know how to win State, and we take pride in knowing … Knowing how to take care of your body, knowing what to say to the kids, knowing how much mental this is, is important to us; what everyone on the outside doesn’t see.”
With superstars like Loren Webster, Kaylin Edwards, Alene Washington now off competing in college, it’s time for a new group of leaders to step into the spotlight for the Bruins. There’s a handful of impact seniors looking to set the tone for another deep and talented roster, with Brooke Blue the most experienced.
Blue has been on the team since her freshman year, and has the chance to finish high school with four CIF State Championship rings. A rare achievement anywhere, but especially in California, and Nelson says she’s “business-like” in how she approaches her work on the track, leading by example for the rest of the squad.
“I don’t know if anybody can say they ever did that, so I’m really hoping to do that,” said Blue of her pursuit of a fourth State title. “I just want to leave my team and be a good leader. I know everybody has potential to do great. Everybody’s been doing great all these years, and I know they will do even better this year. So I have high expectations, and I feel like I know we will win.“
Coach Nelson can hardly contain his excitement when talking about this year’s group, which may actually be the best one yet, as hard as that is to believe. With an influx of exciting new talent joining a successful core, the Bruins may just have the firepower to make some history again this season.
“It’s already shown by just their performance at the all comers meet, and the indoor season,” said Nelson. “We did one indoor meet, and we’re way ahead of where we were in any other year. So that’s showing a lot … We believe it’s our best team. It’s hard to say better than last year, but it’s just getting these young girls to buy in, and we think they already bought in.”
As is often the case, the Bruins will be strong in the middle distances, led by the defending California champs in the 4x400m relay. Blue joins junior Saniah Varnado as returners on that championship relay. Varnado has benefitted from a healthy buildup to this season, which she hasn’t had the past two years.
There’s competition for the other two spots, but surely junior Clara Adams will be in the mix as a high-profile talent joining the Bruins from North Salinas High School. Adams ran the fastest 400m time (53.24) at last year’s State finals as a sophomore, but was disqualified from that event, and the 200m (where she was the No. 2 qualifier), due to some post-race theatrics.
Adams was handed a fire extinguisher, and in a nod to former track star Maurice Greene, “extinguished” her spikes on the infield after the race. Headlines and discussion followed about the decision to DQ her and take her title away, but that dialogue has no bearing on her talent and what she can add to an already potent lineup at Wilson. Adams ran a 54.62 to win the 400m indoors at the Simplot Games back in February.
Wilson also has some exciting freshmen sprinters ready to compete for a spot in the lineup. London Welch ran as part of the Blazin’ Bruins 4x400m relay at Simplot, and helped them run a faster time than last year’s relay put down to open the 2025 season. Fellow ninth grader Jayda Cigar-Tindle has also impressed in the sprints and adds to Wilson’s depth of talent.
Sophomore Brooklyn Fowler actually had the fastest split on that 4x400m relay, which had a cumulative time of 3:48.70 running on boards. Add in sophomores Kayla Brown in the sprints and Asia Islam in the sprints and hurdles, and there’s an exciting crop of talent both now and in the years ahead.
“It’s a bunch of girls who are very competitive, and very selfish in a good way,” Nelson explained. “To where they want to be the one. Yeah, they’re going to cheer for their teammates, but they want to be the main one that’s running all the fast times and being on top.”
The Bruins will also be strong in the 800 and 4x800m relay, an event which will be added to the CIF-SS meet starting this year. Junior Shirayah Lewis-Williams is back after finishing fifth at State as a sophomore. She’ll be joined by senior Kimani Tindal and junior Riley Jones as the top runners in that event.
Wilson’s Moore League champion and State qualifying cross country team will lend some athletes on the distance side, led by senior Nadia Mejia, who may also dip down into the 800 as needed.
In the field, the Bruins have an accomplished jumper in senior Journii Spencer, who made it to the State prelims in the triple jump a season ago and is eager to make it to the final day and score some points for the Bruins.
Wilson also has a pole vaulter making rapid improvements in Hannah Turndorf, who was new to the sport last year and has already cleared 10 feet for the first time as a junior. The goal is for her to clear 12-13 feet by the end of the season.
There’s a lot to sort out between now and the CIF State Championships at season’s end, but it’s safe to say that the Wilson Bruins have no intention of letting their title streak end. And with the roster they’ve got, it’ll take something special to knock them off their throne.
Boys’ Track & Field
Over the past five seasons, the Wilson boys’ track team has brought home some serious hardware. The Bruins have won a pair of gold plaques and a silver at the CIF-Souther Section Championships, and if not for the success of the girls’ program, they’d be feeling like top dogs on campus.
With returning top-end talent and improved depth in 2026, the boys’ team is looking strong once again, and they’ll be a tough team to deal with at any meet they attend.
Leading the way for the Bruins is senior Wyland Obando (pictured below), the returning California champ in the 800m. He took silver in that event as a junior and won it as an 11th grader in a time of 1:51.24. He’s already run a 1:52 split during a sprint medley relay in the indoor season, and will be competing at the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York this weekend.
“I’m really excited,” said Obando of his senior season. “I’ve been putting in the work. The team’s been putting in work. The boys are going to be up there this year with the girls, you know. We have a lot of strong legs coming in, a lot of young people that are going to be fast. We might have a 4×100 this year. So we’re gonna be up there for sure.”
In addition to his national prominence in the 800, Obando has been working on the 400 as well as he looks to help the team in both those middle distances and their respective relays. That would lead to a lot of mileage, but Obando says he’s up for it and will be a valuable leader for the Bruins in 2026.
Having him as a leader definitely has a lot of value, pushing the guys along and making sure they don’t take reps off,” said Wilson co-head coach Shannon Fisher of Obando’s presence. “He’s motivating them to help him win the state title on his way out as a senior. So it’s definitely been valuable. It takes a lot of pressure off us when we know we can send a group over there with Wyland and they’re gonna run.”
Joining Obando on Wilson’s 4x400m relay is junior Kaedyn Burroughs, who was part of last year’s relay that placed fifth at the CIF State meet. This year’s quartet opened the season with an even better time than last year’s squad, putting down a 3:17.22 at Simplot indoors.
Burroughs is a star in the making who finished fifth in the 200m at the CIF-SS finals and was also fifth at the CIF State meet in the 400m, running a 47.46 in the finals.
Senior Jai Pitre ran a split of 49.5 to open the season in the 4×400, and he also adds depth and experience in the 800. That’s a race where the Bruins figure to have plenty of options in the 4×800 relay and will benefit from that event being added to the CIF-SS scoring this year.
Jordan Kincherlow adds senior experience and was a second-place finisher in the 800m at Moore League finals, trailing only Obando in that race. Senior Antoine Kelly has dropped time heading into his final season and should be in the 800 mix as well, along with cross country seniors like Tommy Pincherli and Matthew Searles.
Junior Dillon Varnado, who is the twin brother of Saniah on the girls’ team, has made some serious strides since first arriving on campus. If he continues to tap into his potential, he could be a real asset for the Bruins over his final two years of high school.
“He’s the scary one,” said Fisher of Varnado. “He’s the one that I saw, even though he had slow times coming in, I felt by the time he graduated, people were gonna know his name.”
The track & field program is also bringing in some athletes from football, welcoming a couple youngsters with loads of potential. Sophomore Kyle Harris earned a reputation as an elite kickoff returner for the Bruins but is now part of an emerging sprints crew. Freshman Cahmarr Davis has his coaches excited not only in the sprints but in the long jump as well.
“With the football players, we may actually have a decent 4×100 this year,” Fisher said. “A lot of people think we’re not a short sprint school, but if we get the short sprinters, we become a short sprint school.”
The Bruins also have a few impact hurdlers, led by emerging juniors Kaleb Coombs and Za’kye Surles, both ready to make the jump to varsity level. Surles was the Moore League’s JV champ in the 300 hurdles last season as a sophomore.
Wilson will host their annual New Balance California Relays on Mar. 20-21, and will be making stops at national meets like Oregon Relays, Arcadia Invitational and the Mt. SAC Relays in April, leading up to Moore League finals on Apr. 30 at Long Beach Poly.
