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.
Photo courtesy Chris Errecart
The iconic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon may be the home of the Ducks, but for three years running, it’s also served as a Bruin den. For the fourth year in a row, Wilson High traveled north and earned the team title at the Oregon Relays presented by AthleticNET, putting up some impressive performances early in the 2026 season.
The Bruins collected an impressive 169 team points, well ahead of Niwot High in second place with 100 points. Fittingly, it was the Bruins’ relays that led the way with some of the fastest times in California or the country this year.
In the girls’ 1600m sprint medley relay, the quartet of Jurnee Taylor, Kayla Brown, London Welch and Shariyah Lewis-Williams ran a 4:01.54 to take gold, running the second-best time in the U.S. this year.
In the boys’ race, Jai Pitre, Kyle Harris, Wyland Obando and Jordan Kincherlow placed second in 3:29.92, the second-best time in the state and 8th best in the nation. That mark also set a new meet record.
For the 800m sprint medley, Wilson took first place in both the boys’ and girls’ race, winning with times of 1:31.90 (6th in CA) and 1:45.46 (2nd in CA), respectively.
Wilson also swept gold in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays, with the girls’ squad of Kayla Brown, Brooklyn Fowler, Clara Adams and Saniah Varnado posting the No. 3 time in the state in the 4×200, running a 1:38.13, just outside of a national Top 10.
The girls’ 4×100 relay–Jayda Cigar-Dingle, Fowler, Asia Islam, and Brown–finished first in a time of 46.85, which is now the 7th best time in the state.
In the girls’ 4000m distance medley, the cross country quartet of Ashlei Aguayo, Ella George, Avery Errecart and Nadia Mejia combined to run a season-best time of 12:32.26 to claim gold in that event.
During the individual races, the Bruins also found plenty of success with three runners earning individual gold.
Varnado ran an impressive 41.71 to win the 300m hurdles, clocking a Top 5 time in the nation and No. 2 mark in California. She also placed 7th in the 100m hurdles in 14.63. In the boys’ hurdles, Kaleb Coombs placed 3rd in the 300m open hurdles with a PR of 39.25, good for 33rd in the U.S. this season.
Junior Clara Adams had an impressive double of her own, winning gold in the 400m with a time of 55.18, as teammate Brooke Blue took 9th in 57.55. Adams also placed 3rd in the 200m, running a 24.13 to log a Top 10 time in CA.
The girls’ 800m was a great event for the Bruins as Lewis-Williams won the race with a time of 2:10.01, a Top 20 time in the nation and Top 10 in California. Riley Jones ran a 2:13.61 to take 5th in the race.
In the distance races, Mejia placed 5th in the mile with a time of 5:04.83. Audrey Buckley ran a personal-best 10:57.86 in the two-mile to finish 6th, but that’s a Top 25 time in the nation and Top 5 in the state. Her time over 3200m is the second-fastest in school history.
Errecart finished sixth in her race over two miles, clocking an 11:07.19 for another Top 10 time in California this season.
Wilson will be back in action this weekend much closer to home, taking part in the prestigious Arcadia Invitational.
