The562’s cross country and track & field coverage is sponsored by Joe Carlson & Debbie Hughes.
As the sun set on the 2026 Moore League cross country season, a pair of familiar faces crossed the finish line first on Wednesday evening at Heartwell Park.
Millikan senior Hector Diaz and Wilson senior Audrey Buckley finished off a season sweep of the Moore League races while leading their teams to victory and retaining the Moore League trophies.
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Boys’ Varsity
For the first time in program history, the Millikan Rams have won four consecutive Moore League titles in boys’ cross country. The current senior class of Rams has never lost league, and it was fitting that a 12th grader would lead the way in their record-setting win.
“It feels great because it was a long time coming,” said Millikan head coach and alumnus Pedro Ramirez. “We’ve been trying for a long time. So to get four in a row, for this year’s seniors to always be part of that, I think it’s special. And I did go there, so it feels extra good.”
Diaz won the race with a time of 15:20.6, winning by nearly 10 seconds over the field while leading wire-to-wire. Four different runners traded off second place behind him, but Diaz never faltered at the front of the pack, running a smart and steady race for gold.
“It is a good honor to be able to race here one last time and win,” said Diaz, who dropped 2.5 seconds off his winning time at Heartwell back in September. “It’s pretty surreal. This is like my running home, I guess. My first ever practice was here when I was six or seven years old. So it’s pretty crazy just realizing that now. It’s a very joyful feeling to be able to win here, especially in my senior year.”
When asked what he would tell his younger self if he had the chance to go back in time more than a decade ago, Diaz offered an interesting response in his journey as a distance runner.
“Honestly, little me hated running. I really hated it,” Diaz admitted. “So one thing I would probably tell my younger self is, you might hate it right now, but just keep going through with it, and eventually you’re gonna make great memories, and you’re gonna have a lot of fun doing it.”
Interestingly, the top four finishers on Wednesday represented four different schools, with a pair of sophomores next in line after Diaz. Long Beach Poly’s Sawyer Chesnin took silver with a time of 15:30, dropping more than 16 seconds off his time from his last race at Heartwell. Wilson 10th grader David Nader ran a 15:41 to finish in third.
Lakewood junior Matthew Rangel was 10th in the first Heartwell race back in September, but moved all the way up to fourth at league finals with a time of 15:47.
Millikan showed off its depth from there, having all the finishers from spots 5-8 and the 10th place finisher. That group included Brandon Hinojosa-Garcia (15:52), Ricardo Linarez-Gutierrez (15:55), Jack Walsh (15:58), Sebastian McKiernan (16:00) and Jessie Hinojosa-Garcia (16:05). Poly’s Antonio Ramirez placed ninth in a time of 16:01.
Fidel Perez was Cabrillo’s top finisher in a time of 19:16, while Jordan’s top runner was Diego Moran with a time of 19:45.
Next up is the CIF-SS finals, where Ramirez is hopeful that things can come together for the Rams as they pursue a trip to state.
“We’re not firing on all cylinders yet,” Ramirez explained. “We’ve got a couple kids sick, a couple coming back from injuries, so I think we could do better than what we did today. We’re hoping to put everything together for hopefully a good run in CIF to get as far as we can.”
Girls’ Varsity
For the third time in as many races this Moore League season, Audrey Buckley proved to be the fastest runner in the city, claiming gold in a time of 17:26.9. As a team, Wilson had six runners in the top 11 spots, earning a third straight league title for the Bruins.
Buckley said she was nervous going into the race after not running at Mt. SAC over the weekend, but she said she was in a better place mentally and physically than she was the first time she ran at Heartwell this season, and her time reflected that.
“I felt really good,” said Buckley, who was nearly 16 seconds faster this time around. “The goal was just get out there and execute it. This is my last time ever running a Moore League race, and the past four years, I’ve been training to win this. There was nothing to lose. If I get last place, oh well, I’m not gonna be running here again. So I really went all out, and it was very meaningful, because it’s my last time here, and I won.”
For the first half of the race, Buckey was side-by-side with teammate Avery Errecart, who pushed her for a while before dropping back. Errecart posted a strong time of 17:41.5 to take silver, and joined Buckley in making some school history. Those are the two fastest times ever run by a Wilson girl at the Heartwell Park course, according to Bruins head coach CJ Brewer.
Buckley said the race felt like practice as she was able to run with one of her best friends next to her, and winning the team title for the third year in a row just added to the experience. The last time the Wilson girls won three league titles in a row was 2001-03.
“It feels amazing. To go out on such a high note, I think is really special,” Buckley said. “Also to lead the team to a big win is really exciting. And to have my family here to watch me do good; I did not start off super fast. My freshman year, I ran like 27 minutes at Mt. SAC, so I was not fast. So to come so far and to win league is a really big deal to me. And I know how much work I put into it as well. So I think it means just a little bit more with that.”
A trio of Millikan Rams followed the top two from Wilson, with Jocelyn Jimenez (3rd, 18:06), Amberly McDowell (4th, 18:26) and Sophie Rivera (5th, 18:30) rounding out the Top 5.
The next group was a collection of Bruins and Poly Jackrabbits, led by Wilson’s Ella George (6th, 18:33) and Isabelle Gabisan (7th, 18:39). Poly’s Sienna Young was next in 18:40, followed by Wilson’s Leticia Tovar in ninth, running an 18:55. Poppy Wells from Poly was in 10th place with a 19:09.
Delilah Beristain was Lakewood’s top finisher, clocking a 20:52, Jordan’s top runner was Shantel Larios in 26:29 and Cabrillo’s Eva Polo led the way for the Jags with a time of 31:00.
Next on the calendar is the CIF-SS Championships, with prelims on Nov. 13-14 and the finals on Nov. 21 at Mt. SAC. The Millikan boys are currently ranked the No. 12 team in Division 1, while the Wilson girls sit ninth in the latest D1 rankings.
