The OVS boys and girls cross country teams defended their Omega League titles on Wednesday, with the girls securing back-to-back league championships and the boys claiming their fifth league title in a row.
Both teams battled near-triple digit temperatures at Wednesday’s league final, held at the flat-and-fast Soule Park cross county course in Ojai. Six OVS boys and three OVS girls earned Top 10 finisher medals, and both teams will now head to the CIF Southern Section prelims on Nov. 14-15 at the legendary Mt. SAC Cross Country course.
The boys team was dominant at Wednesday’s league championship, with each of the top six OVS runners earning Top 10 finisher medals.
As has been the case all season, the boys were led by senior Kai Ishikawa who defended his league title from last year.
Kai easily bested a talented Omega League field, winning the varsity race by more than a minute. He was followed by several OVS runners who recorded personal bests including junior Russell Zhuang who finished third overall, freshman Cash Vera who finished sixth and seniors Vincent Bell and Finn Marx, who finished in seventh and eighth place respectively.
“Given the work these athletes have put in this season, I figured we had a good shot at winning the league title, but what they did on Wednesday was really impressive,” OVS head coach Fred Alvarez said. “They weren’t just runners on Wednesday, they became racers, and the proof of that is in the results.”
The girls had a tougher time on their way to back-to-back league championships.
Due to injury and illness, the girls had not been able to assemble a complete five-person squad all season. But that changed on Wednesday, as the Spuds put nine runners on the starting line for the league final.
Junior Akyra Wachter led the Spuds with a second-place finish in Wednesday’s varsity race, but it was her teammates – specifically juniors Delaney Hanson and Celeste Ayala who finished in the Top Ten – who helped secure the league crown. Juniors Aashna Higbee and Laura Bell rounded out the scoring for the Spuds.
“It was a very hot day, but despite that, everyone pushed themselves super hard, and everyone did amazing,” said Aashna, whose 12th place overall finish helped secure the OVS victory.
Both teams now have just over two weeks to prepare to compete in the CIF preliminary meet, which is the gateway to the CIF Southern Section Cross Country Championships in late November.
“The league final is what we work toward all season, so everything after that is just gravy,” coach Alvarez said. “That said, we will prepare to the best of our ability and we will be ready to compete at CIF prelims.”
