Canyon Crest Academy’s cross country teams win Coastal League titles

It was a championship sweep for the Canyon Crest Academy cross country team at the NCC League Championships. On Nov. 8, more than 1,000  runners from 31 San Diego County high schools took on a challenging, hilly 5K course at Guajome Park in Oceanside to compete for their league championships. Led by Coach Andrew Corman, both the CCA boys and girls squads were victorious in the Coastal League finals.

In the boys’ race, senior Luca Caruso broke away on the final hill of the course, edging out teammate Cruz Espinoza for the win by seconds with a time of 15:52.90.  Canyon Crest’s depth sealed the team title, with senior Nolan Zerboni finishing fifth and senior Nolan Booth and sophomore Derek Su finishing 11th and 14th, respectively.

Torrey Pines sophomore Willam Boag placed fourth in the race and the Torrey Pines team finished in second, with a ninth place finish from sophomore Luka Trevino, with junior Kian Massoud finishing in 10th.

On the girls side, CCA senior Natalie O’Dell dominated from start to finish, crossing the line 13 seconds ahead of teammate, senior Joely Klaristenfeld. Strong finishes from seniors Lillian Pippel (fourth), Sophia Farber (seventh), and Paaramita Asuri (ninth) secured the team championship for the Raven runners.The Torrey Pines girls team finished in second with Torrey Pines freshman Mikayla Wilde placing sixth and senior Sophia Lesser with a top 10 finish.

The following weekend, runners took on the San Diego Section Cross Country Championships on a rainy and muddy day which resulted in a shortened 2.9-mile course at Balboa Park. In the Division 1 girls race, Joely Klaristenfeld took third place. In the boys race, CCA’s Cruz Espinoza finished in seventh and Torrey Pines’ William Boag placed ninth.

The top runners next move on to the state championships at Woodward Park on Nov. 29.