Sage Creek’s Josiah Bowman hopes to challenge nation’s best at Brooks National Cross Country Championships

Josiah Bowman is in one of those comfortable places that wherever he finishes in Saturday’s Brooks National Cross Country Championships, he’ll consider it a win.

The Sage Creek High School senior has set a goal of earning All-American honors, which go to the first 20 finishers over the rugged 3.1-mile Morley Field course at Balboa Park.

Bowman is not predicting a victory, although if the UCLA-bound senior is anywhere near the lead coming off the Upas Street Hill the second time, he would be in perfect position.

“I think I have one of the fastest 800-meter times in the field,” said Bowman, who last spring in the Meet of Champions at Arroyo High School clocked a 1:50.39 in the metric half-mile before dipping under 1:51 again at the state championships.

Arkansas’ Brian Burns — who earned one of the coveted Fleet Feet Golden Tickets to Saturday’s meet — recorded a 1:49.13 a year ago, but you get the idea.

“I want to prove how good I am in cross country,” said Bowman, 17. “I’ve already proved myself as one of the best in the state, but now I have a chance to run against the best in the nation. These guys are really good, every one of them.

“But I do have a couple of advantages. For one, no one in the boys’ field knows the course as well as I do. And two, I know the crowd will be behind me, being a local runner.”

Bowman qualified by placing fifth in the West Regional at Mt. SAC, a notoriously tough, hilly course that can sap the energy from even the best runners.

“I went for it, but once I realized I had a guaranteed spot (top 10), I backed off,” said Bowman. “So, you could say I was 95% all-out. But I had a training run the next day and felt great. Earning All-American honors, in my final high school cross country race, on my home course, would be outstanding, especially after my slow start.”

He was talking about his slow start to running cross country. As an eighth-grader, he entered the Carlsbad 5K and was “horrible,” he said. He went out for cross country as a freshman at Sage Creek to get in shape for track and enjoy the camaraderie that makes distance running a team sport.

By the end of his freshman year, he had a new opinion of cross country. By following coach Jason Jacobson’s patient plans, Bowman quickly improved his track times while gaining a new respect for running long distances.

“We had a good team his freshman and sophomore years, so he had no weight on his shoulders,” said Jacobson, whose boys and girls teams placed second and third at state this year. “He seemed excited about running cross country, but it was to get in better shape for track.

“He’s a competitor. Once he got into racing, it lit a fire under him. There are a lot of really fast guys in this race, so I think All-American is a reasonable goal. On the track, he’s incredibly talented, and this gives him something to shoot for in cross country.”

In the past, local runners like national champions Marc Davis (San Diego High School in 1986) and A.J. Acosta (El Camino in 2005) have come in as favorites and won. Similarly talented athletes like Meb Keflezighi (San Diego in 1993) and Kenan Pala (Francis Parker in 2021) have finished second.

No one is expecting that from Bowman, which is just the way he wants it.

46th Brooks National Cross Country Championships

When: Saturday

Where: Morley Field at Balboa Park

Schedule: Girls race at 9:15 a.m., boys race at 10 a.m.

Who: The top 10 runners out of four regionals, plus 10 runners who earned Fleet Feet Golden Tickets

What’s new: Brooks becomes only the third major sponsor in the 46th running of this event. Fleet Feet is a presenter. This year’s meet offers a major change: 10 runners have been awarded Golden Tickets, meaning they didn’t have to qualify in the regionals.

Girls preview: Two-time champion Elizabeth Leachman figured to be a prohibitive favorite, but injuries sidetracked her this season. Now that honor falls to Michigan’s Natasza Dudek, the unbeaten Nike National champion, and runner-up Blair Bartlett of New Jersey, both of whom earned Golden Tickets. Last year’s fifth-place finisher, Libby Dowty of Morgantown, Ind., finished fifth in the Midwest Regional; Virginia Kraus, an eighth-place finisher in 2024, was second in the Northeast Regional. Jaelyn Williams of Eastlake High School placed ninth here a year ago and last week was third at Nike after running the second-fastest time ever in the state championships. La Jolla’s Chiara Dailey will appear in her fourth straight national championship meet. Christian’s Elliana Patterson placed third in the West Regional, earning a spot.

Boys preview: Seniors grabbed the first eight places a year ago, which technically should make Sean Fries of Minnetonka, Minn., the early favorite. Nike champion Jackson Spencer of Herriman, Utah, and runner-up Yolanes Van Meerten of Flagstaff, Ariz., figure to challenge. All three earned Golden Tickets. Sage Creek senior Josiah Bowman placed fifth in the West Regional at 15:23.3, five seconds behind Symond Martin of Page, Ariz. Bowman is coming off a first-place finish in the section championships and a dominant win in the state Division 4 finals. No one in this race knows the course better.

STEVE BRAND