Who needs three tries to get it right?
first Time was a charm for North Hollywood senior Ananya Balaraman, who was crowned the back-to-back Division 1 girls champion at the city sectional cross country finals Thursday at Elysian Park.
For the first time in section history, the final meet was held on a hilly course near Dodger Stadium, and despite the lack of familiarity, Balaraman clocked 19 minutes, 28 seconds on the roughly three-mile course to win by more than nine seconds over second-place Samantha Pacheco of Granada Hills.
“This is my first time… I didn't even get to do the run, although my coach pointed out a few things to look out for,” said Balaraman, who was the surprise winner with a personal best of 17:38 last year at Pierce College. “This course is harder than Pierce's. Even the descents are steep… you never get a break.”
Balaraman started the race in the lead group and conserved as much energy as possible.
“At the two-mile mark I started to pull away,” she said. “It means so much. I came into the season feeling tired. I've had a lot of ups and downs.”
Balaraman has already competed twice at the state championships in Fresno, running 20:12 as a sophomore and 18:29 last fall.
“This is my last time going forward and I would like to take even more time,” she said. “That's what I hope for.”
For her, defending the City title was harder than winning it.
“Last year I was an outsider—nobody knew who I was,” she recalled. “Everyone was wondering, 'Who is this?' This time I had a target on my back. Of course, morally it was more difficult.”
In the Division I boys race, senior Zach Cohen of Palisades set the early pace and held off Granada Hills' Joaquin Ortega-Tomaselli in the final steps to take first place in 16:24.40, the fastest time on the new Elysian Park course, which has been in use since 2022.
Zach Cohen closes in to win the city's Division I boys' race and lead Palisades to its fifth straight team title.
(Steve Galluzzo/For The Times)
Palisades captured the boys and girls team titles for the second time in three years, the boys won for the fifth time in a row and both finished eighth overall.
The experience paid off for Marshall's Fausto Noboa, who won the Division II boys race in 17:21.20.
“I've been through it a few times. It's become kind of like home ground,” said Noboa, who was first in the Northern League final on the same course. “There was always someone in front of me. Today I tried a new strategy that I may have to stick with.”
The Division II girls' race was a duel between two Eagle Rock sophomores, with Olivia Corrigan (20:11.40) and Fiona Walts (21:14.10) finishing first and second.
“We run together in practice, we push each other, and it helps us a lot,” said Corrigan, who led into the second mile. “I’ve never had any competition from my teammate and this is the best competition ever!”
Olivia Corrigan finished one-two among Eagle Rock sophomores in the city's Division II girls cross country championship race.
(Steve Galluzzo/For The Times)
The future looks bright for Larchmont Charter freshman Avery Cavaliere, who won the Division V girls' race in 20:45.50 despite being new to the sport.
“I've only been running since May – I used to play tennis, but I ran in the spring in high school and loved it. Our home course in San Pedro is very flat, so it was very different. I'm surprised at how much persistence I had.”
Angel Solorio won his second straight individual title and led Sun Valley Magnet to the Division V team title at the city section cross country championships on Thursday.
(Steve Galluzzo/For The Times)
Senior Angel Solorio of Sun Valley Magnet won the Division V boys race for the second straight time in 17:20.10.
“I won last year at Pierce by 16, but the tracks here just sucked the energy out of me,” Solorio said after leading the Pioneers to the team title.
Verdugo Hills sophomore Hannah Gallidoro won the Division III girls race in 21:51.10, while Franklin sophomore Yael Meza (18:06.10) won the boys title.
Belmont dominated both Division IV races. Sergio Guarchay (17:55.00) and Edwin Gomez (18:00.70) were first and second for the boys (to secure the Sentinels' record 21st team title), while Gabriella Zarate (21:03.90), Jessica Tecum (21:55.50), Daisy Gix (23:05.40) and Ashley Perrusquia (23:07.40) took the girls’ top four places.
