By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 42nd Woodbridge Cross Country Classic presented by ASICS America is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16 at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

Here are 10 storylines to follow at one of the largest and most prestigious high school meets in the country:

WATCH LIVE RUNNERSPACE WEBCAST SEPT. 15-16 OF 42ND WOODBRIDGE CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ASICS AMERICA 

Celebrating the next Sweet Sub-Sixteen

Ten female athletes have eclipsed the 16-minute barrier at the multiple venues in meet history, including Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High in California achieving the all-time Woodbridge performance of 15:42.6 last year at Great Park, which is the fastest 3-mile cross country effort in U.S. prep history.

However, none of the 10 competitors – including three former high school national cross country champions in Natalie Cook of Flower Mound in Texas, Brie Oakley from Grandview in Colorado and Sarah Baxter of Simi Valley in California, along with New Balance national indoor and outdoor mile winner Engelhardt – have produced multiple sub-16 marks at Woodbridge, which could change Saturday night in the Bob Day girls sweepstakes race.

Engelhardt and Payton Godsey of Oaks Christian in California, last year’s sweepstakes runner-up in 15:51.9, have the potential to make more history, but they might not be alone in achieving sub-16 efforts.

The record for most sub-16 performances in one year at Woodbridge is four, which occurred in the 2021 sweepstakes race at the SilverLakes Sports Complex.

That standard could be challenged Saturday, with Engelhardt and Godsey being joined by fellow California competitors Hanne Thomsen of Santa Rosa Montgomery, Chiara Dailey from La Jolla, Gioana Lopizzo of La Costa Canyon, Rylee Blade from Corona Santiago, Ashlyn Boothby of Scotts Valley, Holly Barker from Trabuco Hills and Tessa Buswell of Poway.

The girls sweepstakes field, which has the potential to be the deepest lineup ever assembled in a regular-season high school girls cross country race, also includes Jane Hedengren of Timpview High in Utah, Elizabeth Leachman from Boerne Champion as well as Alexandra Walsh of Southlake Carroll and sisters Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries from Flower Mound in Texas, Bethany Michalak and Tessa Walter of Air Academy in Colorado, Emily Wisniewski from Crescent Valley in Oregon and Stella Kermes of Cuthbertson in North Carolina.

Another run at a Lucky Thirteen

A record six competitors ran under 14 minutes in last year’s Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race, with Carson Noecker of Hartington Newcastle in Nebraska also eclipsing the barrier by running 13:49.7 to win the rated section.

Those seven sub-14 performances increased the total to 17 male athletes – including Aaron Sahlman and Colin Sahlman, as well as Leo Young, Lex Young and Nico Young all from Newbury Park in California – who have achieved the feat in meet history, but just like their female counterparts, none of the fastest all-time Woodbridge performers have been able to eclipse the prestigious barrier multiple times.

Jason Parra of Long Beach Millikan in California, who clocked 13:56.5 to secure fourth in last year’s sweepstakes, along with fifth-place finisher Josiah Tostenson from Crater High in Oregon and his 13:57.4 effort, both have opportunities to add to their legacies at Great Park.

Parra could be joined Saturday night by fellow California competitors Grant Morgenfeld of Palo Alto, Evan Noonan from Dana Hills, Emmanuel Perez of Cathedral, Carter Spradling from Clovis East, Joshua Bell of Templeton, Broen Holman from Sonora, Aydon Stefanopoulos of Los Gatos and Anthony Fast Horse from Ventura as potential sub-14 athletes.

JoJo Jourdon of Olympus and William Steadman from Herriman in Utah, Jack Meier of West Salem in Oregon, Caden Leonard, Zach Troutman, Alex Severson and Jude Alvarez from Southlake Carroll in Texas and Owen Whitney of Rock Canyon in Colorado are also sweepstakes challengers Saturday to eclipse the remarkable barrier.

Leo Young produced the fastest performance in meet history by running 13:38.1 in 2021 at SilverLakes Sports Complex. Tyrone Gorze of Crater High in Oregon ran 13:42.8 last season to elevate to No. 4 in meet history, achieving the top mark at Great Park.

Buchanan racing for remarkable repeat

In addition to producing the fastest team performance in meet history last season by clocking 82:33, Buchanan High from California also captured a third Bob Day girls sweepstakes title in the past six years with 91 points, in addition to the program’s fourth overall championship.

But the Bears have never achieved back-to-back victories at Woodbridge, also winning in 2005, 2017 and 2019 under veteran coach Brian Weaver.

Buchanan faces a tough challenge to defend its sweepstakes crown, with all the other top-five finishers from last season also returning in Southlake Carroll and Flower Mound from Texas, along with Cuthbertson of North Carolina and California rival JSerra.

The Bears are expected to have Kynzlee Buckley, Sierra Cornett and Elle Lomeli returning from last year’s winning sweepstakes lineup.

In addition, Air Academy from Colorado is making its Woodbridge debut one week after placing five athletes in the top 10 in the sweepstakes race Sept. 9 at the Liberty Bell Invitational at Heritage High in Littleton.

Buchanan, Flower Mound, Air Academy and Cuthbertson all placed in the top 10 at Nike Cross Nationals last year, with Southlake Carroll taking 11th and JSerra capturing 21st overall.

Desert Vista from Arizona was the last girls program outside California to secure a Woodbridge sweepstakes championship in 2016 at SilverLakes Sports Complex.

Great Oak of California was the last girls team to capture back-to-back sweepstakes titles in 2014-15, also at Great Park.

Soles seeking another double play

When Doug Soles was coaching at Great Oak High in California, if the Wolfpack captured one boys sweepstakes title, another one usually followed.

Soles has the opportunity to achieve the feat again Saturday as the coach at top-ranked Herriman High in Utah, after the Mustangs secured the sweepstakes crown last season with 117 points, becoming the first boys program outside California to earn the top prize since Mountain Vista of Colorado prevailed in 2016 at SilverLakes Sports Complex.

Soles guided Great Oak to back-to-back sweepstakes championships in 2014-15 at Great Park, and achieved the double again in 2017-18 at SilverLakes Sports Complex.

No boys program from outside California has captured back-to-back sweepstakes titles in meet history.

Herriman will reunite with all of the top-five finishers from last season, including Crater High of Oregon, Southlake Carroll from Texas and California teams Livermore Granada and Great Oak.

The Mustangs are expected to have Max Hofheins, Hyrum Wood and William Steadman returning from last year’s victorious sweepstakes lineup.

Herriman went on to take third at Nike Cross Nationals, with Crater finishing fourth, Great Oak securing sixth, Granada placing 16th and Southlake Carroll grabbing 20th in Oregon.

San Clemente, which finished seventh last season at NXN, is also part of Saturday’s sweepstakes field, after placing eighth at Woodbridge last year. Ventura is also expected to compete in the sweepstakes race following a 10th-place effort last season.

Plenty of statements to be made

Several of the fastest all-time marks achieved by athletes from states outside California are expected to be challenged Saturday in the girls sweepstakes race, with competitors from Colorado, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Utah all expected to be part of the exceptional field.

Jane Hedengren from Timpview and Cadence Kasprick of Grand County are aiming for the fastest Utah performance of 16:11.9 established last year by Julie Moore of Mountain View.

Bethany Michalak and Tessa Walter from Air Academy could both challenge the all-time Colorado effort of 15:53.6 produced by Brie Oakley of Grandview in her 2016 at the SilverLakes Sports Complex.

Emily Lamontagne of Arapahoe High ran the fastest mark by a Colorado female athlete at Great Park last year by clocking 16:05.4.

Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion, Alexandra Walsh from Southlake Carroll and Flower Mound twin sisters Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries all have aspirations to surpass the all-time Texas standard of 15:56.3 set by Flower Mound’s Natalie Cook in 2021 at SilverLakes Sports Complex.

Samantha Humphries took third in last year’s sweepstakes in 16:03.2, the fastest performance by a Texas female competitor at Great Park.

Stella Kermes from Cuthbertson looks to lower her all-time North Carolina effort after securing sixth in last year’s sweepstakes race in 16;09.0.

Emily Wisniewski of Crescent Valley is targeting the fastest Oregon performance in meet history of 16:33.9 by Sunset’s Lucy Huelskamp from 2019 at SilverLakes Sports Complex. Nicole Griffiths of Sunset ran 16:57.0 in 2015 for the top Oregon effort at Great Park.

Brooke Hooper of Pine Crest High in Florida, along with Molly Farrell from Marshall High in Illinois are both looking to become the first female athletes from their respective states to eclipse the 17-minute barrier at Woodbridge.

Looking to add to legacies

With competitors from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington expected to be part of the boys sweepstakes lineup Saturday, there is strong potential for several of the all-time performances from states outside California to be redefined.

After Tyrone Gorze of Crater High triumphed last season in 13:42.8, his teammate Josiah Tostenson has an opportunity to challenge the best Oregon performance in meet history, along with Jack Meier of West Salem. Tostenson took fifth last year in 13:57.4.

Orem’s Tayson Echohawk was runner-up last year in 13:49.3, the fastest all-time Utah effort, a standard that both JoJo Jourdon of Olympus and William Steadman from Herriman will pursue in the sweepstakes race.

Kevin Sanchez from Austin Vandegrift achieved the top all-time Texas mark by clocking 14:06.0 in 2021 at SilverLakes Sports Complex, with Southlake Carroll’s Logan Cantu running 14:20.7 last season for the fastest performance by a male athlete from the state at Great Park.

Southlake Carroll’s Caden Leonard, Zach Troutman, Jude Alvarez and Alex Severson all return for the Dragons after each athlete achieved sub-14:50 performances last year at Woodbridge.

Owen Whitney of Rock Canyon is looking to pursue the all-time effort by a Colorado competitor, achieved in 2018 by Palmer Ridge’s Brandon Hippie, who ran 14:32.0 at SilverLakes Sports Complex. Mountain Vista’s Paxton Smith achieved the top mark at Great Park by clocking 14:40.0 in 2015.

Northwest Christian’s Glenn Thomas is targeting the Arizona standard of 14:24.3 established by Rylan Stubbs from Campo Verde in 2017 at SilverLakes Sports Complex.

Mountain Ridge’s Payton Schneider clocked 14:45.5 last season at Great Park for the top Arizona performance, with Thomas running 14:53.0.

No athletes from Idaho, Nevada, Virginia and Washington have ever run under 14:40.0 on any course in meet history.

Faith Lutheran’s Logan Scott, Reno’s Eric Ortega-Gamill, Damonte Ranch’s Jackson Elliott and Bishop Gorman’s Jordan Kreisberger all have aspirations to make history for Nevada, with McCoy Brooks of Enumclaw looking to eclipse the barrier for the first time for Washington, as well as Berkley Nance of Mills Godwin pursuing a memorable performance for Virginia.

Ready for big ratings

With Orem High from Utah not returning for this year’s event and La Canada elevating to the sweepstakes race, the top two programs from the girls rated race last season won’t be part of Saturday’s field.

But the ‘B’ teams from Southlake Caroll in Texas and Herriman of Utah, who placed third and fourth in last year’s rated race, are scheduled to return Saturday.

In addition, California programs Bishop Amat, Anaheim Canyon and Santa Margarita – all part of last year’s sweepstakes field – are scheduled to compete Saturday in the rated race, as well as the ‘B’ lineup for JSerra.

Lyla Fedio of Redondo Union in California is the top athlete scheduled to return from last year’s rated race, finishing 11th in 17:10.0.

Other top competitors expected to participate in the rated race include Amaya Aramini of Bishop Manogue in Nevada, Elissa Schaeffer from Sunset in Oregon, Audrey Kaleba of Plano West in Texas, plus California athletes Clara Riddle from Immanuel, along with Laguna Beach’s Yolo Javier, Maria Carrillo’s Ashlin Mallon, Mater Dei’s Abigail Feldman, Mira Costa’s Alana Clarke, Shadow Hills’ Miranda Salcedo, Santa Margarita’s Alahna Thomas, South Pasadena teammates Abigail Errington and Amelie Geoffron, plus the St. Francis Sacramento pair of Kayla Towne and Grace Dunham.

Six competitors produced sub-17 performances in last year’s rated race, with Lydia Beus of Orem prevailing in 16:29.8.

Familiar faces pursuing faster paces

The top four teams from last year’s boys rated race – the ‘B’ lineups from Southlake Carroll of Texas and Herriman High in Utah, along with California programs Redondo Union and Thousand Oaks – are all scheduled to reacquaint themselves Saturday at Great Park.

Southlake Carroll prevented Herriman from sweeping both the boys sweepstakes and rated titles with a 143-183 victory.

Conroe The Woodlands from Texas adds an interesting dynamic to the race this year, following a ninth-place finish in the sweepstakes competition last season. The Highlanders rely on a tight pack that includes Bryson Meredith, Ethan Sharkowicz, Tyler Hedgepeth and Austin Roberts.

California competitors Kevin Sandoval of Glendora (15:00.7) and Liam Papvasiliou from Thousand Oaks (15:01.3) are expected to be the top returning athletes from last year’s rated field, after placing 27th and 29th, respectively, last season.

They are scheduled to be joined by other top California athletes Darrick Jacob of Agoura, in addition to Vacaville’s Jackson Stream, Camarillo’s Michael Lennox, El Toro’s Daniel Bulalacao, Santa Ana Foothill’s Jack Horrocks, Harvard-Westlake’s Grant Sykes, Maria Carrillo’s Jack Wilson, Rancho Cucamonga’s Prince Watkins, Sacred Heart Cathedral’s Miles Cook, Sage Creek’s Aidan O’Toole, Corona Santiago’s Antonio Olmos, Saugus’ Sebastian Peraza, South Pasadena’s Keeran Murray, West Ranch’s Jonathan Valles and Yucaipa’s Scott Caricato, plus the JSerra trio of Bradley Arrey, Alden Morales and Luke Friedl, Oaks Christian teammates Cooper McNee and Christian Yoder, as well as the Redondo Union pair of Adam Divinity and Kyle Nguyen.

Along with lineups from Southlake Carroll and Conroe The Woodlands, Texas is expected to be represented in the rated race by the Austin Vandegrift tandem of Hudson Haley and Dylan Schieffelin, El Paso Eastwood’s Danny Torres, Flower Mound’s Avinash Patel and Plano West’s Will Shepherd.

Utah is highlighted by Desert Hills’ Walker Brinkerhoff, Arizona has Hamilton’s Chase Markunas and Nevada is expected to be represented by Shadow Ridge’s Carson Wetzel.

Primed for the big time

The rated and sweepstakes races Saturday will showcase some of the rising young standouts around the country, with several promising freshmen having the opportunity to shine under the bright lights.

JSerra from California is expected to have Reese Holley competing in the girls sweepstakes race, with Hayden Kroger and Hutton Nelligan likely contributing to a quality ‘B’ lineup in the rated field, which is also scheduled to include Ashlin Mallon of Maria Carrillo.

Mariah Hook is scheduled to compete in the sweepstakes competition for Air Academy in Colorado, along with Eliana Rivera of Flower Mound in Texas and California ninth-graders Molly Sundgren from Buchanan, Anna Hill of Corona Santiago, Kristine Bickler from Cathedral Catholic, Giselle Renney of Clovis North and Kamilah Salim from West Torrance.

Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High in California boasts the fastest freshman female performance in meet history, running 16:04.6 in 2021 at SilverLakes Sports Complex. Buchanan’s Kynzlee Buckley produced the top freshman mark at Great Park by clocking 16:19.6 last season, contributing to a total of 23 ninth-graders in meet history to produce sub-17 efforts on any Woodbridge 3-mile layout.

The boys sweepstakes race has the potential to highlight California athletes Adrian Cantu of West Ranch and Jameson Wiley from Hart. Buchanan also has freshmen Andrew Ray and Dylan Rea as possible options in its lineup.

The boys rated field is expected to include Collin Goodwin from Austin Vandegrift in Texas and Prince Watkins of Rancho Cucamonga in California.

Michael Teran of Jurupa Hills ran 14:08.0 in 2014 at Great Park for the top performance by a ninth-grader in meet history. Only nine freshmen have eclipsed the 15-minute barrier on any Woodbridge course, including three athletes last year.

Fantastic Friday fuels weekend

Several elite athletes capable of competing in the rated or sweepstakes fields Saturday have decided to run instead in red or white division races Friday, setting an exciting tone for the impressive two-day schedule.

The California trio of Everett Capelle of St. Margaret’s, Malcolm Oakes from Convent and Stuart Hall, along with Alex Naehu of Palos Verdes all have the potential to produce significant performances on opening night.

Bishop Montgomery’s Matthew Shanahan, Mary Star of the Sea’s Finn Babbitt, Mission Viejo’s Troy Turner, Irvine’s Gunnar Hanson, Murrieta Valley’s Austin Vincent, Christian Brothers’ Samuel Nealon and Diego Mejia from Godinez are also California competitors seeking strong Friday performances, along with Nevada athletes William Higgins of Coronado, Andrew Poirier from Green Valley and Jack McMahon of Legacy.

Sabrina Colbert of Franklin High in Washington is one of several veteran female competitors racing Friday, along with expected California performers Melisse Djomby Enyawe from Corona del Mar, Natalie Wang of Palos Verdes, Tallula Murphree from Malibu, Ariya Kaushek of Menlo School, Sharice Laygo from Northwood, Sophie Guilfoile of Portola, Ella Murray from Marina, Kayla Giddings of San Marino, Ella Boyer from Esperanza and Norco twin sisters Emily Conde and Natalie Conde.