Ryan Bautista | Head Editor/Layout Manager
December 5, 2025
In cross country, everyone wants the chance to be first. Everyone wants to be the best, or at least have the opportunity to. But too often in high school, the best cross country teams from around the country can’t compete with each other due to the fact that our country is big, and the teams don’t get enough funding to travel that far. If only there were a multi-billion-dollar company that would gather the best running teams and pay for them to compete against each other…Oh, thanks Nike!
Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) is a yearly competition hosted in Oregon where the best cross country teams from all over the country race against each other. The top two teams are selected from nine regions, and then there are four at-large bids. Once selected, the teams are flown to Oregon, housed at a fancy hotel, and given lots of food before they finally race. Also, each member of the team gets around $400 worth of Nike products. From shoes to sweats to jerseys, they get it all…for the low price of absolutely free.
Our high school team made it to NXN for the first time in 2022, where they placed seventh in the entire country. It was almost a mirror image in 2023, where our team placed eighth. After a brief hiatus last year, the cross country team is returning to the national stage to follow up a superb season. Oh yeah, and they’re all juniors. So another NXN trip may be in their future.
Last year, 2024, the team went into the season focusing on rebuilding. The national-competing team had just graduated, and the varsity team consisted of one junior and six sophomores. And yet, that team defied all expectations and made it to the state meet, a great accomplishment. This year, the team made it clear that they were aiming high…like Oregon high. They competed in every race, including the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational, against the top schools in the country. Senior Liem Sidhu, a varsity runner for the majority of the season, described how the season was “overall up-and-down, and it was tough competing against Beckman [High School] seemingly every week.” However, closing out the year with a win at the Mt. SAC Invitational and second-place finishes in both the Orange County and League Championships, the team was ready for the postseason. They proceeded to win their CIF D1 preliminary race and got second place in CIF D1 finals after a hard-fought battle against Beckman. Now comes the CIF State D1 race in Clovis, where they placed second in D1 and third in the entire state. This was good enough to get the call that they were going to Nike Cross Nationals. So, to summarize, the cross country team had an impressive season and has a bright future ahead as their entire team will be returning next year as seniors. Additionally, they are one of the only sports on campus to compete at the D1 level, they are the third-best team in the entire state, and they are competing at the national level.
In order to fully understand the team, I’ll introduce them to you. First off is Yohan Anderson, a junior who placed 11th in the state meet. With a best time of 14:10, he is poised to lead the team when they compete in Oregon. Next is Mattheus Dos Santos, who is coming off a track season where he made it all the way to the state meet in the 800 meter race as a sophomore. Magnus Johansson is the third man, whose consistent performances help center the team when they need it most. Then comes Erik Troester, who lights up the course with his amazing times and passion. If he comes out guns blazing in Oregon, our team will be in a great position to do well. The most important runner, the fifth man, is Conner Jaurigue, who never lets the weight of the moment stop him from competing and is coming off a great performance in the state meet. The next runner is a surprise, Gabriel Sech, who shaved nearly two minutes off his previous years in order to grab the varsity spot. Ben Wyman is next, ensuring that if one man goes down, he will step up and make sure our team does not suffer as a result. The same thing goes for Sidhu, senior Jonathan Gardener, and junior Tommy Suckiel, who train as alternates to make sure our team stays strong even if someone gets injured. Senior Jonathan Gardener is “happy that he can still be a part of the team” during this important stretch and “will always be ready to step in when they need it.”
After a great season, the boys cross country team is ready to seize the moment at Nike Cross Nationals. But looking beyond that next year, this group of runners will surely be one of, if not the best team in our entire school. Even if they are one of the most overlooked and underappreciated teams on campus.
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