Thursday, November 7th was a historic day for Pacifica Christian, as both the boys and girls cross country teams won a San Joaquin League Title, the first league titles in cross country in school history. The Tritons were set to race at Mason Regional Park in Irvine, where most of the course was set on the walking path, with a few long stretches through some thick grass. Scoring is based on what place each runner finishes, so if the runner finishes third, that is three points, the team with the lowest total score after five runners is the winner. 

The girl's team who has earned themselves a spot in the CIF Rankings the past few weeks were set to race first and were the favorites heading into the meet. They did not disappoint, as they took first place with 35 points, over Samueli Academy who was only four points behind them. The Tritons also had three runners in the top five out of 52 runners. Junior Lila Glidewell took first with a time of 18:34, running a 6:11 mile pace, beating second place by over 10 seconds. Glidewell set a new course record for the league. Right behind her were seniors Ashley Gundlach and Akyli Maze who finished third and fourth respectively. Senior Katie Fischer crossed the finish line fourth for the Tritons, while Azaio Maze was the fifth runner in the Navy to cross the line. Glidewell, Gundlach, Maze, and Fischer were all awarded first-team all-league honors while first-year Head Coach Neil Massaro was awarded Coach of the Year for the girl's team. 

Running off the adrenaline from the girls' race, the boys' races were an additional highlight of the day as they took home the league title, a first for them in program history. The Tritons who had been running well, but were not the favorites, held off the Webb Schools by five points, finishing second, third, ninth, eleventh, and fifteenth. The Orange and Navy had two on the podium, Senior Josiah Cowell who crossed the line second with a time of 16:34, and freshman Joseph Gudinio who finished just seconds after Cowell. Senior Samuel Colluer was a few seconds after, crossing the line third for the Tritons, while Sophomore Wendell Stratton placed fourth for the squad. Junior Carson Brandenberger was fifth for the Orange and Navy with a time of 17:47. Cowell, Gudinio, Collier, and Stratton were all awarded first-team all-league. 

Post race, the Tritons also honored the five seniors on the squad, Ashley Gundlach, Akyli Maze, Katie Fischer, Samuel Collier, and Josiah Cowell. This is a core group for this program and they have left their mark on Triton Cross Country. 

Both teams will run in CIF Preliminaries on Friday, November 15th at Mt. San Antonio College. The girls will run in heat three of Division 5 at 8:58 am. The boys will race at 9:32 am in heat one of Division 5. 

CIF Prelim Information can be found HERE

San Joaquin League Results can be found HERE