After a long season, Boys Cross Country ended up qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation League Preliminaries. This is the start of an exciting postseason for the team and program. These Prelims are going to be held Nov. 14th and Nov. 15th with lots of competition and possibly one of if not the most important races of the season.
CIF is where athletes see many new challenges and competition, which can lead to new experiences for the team. CIF also boasts some of the best runners in Southern California, where 30 teams compete for a CIF playoff spot. Just like any other meet, it requires a lot of personal and individual effort to pull off a good placement to get to the ultimate goal of winning CIF.
As the end of the Cross Country season came to a close, the boys team looked back on many months of hardwork, discipline and dedication. The last meets of the regular season included the 77th Annual Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational, located at Mt. San Antonio College, and the Sea View League Finals, located at the Irvine Regional Park.
In these meets, to end a great 2025-2026 season, Aliso Niguel placed fourth overall in the 77th Mt. SAC Invitational ,which led them to another fourth place finish at the SVL League Finals, falling just short of the top three in both of these meets. These performances can help us see that the Cross Country team is getting ready to run for one of the most important meets of the season especially as they continue in the post season to show that they have something to prove and offer against these other schools.
Runner Jasper Crowther-Townsend (10) comments, “The whole team is getting ready for CIF because we really want to qualify and make it far, especially to the finals because we actually have a really good chance of winning this year.”
The postseason demands even greater preparation, strategy and mental fortitude for the athletes, because it is the time of some of the most important meets.
As seniors come to the end of their high school Cross Country career, the postseason is where they have their final meets to show their leadership that they have been giving all season long, so the underclassmen can be inspired and confident going into these meets.
Runner Hitesh Hariharan (10) says, “Every mile will all be worth it in the end if we do end up going all the way to finals and winning it all.”
As the Boys Cross Country team moves on from the regular season onto the offseason, they must still bring the same intensity and confidence that they have been building for many months. Qualifying for CIF Preliminaries is a big achievement for the team; it is also a big reminder that they are capable of making it all the way to the finals, and that they must push their limits and support each other as a team. Their journey of a very long and hard-fought season can guide them throughout the postseason to hopefully a very strong win in CIF.
