After a decade of failing to rank in the top 10 polls of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division 1 Cross Country, Valencia High School’s Boys’ Cross Country program has officially ranked as number eight.

With a dedicated team and coach, the boys are racing their way to the top of their division, one finish line at a time. 

The last time the team received a ranking according to CIF was back in 2017 when the team ranked 13th. Until this past week’s ratings released on Oct. 25, 2021 they had not seen a similar ranking in many years. 

This eighth place ranking comes after a resoundingly successful season thus far for the athletes. In the past three meets the team competed in, they ranked in the top three. 

On Oct. 23, the team ranked third, only one point away from second out of 21 teams at the Mt Sac Invitational. On Oct. 9, at the Santa Clarita Valley Invitational, the team pulled through with a first place win over 20 other teams. Back on Oct. 2, the team once again competed as one of 21 teams placing third overall at the Brea XC Invitational. 

Standout senior and team captain Joseph Pohlot along with rising star sophomore Ayden Buchanan, junior Tyler Chang, senior captain Ivan Artieda, senior Julian Escala, senior Miles Jo, sophomore Grant Young, senior Jonathan Casis, senior Conner Young and senior Bracken Hay, the Valencia team has been showing up to compete and make their name in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings. 

According to fans, senior captains Pohlet and Artieda have pushed the entire team with their dedication to hard work and sportsmanship. With consistent outstanding performances with following placements from Pohlet, Buchanan and the rest of the team, Valencia is undoubtedly the up and coming team in their division. 

Sophomore Ayden Buchanan is making history in his own way, consistently running remarkably fast times in all of his races, breaking sophomore records for his school. Buchanan also recently earned the team a first place win in the 40th Woodbridge Cross Country Classic for sophomores (245 entries and 3 miles).  Ayden Buchanan also broke the 2008 VHS sophomore 5000 meter record by 2.4 seconds, according to his father Michael Buchanan. 

With these promising runners and stellar leadership, the team is making their way up to even more placings and championships. With continued dedication, training, and perseverance, the team is sure to see even more wins and even higher rankings in the coming weeks. 

To view the Oct. 25 CIF Southern Section polls, click here.

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