On Nov. 6, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) cross country team laced their shoes and stepped up to the line at Camino Real Park for the Tri-County Athletics Association (TCAA) League Finals. Both the girls and boys teams scored a total of 31 points, the lowest in each race, which earned both teams the TCAA League title.
The meet served as a finale for the regular season and also signified the approaching challenge of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) postseason.
“It’s starting to feel more real as we head into CIF. It definitely brings more nerves to perform, but also more excitement,” Keera Wallace ‘26 said.
The girls’ race was led by Wallace, who ran a time of 18:58.1. Her time was fast enough to take first place by a margin of over 10 seconds and the TCAA League Champion title.
“I was very calm and steady throughout the race, and because I was feeling good with the pack, I decided to see what I could do in the last mile and go for the win,” Wallace said.
Junior Auden McCoy followed closely behind with a time of 19:26.4 and claimed third place. Later, Foothill Tech rounded out their team score as Genevieve Carlisle ‘29, Evelyn Whatley ‘28 and Cassandra Patterson ‘29 all finished within 26 seconds of each other.
During the boys’ race, junior Noah Wagner and senior Andres Hernandez battled for second and third place with sprints down the final stretch. Both Dragons finished with similar times of 15:55.3 and 15:55.5, respectively.
Nathan Chanin ‘26, Gavin Heiberger ‘26 and Quentin Harris ‘28 each finished within 16 seconds of each other to round out the Dragons’ 31-point score.
“I had a PR from my last time I raced this course, [which] wasn’t close to a victory, but we out here winning time-wise, so that’s what counts. And we made CIF,” Heiberger said.
For some runners, like senior Asher Bayless, it was their final race in a Foothill Tech uniform.
“I’m super glad I joined this team. I have all my best friends on this team. It’s where all my best memories are. I’m excited for what they’re going to do in the future for the rest of the season,” Bayless said.
Foothill Tech will travel to Mt. San Antonio College on Nov. 15 for the CIF Preliminary rounds.
