Cross country team faces intense competition
By Hector Trujillo
After watching its streak of consecutive CIF-SDS titles snapped last season for both the men and women, the Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) cross country team looks to begin another era of dominance in a much more competitive division.
The womens side had won three consecutive titles, but came in second to rival Point Loma High last season, while the men had won back-to-back titles, but came in second to Mt. Carmel by just three points.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” said head coach Chuck Warren. “There’s at least seven super strong teams in our division, so it’s going to be extremely challenging.”
SRHS is in Division 2 along with Mt. Carmel High and Point Loma High, but will now be joined by Westview High, Poway High and Canyon Crest Academy, all of which were in Division 1 last year along with La Costa Canyon High, which moved up from Division 3.
“It’s all about enrollment and there are no power ratings or power rankings,” Warren said. “We had three of the best distance runners in San Diego and they all graduated. We have a lot of talented freshman boys and girls, so it might be a bigger team this year.”
Warren will be joined by assistant coach Eileen Quinn for 2026. SRHS had 80 total athletes competing last year with the top returners on the men’s side being runners number four through seven in seniors Liam O’Connell, Devin Liles, Nico Cruz and Scott Perry. Sophomore Rabi Behrooznia, who ran a 4:39 mile last spring, is expected to be a big contributor along with teammates Ty Marple and Gabe Schatz.
The women are expected to be ranked in the top three in the county, featuring talented runners like seniors Ellie Cannon, Riley Martin, Tegan Koranda and junior Olivia Liu. Other competitors who look to be standout performers are sophomores Kiana Farokhi, Alice Anderson and senior Talia Schatz.
SRHS had summer workouts three days a week at Lake Miramar in preparation for the upcoming season, and official practice started Aug. 10. The first race will be the Bronco Roundup in Escondido’s Kit Carson Park on Aug. 29.