It's a new era in high school girls cross country.
Among The Star's top-10 ranked runners, seven are coming off of incredible freshman campaigns. Runners from 11 area teams earned rankings — a sign of how deep the talent is on top local teams.
Here are The Star's rankings of the area's top 25 girls cross country runners:
1. Anais Cruz, Westlake
The Warriors star had a freshman campaign for the ages. She won a Marmonte League title in 17:31.6. On the track, Cruz finished runner-up in the 3,200 meters at the CIF-SS Masters meet. Her time of 16:40.2 over three miles at the CIF-SS Division 4 championships is the fastest of any returning runner.
2. Sabina Cruz, Westlake
Who better to follow Anais Cruz in the No. 2 spot than her twin sister? The sophomore’s time at the state meet (17:39.7), which placed
ninth in Division 2, was the fastest by any local not named Aelo Curtis by more than 10 seconds.
3. Kathleen Lambe, Oak Park
Another underclassman? For good reason. The mile specialist was special on the trails as well, running the fastest three-mile and 5K times in the Coastal Canyon League last fall. She placed 12th at the state meet in Division 3 in 17:59.5 and was seventh at the CIF-SS Division 3 finals in 16:54.5.
4. Jenna Murray, Moorpark
The Musketeers star has already won two of her three races in 2026, building off a junior season where she finished fourth at the Ventura County Championships (18:06.4) and second at the Coastal Canyon League Championships (18:02.7).
5. Cecelia Vasquez, Simi Valley
The senior made a name for herself as a hard-charging race leader last season, taking out almost every race she ran. She finished 10th at the CIF-SS Division 3 championships in 16:56.6 and was 21st at the state meet.
6. Tabitha Brown, Oak Park
The feather in Brown’s cap her sophomore season was placing 21st at the CIF-SS Division 3 championships in 17:25.5, pushing the Eagles to a podium finish.
7. Áine Pitillo, Oak Park
The second precocious freshman on the Eagles was fifth at the Ventura County Championships, third at the Coastal Canyon League Championships and 31st at the state meet in 18:28.4.
8. Christina Smith, Oaks Christian
One of the many exciting freshmen on the course last fall, the Lions youngster was one of the most improved. She was 14th at the Marmonte League finals before running a 30-second personal best to place 13th in the CIF-SS Division 4 championship race. She was 34th at the state meet in Division 4.
9. Aria Cinelli, Westlake
One of the keys to Westlake becoming a top team in the Southern Section last fall was the freshman unsung hero. Cinelli ran 17:44.9 at the Woodbridge Classic and was eighth at the Marmonte League finals in 18:38.8.
10. Victoria Barnes, Newbury Park
The sophomore popped off at the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championships last year, where she ran 17:53.9 to place 33rd. Barnes opened her 2026 season with a fourth-place finish at the Moorpark Invitational.
11. Paola Estrada, Ventura
The junior will be the Cougars new ace with the departure of Aelo Curtis and Sophie Nuckols. Her time of 18:53.3 at last year’s Clovis Invitational was a personal best, and she ran 17:58 to place 36th at Division 2 CIF-SS Finals. She opened her 2026 campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Rosemead Invitational in 18:05.1.
12. Layla Ward, Thousand Oaks
A personal best performance of 17:56.4 at the Woodbridge Classic was the highlight as a junior. She opened the season with a 10th-place finish at the Moorpark Invitational.
13. Sophia Perez, Oak Park
The senior worked into great form over the course of her junior campaign, placing 27th at CIF-SS Division 3 finals in 17:39.7 and placing 34th at the state championship meet.
14. Heleena Barnett, Oak Park
A key depth piece for the Eagles, she cracked the 18-minute barrier at last year’s Woodbridge Classic in 17:53.4. A 19:15.5 run at the Clovis Invitational as a sophomore is an encouraging sign for the Eagles’ state championship hopes.
15. Saoirse Boehm, Oak Park
The junior placed 91st at the state championship meet in 19:29.8 as the No. 6 runner for Oak Park. She may be relied on as a scoring runner this year after the graduation of key No. 5 Michelle Vu.
16. Caylie Wight, Moorpark
The No. 2 racer on an up-and-coming Musketeers team, the senior placed third behind teammate Jenna Murray and Simi Valley’s Cecelia Vasquez at the first Coastal Canyon League meet this fall in 19:05.4.
17. Helena Rieckewald-Schmidt, Newbury Park
The senior raced an abridged schedule last fall after transferring in from Camarillo, but immediately made an impact. Rieckewald-Schmidt was 46th at CIF-SS Division 2 finals in 18:14.7 and 88th at the state meet in 19:08.1.
18. Amelie Ortiz, Westlake
The junior raced to an 18th-place finish at Ventura County Championships, then was 15th at the Marmonte League Finals before placing 59th at CIF-SS finals and 112th at state.
19. Madelyn Galle, Oaks Christian
Galle has the tall task of filling Delaney Napierala’s shoes as the senior leader of this Lions team. She placed 11th at Marmonte League Finals last year in 18:50.8 and was 24th at CIF-SS finals in 18:36.4.
20. Madeline Abbott, Ventura
A junior season that ended with a 98th-place finish at the state meet served the Abbott’s development well. She opened this season at the Rosemead Invitational, running 18:00.1 to place fourth in the senior division.
21. Isabella Steiner, Newbury Park
The senior raced to a sixth-place finish at the Moorpark Invitational in 19:26.8 to start her 2026 campaign. She ran a personal-best 18:30.4 for 60th at the CIF-SS finals last fall.
22. Halle Combe, Newbury Park
Combe had a strong freshman season, running 18:29.9 to place 58th at CIF-SS Division 2 championships. She opened her sophomore year with a 20:04.8 run at the Moorpark Invite for seventh place.
23. Auden McCoy, Foothill Tech
The senior is the top returning runner in the Tri-County Athletic Association, having placed third at last year’s league championship meet in 19:26.4. She is among a trio of Foothill Tech runners who could be No. 1 by season's close.
24. Camila Rodriguez, Fillmore
The top returner out of the Citrus Coast League, the reigning league champion broke 19 minutes at CIF-SS Division 4 prelims to place 10th overall. She opened this season with a seventh-place finish at the Scary Dairy Invite — the top local.
25. Bianca Torres, Oxnard
The senior started this season with an 11th-place finish at the Scary Dairy Invite in 19:53.1. She is one of the top returning county runners in the Channel League.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: The Star ranks the area's top-25 girls cross country runners
