In the premier race of the largest cross country meet in the nation, two locals battled.
Oaks Christian School sophomore Sterling White and Newbury Park High senior Eli Zasloff kept up the tradition of blazing fast times by area runners in the Doug Speck Sweepstakes race at the 45th annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine on Sept. 19.
White placed 15th in 14 minutes, 4 seconds. Zasloff finished three spots and three seconds behind him in 14:07.3 for 18th place.
“Woodbridge is so physical, I had to fight my way to the front,” White said. “I was just doing everything I could to hold on.
“I am super stoked with how I ended up. … Going into the rest of the season, it gives me insane confidence. The goal is to go and win Division 4 state. Now,
I know I can absolutely do it.”
White’s performance was the fastest by any area runner since Ventura’s Anthony Fasthorse, now at the University of Oregon, ran 13:48.1 in 2023. Newbury Park’s Leo Young, Aaron Sahlman, Lex Young and Colin Sahlman swept the top four spots in the sweepstakes race back in 2021.
White, building upon what was a record-breaking freshman campaign, said he was honored to join the likes of those runners as a local top finisher at Woodbridge.
“People like Nico Young were in my shoes at one point,” White said. “My goal is to be where he is, someday. Knowing someone who grew up right next to me, who had a very similar experience as me running, I can get there. I can be there. Joining that group is a big inspiration.”
Zasloff and White will likely race again at the Marmonte League Preview on Sept. 29, then the Marmonte League championships on Nov. 5.
Was this clash a preview of coming attractions in an exciting Marmonte title race?
“I was planning on cruising through league,” White said. “It looks like that is not going to be how it is. I was stoked to see him that fast, because it is going to make the season more interesting. I love the competition.”
Thanks in part to Zasloff’s breakout run, Newbury Park finished a surprise sixth in the race as a team with 296 points, putting all five scoring runners under 15 minutes at the meet.
Sophomore Paul Goetze was 52nd in 14:28 — the second-fastest sophomore time in program history, just 1.1 seconds behind Panthers great Colin Sahlman. Junior Jensen Clark rank 14:42.1 to place 83rd, Dylan Warner was 98th in 14:50.2, and Graham Reynolds was 123rd in 14:57.4.
Also in the sweepstakes race, Ari Kalan led the way for Oak Park in 14:47.2 to place 89th, while Rafe Anderson (100th, 14:50.7), Malcolm Caughey (106th, 14:52.1), Jaiden Chan (161st, 15:11.6) and JJ Lew (170th, 15:14.3) rounded out the scoring group for the Eagles.
In the Bob Day Sweepstakes race, the 12th-place Westlake girls team eked out a one-position win over 13th-place Oak Park, 431-459.
Anais Cruz was the top local finisher, running a school-record 16:25.8 to finish 14th overall. Sabina Cruz finished 38th place in 16:50.1, sophomore Aria Cinelli was 89th in 17:26.4, Amelie Ortiz ran 18:18 to finish 166th, and Beau Benson was 194th in 18:31.8.
For Oak Park, Tabitha Brown was the No. 1 racer with a 63rd-place finish in 17:08.5. Áine Pitillo was 72nd in 17:14.5, Kathleen Lambe was 77th in 17:19.1, Sophia Perez ran 17:38.9 to place 118th, and Addison Hu rounded out the scoring in 18:45 to place 216th.
Jenna Murray broke the Moorpark High school record in the 3-mile, running 16:40.2 to place 32nd. The previous record was set by Michelle Magnani in 2015.
In the Rated Varsity race, Foothill Tech senior Viggo Bortolin set a a school record while battling to a runner-up finish in 14:15.2 behind winner Evan Chopra of Menlo-Atherton (14:12.9).
The Dragons saw personal bests nearly across the board, as Camden Taylor ran 14:41.6 to place 26th, Asher Field opened his 2026 season in 15:07.1 for 68th, and Asher Rodman was just behind in 69th place, running 15:07.2. Beau Anderson was the fifth scorer for Foothill Tech, running 16:05.7 to place 207th.
Foothill Tech finished fifth as a team.
In the Rated Varsity girls race, Newbury Park secured sixth place and finished as the top CIF-Southern Section team in the race.
Senior Helena Rieckewald-Schmidt placed 29th in 17:20.7, sophomore Zara Konkader was 36th in 17:27.3, sophomore Victoria Barnes ran 17:55.8 to place 64th, junior Ella Muskat was 94th in 18:12.3, and senior Isabella Steiner was 128th in 18:32.9.
Madeline Abbott was the top finisher for Ventura, which placed 25th in that race. The senior ran 18:05.7 to place 82nd while teammate Paola Estrada was 91st in 18:10.8.
Westlake junior Allan Cruz led all locals in a crowded Gold Varsity B race, placing fifth overall in 14:39.3. Teammate Rio Zimmermann was 8th in 14:41. Carson Duce was 100th in 15:48.1.
Ventura junior Jesus Martinez placed 12th overall in 14:47.8, followed by freshman Jacob Nuckols in 17th place, running 14:58.7. Noah Fong was 28th in 15:07.6, Anders Curtis, the younger brother of former Cougars star Aelo Curtis, was 61st in 15:32.3. Ezekiel Torres ran 15:43.5 for 91st place.
Agoura’s Ryuto Matsumoto ran 15:07.9 to place 29th, followed by Gage McGinnis in 36th in 15:12.5, Cooper Glynn in 38th in 15:13.4, Dakota DAmore in 46th in 15:20.2, and Kamran Khursheed in 53rd in 15:26.9.
Moorpark’s Zackary Hatch was the top local runner in the Gold Varsity A race, placing 29th in 15:191. Tyler Svenson ran 15:22.9 to place 33rd, Siash Nemani was 35th in 15:24.6, and Noah Rouse ran 15:48.9 to place 77th.
On the girls side of the Gold Varsity A race, it was Simi Valley with the top finisher amongst locals.
Senior Cecelia Vasquez was eighth overall in 17:28.6, followed by Moorpark senior Caylie Wight in 12th, running 17:37.8. The top finisher for Foothill Tech was sophomore Genevieve Carlisle in 42nd, running 18:41.1.
Buena’s Sebastian De Vicente won the Red Varsity A race in 14:38.6, outleaning Jamal McKissick of South Hills by a tenth of a second. Micah Brookes had a breakout race in 12th, running 15:25.8. Dominic De Vicente was 16th behind his brother in 15:29.5.
Joseph Spengler of Thousand Oaks was 25th in 15:39.1
Oaks Christian senior Madelyn Galle was seventh in the White Varsity B race in 17:38.5.
Layla Ward of Thousand Oaks placed eighth in the Red Varsity A girls race in 18:12.4.
Oaks Christian’s Dean Watson ran 15:15 to place 15th in the White Varsity B boys race.
Bianca Torres of Oxnard had a massive personal best to place fifth in the Red Varsity B (G) race. She ran 17:51.4 — a personal best of nearly a minute.
In the Gold Junior-Senior race, Newbury Park’s Halle Combe was sixth in 18:52.4, followed by teammates Mira Markowitz (14th, 19:37.8) and Zuhaily Mauricio (15th, 19:40.6).
In the Blue Varsity B race, Camarillo freshman Milano Pinuelas was 24th in 15:22.6.
Royal senior Angela Busco won the Red Junior-Senior girls race in 18:27.6. Camarillo’s Payton Akl was 21st in the Blue Varsity B girls race in 18:07.5.
Ventura freshman Kayla Madden was runner-up in the Gold Frosh girls race in 19:12.7, followed by teammate Feliz Vergeer in fifth place in 19:27.7.
Channel Islands senior Sebastian Lopez ran 15:23 to place 17th in the Red Varsity B race, followed by teammate Diego Salazar in 83rd place, running 16:04.9.
In the Gold Senior boys race, Javan Pelascini won in 15:47.3, Eli Emery was second in 15:48.8, and Kevin Cruz was fourth in 16:01.1.
Westlake’s Dylan Carollo won the Gold Junior boys race in 16:03.4. Teammate Jacob Rojo placed third in 16:26.5.
Royal senior Anthony Montano was sixth in the Red Senior boys race in 15:55.4. Sophomore Jensen Correa was 10th in the Red Sophomore boys race in 16:15.3.
Fillmore junior Camila Rodriguez placed sixth in the Green Varsity A girls race in 18:08.6.
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: Check out how local runners fared at prestigious Woodbridge Classic
