REV boys cross-country team qualifies for section finals

Sophomore Elijah Medina ran the second- fastest 3-mile run of his high school career Saturday to lead Redlands East Valley to a third-place finish in its Division 3 heat and qualify for the Southern Section cross-country finals on Saturday.

Medina clocked 14:50.7 on the Mt. San Antonio College rain course to finish second in Division 3, Heat 2 as the Wildcats posted 96 points. Four runners finished in the top 25 among a field of 91 runners.

Medina was coming off a Citrus Belt League individual championship run on Nov. 1. His time in the rain was just shy of his personal best of 14:47.6 set earlier this season.

Junior Dominick Vasquez finished 14th in 15:28.9 followed by junior Jaime Wallace, 22nd in 15:41.7. Junior Emery Dominguez was 25th in 15:45.4. Senior Brenden Mercado-Medina was 33rd in 16:02.5.

Meanwhile, CBL boys team champion Cajon qualified in Division 1 with a second-place finish in Heat 4, led by junior Ayden Ramirez who won the race in a personal best of 14:14.0. Senior Isaiah Garay was sixth in 14:27.3.

The Yucaipa High’s girls’ team, the 2025 CBL champions, qualified fourth in Division 1, Heat 3 with 121 points, led by freshman Brooks Tarcon, who ran a personal best 17:49.9 to finish in sixth place. Tarcon was third in the CBL championship.

The Thunderbirds’ boys team placed a non-qualifying sixth in Division 1, Heat 1 with 145 points. Junior Nathanial Sahler set a personal best of 15:12.1 to finish ninth among 94 runners.

Beaumont High’s girls’ team just missed qualifying in Division 1, finishing fifth in their heat, one spot shy of making the finals.

Senior Aracelly Guzman led the Cougars with a time of 18:35.3. Cajon’s girls finished a non-qualifying eighth place.

Mt. SAC will again host the section finals on Saturday.