{"id":481266,"date":"2026-10-01T05:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T05:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/481266\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T05:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T05:40:09","slug":"millikans-hector-diaz-wilsons-audrey-buckley-lead-the-way-at-moore-league-meet-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/481266\/","title":{"rendered":"Millikan\u2019s Hector Diaz, Wilson\u2019s Audrey Buckley lead the way at Moore League meet \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Wilson\u2019s Audrey Buckley and Millikan\u2019s Amberly McDowell battle for first...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LPT-L-HSXC-MLMEET-1001-03.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Wilson\u2019s Audrey Buckley and Millikan\u2019s Amberly McDowell battle for first place at the Moore League Cross Country Meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by John W. Davis)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Millikan senior Hector Diaz after winning the Moore League Cross...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LPT-L-HSXC-MLMEET-1001-02.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Millikan senior Hector Diaz after winning the Moore League Cross Country Meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026.<br \/>\n(Photo by John W. Davis)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Wilson senior Audrey Buckley after winning the first Moore League...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LPT-L-HSXC-MLMEET-1001-04.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Wilson senior Audrey Buckley after winning the first Moore League girls cross country meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by John W. Davis)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Millikan senior Hector Diaz takes an early lead on his...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/LPT-L-HSXC-MLMEET-1001-01-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Millikan senior Hector Diaz takes an early lead on his way to victory at the Moore League Cross Country Meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by John W. Davis)\n<\/p>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 4<\/p>\n<p>Wilson\u2019s Audrey Buckley and Millikan\u2019s Amberly McDowell battle for first place at the Moore League Cross Country Meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by John W. Davis)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>LONG BEACH \u2014 Millikan senior Hector Diaz won his first Moore League cross country meet Wednesday with a strong wire-to-wire effort at El Dorado Park.<\/p>\n<p>Diaz, who said he did not plan on going hard, finished with a time of 15 minutes and 23.1 seconds to win the 3-mile race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest, I kind of wanted this last year,\u201d Diaz said of his victory, \u201cbut there were some factors that came into play and that didn\u2019t really happen. But it\u2019s a joyful time right now for sure. I plan to keep this streak throughout the season. It\u2019s a pretty happy feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rams senior <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presstelegram.com\/2025\/11\/05\/jack-walsh-leads-millikan-boys-cross-country-to-third-straight-league-title\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Walsh<\/a>, who is the defending Moore League individual champion, was second in 15:33.6.<\/p>\n<p>Millikan won the boys race with a low score of 19 points. The Rams\u2019 top five scorers included: junior Ricardo Linarez-Gutierrez (15:45.5, fourth place), senior Brandon Hinojosa-Garcia (15:49.6, sixth place) and sophomore Sebastian McKiernan (15:53.1, eighth place).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s great to be able to lead such a great team,\u201d Diaz continued.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Millikan senior Hector Diaz goes wire-to-wire to win the first Moore League boys cross country meet of the year at Heartwell Park in Long Beach. <\/p>\n<p>The Rams also won the team race. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/04qTnvb9eO\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/04qTnvb9eO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnwdavis\/status\/2105454476807246272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sophomore Jessie Hinojosa-Garcia\u2019s ninth-place finish in 15:56.1 and sophomore Eric Villicana\u2019s 12th-place result in 16:09.5 helped establish Millikan\u2019s comfortable margin of victory, as the team\u2019s top seven runners crossed the finish line before Wilson\u2019s fourth- and fifth-place runners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s strength in numbers and I tell them it feels better if you have teammates around you,\u201d Millikan boys cross country coach Pedro Ramirez said. \u201cEspecially for most of the race, and then of course everyone tries to outkick each other, but I think it feels good. I remember as a runner, it felt good to have teammates around me. There\u2019s safety and energy there that kind of takes you and if you see your teammates go, then you\u2019ll probably go also.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Rams are seeking their fourth consecutive Moore League title, which Ramirez believes would solidify that his program is doing something right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tell them we have a standard,\u201d Ramirez continued. \u201cI tell them that I want a professional high school team, very professional about what they do, very structured. Like they shouldn\u2019t need any reminding on what to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wilson, which was led by sophomore David Nader\u2019s third-place finish in 15:34.9, was second in the team race with 41 points. Poly, which was led by sophomore Sawyer Chesnin\u2019s fifth-place finish in 15:46.7, was third in the team race, beating out Lakewood and Cabrillo.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wilson senior Audrey Buckley uses a late surge to win the first Moore League girls cross country meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gZE8E8v5iV\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/gZE8E8v5iV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnwdavis\/status\/2105497528880029789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Wilson won the girls race with 21 points and had five runners in the top nine finishers.<\/p>\n<p>Bruins senior Audrey Buckley led the way with a first-place finish in 17:42.7.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever give up on your race,\u201d Buckley said. \u201cYou never know what\u2019s going to happen, so don\u2019t give up halfway. You can always win. The battle is in your head. If you win in your head, you win in the race.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wilson senior Avery Errecart placed second (17:54.4), sophomore Ella George finished fourth ( 18:32.8) and senior Leticia Tovar placed seventh (18:46.4). Senior Shirayah Lewis-Williams, who recently committed to Arkansas for track, finished ninth in (18:52).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur message is to attack what you can control,\u201d Wilson girls cross country coach CJ Brewer said. \u201cAnd not to focus on anything that you can\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Millikan, which was led by sophomore Ambery McDowell\u2019s third-place finish, was second in the team race with 38 points. McDowell surged into first around Mile 2 but relinquished the lead when she made a wrong turn and had to double back in the later stages of the race.<\/p>\n<p>Poly, led by junior Sienna Young\u2019s fifth-place finish in 18:37.8, was third in the team results.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Millikan senior Hector Diaz on winning his first Moore League Country race. <\/p>\n<p>Diaz said winning this race has been his goal since he was a junior. <\/p>\n<p>He also talked about his team\u2019s overall win and what it means to him to a be leader. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NoL9SAIxE0\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/NoL9SAIxE0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnwdavis\/status\/2105498179001262518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Millikan boys cross country coach Pedro Ramirez on trying to lead his team to a fourth straight Moore League title after winning the league\u2019s first cluster meet at Heartwell Park in Long Beach Wednesday night. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SjSlhw9kXa\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/SjSlhw9kXa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnwdavis\/status\/2105498483637809575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wilson senior Audrey Buckley on winning her first Moore League girls cross country race in 17:42.7 over 3 miles at Heartwell Park in Long Beach Wednesday night. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cUQjUmTAks\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/cUQjUmTAks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/johnwdavis\/status\/2105498691863974025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wilson\u2019s Audrey Buckley and Millikan\u2019s Amberly McDowell battle for first place at the Moore League Cross Country Meet&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,5479,14411,2044,131,133,132,137,127],"class_list":["post-481266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-high-school-all-sports","tag-high-school-cross-country","tag-high-school-sports","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}