Though it might come as a surprise, the Rio Hondo League is turning into quite the cross country power house. All three girls’ teams that qualified for the CIF preliminaries from the Rio Hondo league—La Cañada, South Pasadena and San Marino—last week advanced to this Saturday morning’s finals, which will be held at the Riverside Cross Country Course. The Lady Titans, who finished third at the Rio Hondo League finals in Lacy Park, will compete in the Division 4 race, which begins at 9:05a.m.
Last week, San Marino finished eighth in its preliminary heat to qualify for the finals. Senior Puja Balaji again led the way, finishing 17th overall on the three-mile course in a time of 20:12. Anya Tang (34th place, 21:02), Peyton Talt (35th, 21:08), Karen Lee (65th, 22.15), Katie Wong (73rd, 22:25), Katelyn Hansa (134th, 25:23) and Lily Tong (151st, 28:26) rounded out the lineup for head Coach Angus Leung.
The Lady Titans have not been to the finals since 2016.
“This is the best team I have coached since I have been here,” said Leung, who is in his fifth year at SMHS. “They work well together, they work hard together, and they have really bonded as a team. “It goes to show you that if you commit to one another, it can make a difference.”
