August 30, 2026

Written by Mario Machuca

FULL RESULTS

EASTVALE: The King High Wolves Cross Country team officially opened its 2026 season at the PR City Invitational at SilverLakes Sports Complex. With hot conditions throughout the meet, the Wolves entered the season opener looking to come away with the advertised personal records, some hardware, and an early look at what this year’s squad can become.

Junior Hayden Shelton got the Wolves started with one of the best performances of the day. Coming off an injury that limited her summer training, Shelton made an immediate statement by capturing the individual victory in the Junior Varsity race while setting a new personal best of 20:05. It was an impressive return to racing and a promising first step toward what she hopes will be a season of consistent progress.

The freshman girls also provided an exciting glimpse into the future of the program. Leah Goodman led the way with an 8th-place finish overall in her first high school cross country race. The former middle school district champion wasted little time making an impact at the high school level and will look to continue building throughout her freshman campaign.

The biggest team performance of the night belonged to the sophomore boys, who captured the Wolves’ lone team victory of the meet.

Caleb Lua took responsibility early, leading the Wolves through the opening two miles before Abdu Alqaza made his move with roughly 800 meters remaining. Alqaza powered home to finish 4th overall, with Lua following in 12th.

Behind them, first-time racer Jacob Gambino delivered one of the night’s biggest surprises, finishing an impressive 14th overall in his debut. Maverick Machuca wasn’t far behind, crossing the line in 16th.

Closing out the scoring was David Kim, who put together one of the strongest finishes of the entire meet. Kim moved up an incredible 23 places over the final mile to finish 21st overall, securing the team victory for the Wolves.

With all five scorers finishing inside the top 21, the sophomore boys showed that the future of the King distance program is in good hands.

Another major highlight came under the lights in the Elite Girls Showdown, where Olivia Chau delivered a breakthrough performance. Chau dropped more than a minute from her previous personal best, crossing the line in 20:43 and putting together one of the biggest improvements of the night for King.

The varsity boys and girls squads weren’t able to put together the complete performances they were hoping for in the season opener, but there is plenty of racing still ahead. The Wolves will look to learn from PR City, regroup, and return stronger next week when they head to the Cool Breeze Invitational.

One meet down. A lot of season left.