September 7, 2026

Written by Mario Machuca

FULL RESULTS

TEMEULA:  The Wolves headed south to Galway Downs in Temecula, California, on Saturday for the Cool Breeze Invitational, looking to build off the previous week’s performances and continue developing one of the team’s biggest points of emphasis: strong pack running.

The Sophomore Boys, the Wolves’ lone team champions from a week prior, entered the meet hoping to repeat despite moving two of their top runners, Abdu Alqaza and Caleb Lua, up to the varsity squad. The group quickly showed that its depth remained a major strength.

Isaiah Gallardo and Jacob Gamino wasted no time putting themselves near the front, with Gamino pushing into the lead at the mile. From there, the Wolves took control as a pack. With six runners finishing inside the top 10, the sophomore boys delivered one of the strongest team performances of the day. Gallardo led the way with a 2nd-place finish, followed closely by Gamino in 4th, Maverick Machuca in 5th, David Kim in 7th, and Ben Metzger rounding out the scoring in 9th. Despite moving two of their best runners up a division, the sophomores once again showed just how deep this group can be.

The Freshman squads continued gaining valuable racing experience as they learned the sport and adjusted to high school competition. Christopher Quezada highlighted the boys’ race with an impressive 3rd-place finish, while Sofia Dineshbabu Usharani delivered a breakthrough performance for the girls, cutting nearly 40 seconds off her previous best.

The JV Boys followed with one of the closest battles of the night. Juan Carlos Leiva led the Wolves and came within the smallest of margins of taking the individual victory, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind the winner. Mayson Machuca was right behind him with a strong 3rd-place finish. As a team, the Wolves held the lead through two miles and fought all the way to the finish before narrowly missing the team title by just four points.

The JV Girls continued the momentum with Isabella Iemsisanith and Julieta Tlaxcala working together as a strong duo throughout the race. Both came away with significant new personal bests. Emily Lopez provided another major highlight, improving by nearly two minutes in just the second cross country race of her career.

As the sun went down, the attention shifted to the Varsity Showdown races, beginning with the girls.

With captain Natalie Drewitz sidelined as she works through an injury, the Wolves knew it would take a complete team effort to help fill the absence of such an important teammate. Jude Abu-Ghazaleh once again stepped forward to lead the Wolves on the night.

Behind her came one of the most encouraging performances of the race. Hayden Shelton and freshman Leah Goodman worked together as a strong duo throughout the course, pushing one another to major personal bests. Shelton dropped approximately 30 seconds, while Goodman continued her impressive start to the season by taking nearly 90 seconds off her previous best.

The Varsity Boys closed out the night with perhaps the clearest example of the pack running the Wolves have been emphasizing all season.

Mason Stehmeier continued working his way back into form following illness, turning in a strong season-best performance. Behind him, sophomore standouts Abdu Alqaza and Caleb Lua showed tremendous promise in their first varsity cross country race, finishing as King’s third and fourth runners on the night.

Senior captain Andrew Moyo battled alongside them and showed exactly the type of toughness his team has come to expect from him. After losing a shoe in the middle of the race, Moyo continued fighting and stayed right with the sophomore duo. Only three seconds separated Alqaza, Lua, and Moyo at the finish, giving the Wolves a glimpse of what could become a dangerous scoring trio as the season progresses.

Cool Breeze was not a perfect night, nor was it expected to be. The Wolves still have plenty of room to improve, injured athletes working their way back, and young runners continuing to learn how to race at the high school level.

But the direction is becoming clear.

From the sophomore boys displaying their tremendous depth, to breakthrough performances throughout the freshman and JV races, to the varsity squads beginning to close gaps and race together, Cool Breeze represented another important step forward for the Wolves.

King will now have two valuable weeks of uninterrupted training to recover, sharpen up, and continue building before taking on one of the biggest stages of the season:

The Woodbridge Invitational.