Oak Park High returns nearly every scorer from last year’s state runner-up team and adds fresh talent from the upcoming ranks, including seven runners in The Star’s Top 25.
The Star ranks the top 25 boys cross country runners as the 2025 season gets underway:
1. Derek Luna, Rio Mesa
Last November belonged to Derek Luna. Then a sophomore, Luna broke out at the Channel League championships where he finished third in 15 minutes, 19 seconds. He followed that up with a performance of 15:22.7 at CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championships to place seventh. That momentum carried him all the way to the CIF Division 2 State Championships, where he finished 27th in 15:38.9 — the best time of any local. Luna opened this season with a fourth-place showing at the Gaucho Invitational, finishing in 15:29.1.
2. Viggo Bortolin, Foothill Tech
Bortolin had one of most impressive openers of any local runner, finishing second at the Gaucho Invitational in 15:21.6 and taking down top-ranked Derek Luna along the way. He was sixth at the CIF-SS Division 4 finals last season and finished 27th at the state meet in 15:50.2.
3. Micah Dickran, Newbury Park
The fastest returning runner over three miles last season is Dickran, who blazed a time of 14:37.5 seconds at the famed and fast Woodbridge Classic. He was 10th at the Marmonte League finals in 15:46.2, and just missed out on a state berth with a 15:51.4 run at CIF-SS D2 finals. A miler on the track, Dickran was the top local finisher this spring in the 1600 meters at CIF-SS Division 2 finals, running 4:14.06. He opened his senior season with a time of 15:06.8 at the Cool Breeze Invitational.
4. Vin Krueger, Oaks Christian
The top returning runner from the Lions’ 2024 state championship team is Krueger, who was 23rd at the state meet last year in 15:48.7. Krueger put together a speedy track season with bests of 1:54.81 in the 800 meters and 4:24.39 in the 1,600.
5. Arizechukwu Nwosu, Oaks Christian
Nwosu is the second half of the Lions’ 1-2 punch. He peaked at the perfect time, placing 24th at state in a personal-best time of 15:49.2. Nwosu also lit up the track last spring with performances of 1:55.06 in the 800 meters and 4:28.57 in the 1,600. Oaks Christian will have a dangerous top two racers yet again.
6. Blake Harris, Ventura
As a junior last season, Harris was a heat winner at the CIF-SS Division 2 prelims before running 15:31.2 to place 12th at CIF-SS Division 2 championships. He finished 63rd at the state meet. Harris raced well in the big invitationals, running 14:49 at the Woodbridge Classic and placing 22nd at the Clovis Invitational. Harris opened his 2025 campaign with a 15:42.7 showing at the Scary Dairy Invitational.
7. Oren Hill, Thousand Oaks
Hill was nothing if not consistent last season, placing fifth at both the Marmonte League Championships (15:21.9) and the Ventura County Championships (15:29.5). The senior ran 15:57.6 to place 23rd at the CIF-SS Division 3 finals.
8.Ethan Marley, Oak Park
Marley is the top returning runner from an Oak Park squad that placed second at last year’s state meet and has aspirations to finish atop the podium this fall. He placed 39th in 15:49.9 at state last season and was fifth at last year’s Coastal Canyon League Championship. The senior opened his 2025 campaign with a time of 15:22.3 at the Cool Breeze Invitational.
9. Uriel Texis, Channel Islands
Texis is leading a running resurgence at Channel Islands. The senior won a pair of big invitationals last season at his home Raider Invite (15:39.8) and the Cool Breeze Invitational (15:22.5). On the track, he picked up a personal best in the 1,600 meters in 4:23.1. His 15:04.7 run was good for fourth place at the Scary Dairy Invitational, his first race of the 2025 season.
10. JJ Lew, Oak Park
How deep is Oak Park? Deep enough for Lew, a top contributor to their state runner-up team, to spend most of last season in frosh/soph races. He won the Ventura County title and the Woodbridge Classic gold race before bursting onto the varsity scene with a 21st-place finish at CIF-SS Division 3 championships. He placed 45th at the state meet in 15:55.4.
11. Dorian Bening, Agoura
An underwhelming 35th-place finish at the Ventura County Championships last season didn’t slow down Bening. He more than made up for it during the rest of the postseason, finishing seventh at Marmonte League finals in 15:36, 18th at CIF-SS Division 3 finals in 15:48.9, and 58th at the state meet. The senior leads an up-and-coming Agoura squad.
12. Noah Sloan, Ventura
The race of Sloan’s season last year came at the Ventura County championships, where he placed 10th to help power the Cougars to a runner-up finish. The senior opened this fall with a fifth-place finish at the Gaucho Invitational in 15:33.9.
13. Eli Billings, Foothill Tech
Billings is Foothill Tech’s key No. 2 runner behind Bortolin. He logged strong finishes at the CIF-SS Division finals (24th place in 16:00) and the state meet (42nd place in 16:09.5).
14. Jaden Prillhart, Foothill Tech
Prillhart was the sixth runner on the Foothill Tech team that placed third in last year’s Division IV state championship. He ran 15:20.2 at the Woodbridge Classic and 16:34.6 in the CIF-SS Division 4 finals. Prillhart was 10th at the 2025 Gaucho Invitational.
15. Ashton Curtis, Oak Park
Curtis took a real leap this offseason. He opened his senior campaign as Oak Park’s No. 2 runner, placing 42nd at the Cool Breeze Invitational in 15:22.8. Curtis’ junior season was highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the Coastal Canyon League finals in 15:42.6.
16. Quinn Foster, Oak Park
Foster placed sixth at last season’s Coastal Canyon League Championships in 15:39.6, 30th in the CIF-SS Division finals, and 64th at state. Foster ran 15:47.2 in his season opener at the Cool Breeze Invitational.
17. Ethan Deleau, Agoura
Deleau’s state championship performance last season, running 16:14.5 to place 81st, was his coming-out party. The senior was 11th at the Marmonte League Championships and 57th in the CIF-SS D3 finals, and will be a leader for a deep Chargers team this fall.
18. Luke Denti, Oak Park
The senior was 20th at the Ventura County Championships last season in 16:23.5 before an injury knocked him out for the Eagles’ postseason run. Denti is back on course in 2025 — he opened his senior campaign as the Eagles’ sixth runner in 15:45.4 at the Cool Breeze Invitational.
19. Dhruv Kulkarni, Oak Park
Like so many Eagles runners last year, Kulkarni ran his best races in the postseason last year. He was eighth at the Coastal Canyon League Championships in 15:44.6 and 17th at the Ventura County Championships in 16:21.4.
20. Malcolm Caughey, Oak Park
This spot in the rankings could have gone to any one of a handful of Oak Park runners rearing to make a splash on the varsity scene, including Dimitri Natale, Ari Kalan and Kean Castaneda. But Caughey’s time of 15:19.4 in the varsity small school section of the Cool Breeze Invite turned heads. It was the fastest of any Oak Park runner on the day.
21. Hans DeLaTorre, Moorpark
The senior flashed serious potential at last year’s Coastal Canyon League championships, placing 11th in 15:46.9. He was 27th at the Ventura County Championships and 62nd in the CIF-SS Division 3 finals.
22. Carson Duce, Westlake
Westlake’s top returning runner is just a sophomore. Duce was 25th at the Ventura County Championships last season in 16:36.3. He added some speedy track times in the spring, running under 2:00 in the 800 meters and under 4:30 in the 1,600.
23. Marco Sanchez, Rio Mesa
Sanchez had a big run at the CIF-SS Division 2 finals, placing 36th, following a 12th-place finish at the Channel League Championships in 16:21.2.
24. Max Denninghoff, Thousand Oaks
Denninghoff was 30th at last year’s Ventura County Championships in 16:47 and owns a 15:48.3 personal best from the Woodbridge Classic.
25. Sebastian de Vicente, Buena
De Vicente had a big season opener at the Gaucho Invitational, running 15:47.8 to place eighth. As a sophomore last season, he was 31st at the Ventura County Championships in 16:48.2.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for the Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Meet the area’s top 25 boys cross country runners
Reporting by Dominic Massimino, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
