After a hot start to the season, consisting of wins over Notre Dame and Crespi, the cross country team started their playoff journey, fueled by their genuine belief that they could be one of the teams to qualify for the CIF state final in Fresno. Team member Luke Brady ’26 stated, “As a runner you want to believe that you are definitely going to make it.”

Their journey began at Sierra Canyon in the Mission League Finals, where the team finished first and moved onto the Southern Section Prelims at Mount SAC, where they finished third. The team kept pushing. Their aspirations for a state berth began to materialize at CIF Southern Section round one. Leading up to the race, the team was not predicted to even finish within the top 10. However, they proved the naysayers wrong and earned an eighth-place finish.

Despite their gutsy performance there, the team was not able to qualify for state, finishing 18 points out—one point short of qualifying.

Despite not making state as a team, Aaron Pavon ’25 had a stellar race and finished in fifth place. Because of this standout performance, Pavon was invited to the CIF Finals to race among 200 of California’s best. On Nov. 30, he placed 16th out of 197 runners in the CIF State Division One final.

Overall, the success of the cross country team this year has been palpable, led by the captains and leaders in the senior class. Particularly, Pavon’s work on a state level has not gone unnoticed, as his placings have put Loyola cross country on the cross country map.