As Boys Track and Field season looms, Poly is hoping to continue their dominance in Moore League. Poly has won the last several Moore League titles, coming out on top each year since before Distance Running Coach Cameron Ford’s, 27, time as a runner at Poly.

Part of this success is due to Poly’s successful cross country team. The boy’s cross country team has won Moore League for the past 14 years in a row. Ford said, “Cross Country, Track all of it distance-wise is just year-round running. Each sport feeds into the other. The best way to support is to just run year-round anyways. It definitely helps and you see the benefits on both ends.”

When asked how Poly has achieved this, one of the team captains Jaedon Rufo, a PACE senior, said, “I have to credit the coaches. They do a really good job at balancing our work-outs and keeping us in check. I think the coaches and team camaraderie have led us to victory.”

Cameron Rhone, a BEACH junior, agreed but also said, “We build our athletes up and focus on the team more than just individual runners.”

Assistant Coach Eric Riehl, 29, also added that “a lot of it has to do with the long term vision we have for runners, that it’s not just about one single year, it’s about developing a runner from the first year they are in the program all the way through their senior year.”

The track team is hoping to push for a CIF victory this season. Rufo believes there is a good possibility the team could win this year if they continue to refine their running and continue to get faster.

The team has been active already this season, with Jaelen Knox, a BEACH senior, taking third in the 100m at the Redondo Nike Festival. Knox said, “It felt good. It for sure gave me a huge confidence booster knowing that I can still compete at that level. Also, knowing that the work that I’ve been putting in since COVID and my injury has been working/paid off.”

With the season just around the corner, the team will be looking to keep the Moore League title where it belongs, in the halls of Long Beach Poly.