Elite runners to battle on Morley Field course in Brooks Nationals

The high school cross country season is about to finish with a bang for several San Diego County harriers at Saturday’s 46th Brooks National Cross Country championship meet at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

On deck to be cheered on by friends, classmates and family one last time this season are Eastlake High School senior Jaelyn Williams, Christian High School junior Elliana Patterson and Sage Creek senior Josiah Bowman.

Williams won this year’s Division I girls state title with a record run before going on to record a third-place finish at last weekend’s Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon.

Patterson won the Division V girls race at this year’s San Diego Section finals and went on to post a meteoric third-place finish in the division at the state meet while Bowman is the Division IV section and state boys champion.

Patterson (La Mesa) and Bowman (Oceanside) qualified to compete in Saturday’s nationals meet with top 10 finishes at the preceding West regional in Walnut last weekend. Patterson was third in the girls field in 17:53.2 while Bowman was fifth in the boys field in 15:25.3.

The top 10 individuals at the four Brooks regional championship meets earned the right to compete at the nationals event.

Francis Parker senior Ariella Llorens (El Cajon) was 11th in 18:11.9 and was on the cusp of qualifying for Saturday’s end of season running extravaganza.

The Brooks Nationals, which replaces the former Footlocker Nationals, also extended invitations to runners who were unable to compete at the regional qualifier due to conflicts with events such as the Nike Cross Nationals. Williams placed third at the elite Oregon gathering and has received one of 10 “golden ticket” to compete at the Brooks nationals event.

Her presence certainly raises the prestige level of the inaugural Brooks event. The top 20 finishers earn All-American honors.

The Brooks nationals schedule features the elite girls race at 9:15 a.m., followed by the elite boys race at 10:05 a.m. and awards at 10:30 a.m.

Williams said she is looking forward to competing in what should be a terrific field drawn from the best of the Nike Cross Nationals and Brooks West regional.

Williams, properly fit and healthy after two nagging seasons with injuries, set off with the leaders at the Oregon event and decided to go for it with 2,000 meters remaining on the Glendover Golf Course.

She led for much of the race before dropping back the last 100 meters with a bronze medal time of 16:58.0. Sophomore Natasza Dudek (Ann Arbor Stadium, Mich.) won in 16:50.1 while junior Blair Bartlett (Trenton, N.J.) was second in 16:51.7.

Williams’ time was the 17th fastest ever recorded on the course.

Setting records is nothing knew for the EHS standout after recording the fastest Division I time (16:28.0) in winning this year’s state meet.

The weather was perect on race day and Williams said she felt confident. There were no surprises from the other runners.
“I wanted to go out with leaders and then focus on really going for it on the last mile,” she said. “I was surprised and very happy to hear that I ran a 4:58 last mile.”

She said the outcome turned out better than expected.

“Setting the Division I record was a surprise. It was not part of the plan, but definitely cool to accomplish.”

Williams faced challenging racing conditions at both the section finals and at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland.

“Racing conditions were tough, as always up in Oregon with lots of mud that made racing difficult,” she recounted. “I didn’t let that bother me. I gave it my all and took the lead a little before a mile left. I pushed the pace, but didn’t quite have enough for the kick at the end. It was cool to finish in third I am very happy with it.”

Williams, bound for Stanford, placed seventh in her previous Nike Cross Nationals appearance in 2023. She was ninth at last year’s Footlocker Nationals after placing third in the West regional qualifier.

“I look forward to seeing what I can do at Morley Field this weekend for Brooks Nationals,” she noted. “I hope to leave it all out on the course and really see what I can do on this last two championship cross country races of my high school career.