Flintridge Prep: Alan Yoho ’14 Places Ninth in Nike Cross Nationals; Girls’ and Boys’ Cross Teams Have Strong Seasons

Alan Yoho ’14 has finished the cross country season by exceeding expectations, blowing away his 88th-place national ranking and taking ninth at the Nike Cross National meet. After winning the Prep League championship, as well as the Division V CIF-SS championship and the Division V State Championship, Yoho delivered the best performance by a local male runner since 2006 in the race in Portland, Oregon, according to the Daily News. His time was 15:14.

In frigid temperatures, Yoho exceeded all expectations and rankings. He went into the race ranked 12th in California and 88th in the country by dyestat.com. He was one of 197 competitors in the national competition and placed well despite starting in 20th position. The race was held on a European-style course with hay bales as obstacles and man-made, momentum-killing rolling hills.

While the race caps an incredibly strong high school career for a single athlete, Yoho’s success reflects the strength of Flintridge Prep’s cross country programs for both girls and boys, which each have long histories of strong finishes in CIF Southern Section and at State. This year, with a combination of youth and experience, they made quite a bit of history. Here are the stats:

First place finishes for both the girls and boys teams in the Prep League Finals. Alan Yoho and his twin sister Sarah Yoho ’14 both placed first in the Prep League Finals. In the girls race, Ashley Lara ’15 placed fourth, Natalie O’Brien ‘17 placed sixth, Lacy Coan ’15 placed seventh and Maia Cohen ’17 placed eighth. In the boys’ race, Jack Van Scoter ’16 placed second, Tyler Fong ’14 placed third and Nikhil Poole ’16 placed fourth, with Alex Orloff ’15 finishing 10th.

Flintridge Preparatory School, 4543 Crown Avenue, La Cañada Flintridge, (818) 790-1178 or visit www.flintridgeprep.org.