CANYON IN THE CHASE COWBOYS RUNNERS MUST OVERCOME FAVORED L.B. POLY.

Canyon High begins the cross country season nationally ranked and probably will end it the same way. Yet it's possible the Cowboys won't win a Southern Section or state title.

Canyon, which last fall won the Southern Section Division II title for the school's first boys' section cross country title, has been moved to Division I because of increased enrollment.

In Division I, Canyon will be paired with defending state champion Long Beach Poly, the nation's No. 1-ranked team and winner of an unprecedented five consecutive Southern Section titles.

Poly and Canyon are first and second in the state and Southern Section preseason Division I rankings. The division also includes Sacramento Jesuit, which defeated Canyon by two points for the state Division IItitle.

``It's going to be some crazy competition out there,'' Canyon senior Jameson Mora said. ``I am not upset at all. I am looking forward to it. It has been making us all train harder. I can't wait to race them.''

Canyon will have its chances. Besides the section and state championships, Canyon and Poly meet in the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina on Sept. 22 and the Clovis Invitational in October on the state meet course at Woodward Park.

``It would be nice to beat them when it counted at the end,'' Canyon coach Dave DeLong said. ``But we have four chances to go up against the No. 1 team. We don't have anything to lose. If we beat them once, we'll be the heroes.''

In last year's state meet, Canyon had the fastest top four runners of any division and would have beaten Poly if the Cowboys had run in Division I. This fall, Canyon's threesome of Mora, senior Luke Llamas and junior Ryan Morgan which ranks among the best in the state.

Llamas and Mora finished second in the Southern Section Division II cross country final. In track, Llamas was the Southern Section Division II 3,200 champion in track, clocking a best of 9 minutes, 9.73 for 3,200 meters. Llamas, Mora (9:14.29) and Morgan (9:22.98) each advanced to the Southern Section Masters Meet in the 3,200.

Canyon also returns junior Mark Bingham and sophomore Jace Getskowand has been bolstered by newcomers junior Troy Werner and sophomores Alex Harris and Ryan Alexiadis, who are capable of filling the fourth and fifth spots.

``The more kids that you have with the capability of running fast, the odds are someone is going to step up and do better than you expected,'' DeLong said. ``We have a lot of raw talent and if we are healthy at the end, I have a feeling something special is going to happen.''

Here is a look at other teams to watch:

--Birmingham: The Braves, who have lost only two league dual meets in the last 13 years, are capable of repeating their top-three City Section finish.

--Burbank: Juniors Kyle Ivie and Statos Christandis helped Burbank place fifth in the Southern Section Division II final and earn an at-large state meet berth.

--Camarillo: The Scorpions have a strong shot at their fourth consecutive Pacific View League title.

--Loyola: The Cubs finished 10th in last year's Southern Section Division I final.

--Monroe: Sophomore Manuel Ruiz, who was ninth in the City finals as a freshman, is a favorite for the individual title after winning the 3,200 meters in track.

--Oak Park: Seniors Chase Ferrell and Taylor Hermes and junior Igor Tregub helped the Eagles win the Southern Section Division IV title and their first state titles.

--Royal: The Highlanders, 10th in the Southern Section Division I preseason rankings, won their first Marmonte League title since 1974.

--Thousand Oaks: The Lancers, the No. 8 team in the Southern Section Division I preseason rankings, have a strong duo with senior Mike Krestyn and junior Ryan Ketchum.

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Jameson Mora will be one of the Cowboys' leading runners for the nationally ranked Canyon cross country team.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News