Pierce College closes cross-country course used by local high schools
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The Pierce College cross-country course in Woodland Hills, used by thousands of runners since the 1960s, has been closed and will be unavailable to host the City Section finals and other high school meets this fall.
At a meeting last week attended by officials from the City Section and West Valley Eagles youth organization, Pierce College officials informed them that a new grass soccer field will be constructed in the area where races have previously started and which was also used as a warm-up area for runners.
Officials also told Jack Dawson of the Eagles and City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos they would revamp the whole course. They have already smoothed out path areas on the hilly course and fixed fencing.
Former USC running back Stafon Johnson, the head coach at Dorsey, finally has a quarterback in sophomore Elijah McDaniel.
A water truck and construction materials were seen in the area of the flat surface on Wednesday. Few people were made aware a soccer field would be built on a much beloved area used by runners. The school has a men’s and women’s soccer team. A school security officer said he was unaware of the plans, and he would be directly affected since security is hired weekly whenever a high school meet is held.
Dawson said, “The course is going to be beautiful. It’s, how are we going to use it?”
Either revisions have to be done on the soccer field or a new starting point for races has to be created.
Dawson and Lagos said they were informed that there would be no permits issued this year for the course. High schools that previously used the course are scrambling to find alternatives.
Monroe coach Leo Hernandez said his league is investigating using Woodley Park in the Sepulveda Basin as a possible replacement. Birmingham High once set up a course on its campus when Pierce College was unavailable because of heavy rains and could be used by the City Section for the finals.
Pierce College is also being used as a site to take in large animals during wildfires, so developing another course on campus this year is unlikely considering the uncertainty of the weather this fall.
On Friday, a spokeswoman for Pierce College wrote, “I am confirming that the construction by the football field is for a soccer field and a deferred maintenance project at the cross-country track. Currently, the project is slated for completion in the mid-late spring season of this school year. Until then, the cross-country track will not be useable. We have actively been working with CIF to look at an alternative track option on the college campus but nothing has been finalized yet.”
