Local runners storm Mt. SAC

The Dos Pueblos girls cross-country runners had a fantastic day down at Saturday’s Mt. SAC Invitational, taking third place in their race and establishing themselves as one of the top 20 teams in all of Division 2.

Kelly Kosmo was the top Charger as usual, taking 17th place, while sophomore Emily Foster placed 26th with a time of 20:06.

“That was a huge PR and a tremendous boost for the team,” said coach Leslie Wiggins-Roth.

Chris Braden had a monster day for the DP boys, who finished 10th out of 30 teams. Braden finished in sixth place with a time of 16:03 — the second-fastest Charger time at Mt. SAC in over five years.

Freshman Patrick Gainey had a great race for Laguna Blanca in Division-V competition, clocking in over a minute ahead of his best time with a mark of 19:19. As the fifth runner on the team, it was a big boost for the Owls heading into the postseason.

“Most people were 10-15 second slower than they were (last weekend) at Santa Clarita, but he was a minute faster,” said coach Bob Lunn. “That’s big. That’s the kind of breakthrough I’ve been looking for.

Kevin Lunn finished sixth in the 77-man field with a time of 16:05, leading the Owls to a seventh place finish. All teams finishing above Laguna Blanca were ranked.

The Laguna girls surprised coach Lunn by finishing eighth out of 30 teams.

Vanessa Thom took 15th place to earn a medal with a mark of 21:13 , and Mackenzie Campbell returned from a sprained ankle to cross the line as Laguna’s third runner in 23:41.

Ana Cowgill ran a course-best for Santa Barbara High, taking 59th in 21:04, and Dons coach Olivia Perdices also highlighted Kevin Kirchoff and Briggs Deardorff on the boys side. Deardorff won his sophomore age-group race.

San Marcos coach Lawrence Stehmeier was pleased to report that the Royals had three medalists in their respective age-group races — Caitlin Rheinschild, Bridget Giorgello and Evan Bradford.

For complete Dos Pueblos results, visit: http://dpxc.org/Documents/Mt%20SAC%20Invitational-25-Oct-08Results.htm

Laguna Blanca Girls:http://images.dyestat.com/dyestatcal/images/2008/October/24%20Mt%20SAC%20Results%20pdf/Girls%20D4/30.pdf

Laguna Blanca Boys:

http://images.dyestat.com/dyestatcal/images/2008/October/24%20Mt%20SAC%20Results%20pdf/Boys%20D5/42.pdf