In one of only two 1-2 finishes for teammates at the meet, Aliso Niguel's Carly Schuerger and Catherine Swanson swept the top two spots in the Junior Girls DI race.
For Schuerger (Frank Bellino photo above), whose 17:45.3 winning time ranked 12th overall in merged results, it was her third victory in as many meets so far in 2018, previously winning races at Laguna Hills and Mt. Carmel. She and Swanson -- a basketball player running high school cross country for the first time -- went 1-2 at Mt. Carmel and 1-3 at Laguna, running in Junior Division races.
"I was not expecting winning this race because it's so competitive here in Southern California," Schuerger said.
Swanson said she loves running, used to run at lower levels "and I've always wanted to get back into it. I feel strong and I love it. I have a genuine love for running."
Schuerger said she is thankful to have such a talented training partner.
"She's really been pushing me in the workouts," Schuerger said of Swanson. "If she wasn't there, I'd be alone and wouldn't have anyone to push me but the clock, which is really hard to do. So, I'm glad there's always someone there pushing me all the time."
In the Division II Junior Boys race, Santa Monica's Will Donaldson looked strong throughout and held a decent cushion through almost the entire race over Ryan Duffy of Irvine University and Brandon Garcia of Quartz Hill. But when it came to winning time, it was Duffy surging a head over the final 400 and out-sprinting Garcia to claim victory.
"I just didn't have any gas left," said a gracious Donaldson, who said he led for all of the first 400 and last 400.
"I didn't expect it," Duffy said. "About halfway through the race, I kinda thought, 'Hey, this is something I can do. I'm just going to follow the leader and try to out-kick him in the end.
"Toward the end I had a lot of energy. When we hit the track, I just took off. And I held them off."
Duffy finished in a 15:41.4 PR, one second ahead of Garcia in one of three races during the meet decided by a second or less.
"This is my first win ever, cross country and track," Duffy said, flashing a wide smile. "So I'm really excited."