* Sandia High School's Steven West crosses the finish first in the boys championship race at the Garmin RunningLane Championships
Photo Credit: Chris Wells/MileSplit
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Steven West may have entered the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships as a relative unknown this weekend, but he certainly didn't leave that way.
The Albuquerque Sandia High School senior throttled the competition in the championship boys race on Saturday, winning this national race on a damp and wet day -- and on a course that felt more like a MudFest Palooza than the 'Fastest 5K Course in America' -- as he moved away from the field with a little more than 800 meters left, winning in a time of 15:09.30.
His performance was just five seconds shy of his personal record of 15:04.38.
And it came in a race that featured countless state champions and national qualifiers.
Wyatt Haughton, a state champion from Shawnee Mission North who went out to the early lead, was second in 15:12.00, while JoJo Jourdon, a junior from Olympus, never dropped out of the top 10 and finished in third in 15:12.20.
Champs Sports National qualifier Brian Dicola had a stellar finish, but his late burst left too much room in front of him and he finished in fourth in 15:13.20. West Virginia state champion Ty Steorts was fifth in 15:14.70, while South Carolina title-holder Jake Liebert was sixth.
Denver South's (CO) Ryan Olree (15;21.80), Center Grove senior Ty Garrett (15:22.00), Mead (CO) senior Nolan Hoffman and Oakdale (CA) junior Omar Alsaidi rounded out the top 10.
An outlier to previous installments of this race, Saturday's action produced no 5K times under 15 minutes. Weather eroded the course heading into the event, while the pounding of the races ultimately produced terrain that softened and muddied over time.
TOP 10 RESULTS
| 1 | Steven West | Unattached - #2762 | 15:09.30 | 4:43.80PL: 8 ( 0 ) | 9:50.90PL: 2 ( +6 ) | 15:09.30PL: 1 ( +1 ) |
| 2 | Wyatt Haughton | Lancers TC - #2097 | 15:12.00 | 4:43.10PL: 1 ( 0 ) | 9:51.60PL: 5 ( -4 ) | 15:12.00PL: 2 ( +3 ) |
| 3 | Jojo Jourdon | Olympus Titans - #1413 | 15:12.20 | 4:43.40PL: 3 ( 0 ) | 9:51.60PL: 5 ( -2 ) | 15:12.20PL: 3 ( +2 ) |
| 4 | Brian DiCola | Unattached - #1930 | 15:13.20 | 9:56.10PL: 261 ( 0 ) | 15:13.20PL: 261 ( 0 ) | -- |
| 5 | Ty Steorts | Unattached - #2644 | 15:14.70 | 4:43.90PL: 9 ( 0 ) | 9:51.30PL: 3 ( +6 ) | 15:14.70PL: 4 ( -1 ) |
| 6 | Jake Liebert | Unattached - #2262 | 15:20.50 | 4:43.70PL: 7 ( 0 ) | 9:51.30PL: 3 ( +4 ) | 15:20.50PL: 5 ( -2 ) |
| 7 | Ryan Olree | Unattached - #2428 | 15:21.80 | 4:45.40PL: 20 ( 0 ) | 9:58.90PL: 17 ( +3 ) | 15:21.80PL: 6 ( +11 ) |
| 8 | Ty Garrett | Door 3 - #1190 | 15:22.00 | 4:44.40PL: 13 ( 0 ) | 9:51.80PL: 7 ( +6 ) | 15:22.00PL: 7 ( 0 ) |
| 9 | Nolan Hoffman | Unattached - #2127 | 15:22.20 | 4:46.90PL: 37 ( 0 ) | 9:58.30PL: 15 ( +22 ) | 15:22.20PL: 8 ( +7 ) |
| 9 | Omar Alsaidi | Oakdale Mustangs XC Club - #1409 | 15:22.20 | 4:45.60PL: 22 ( 0 ) | 9:56.90PL: 12 ( +10 ) | 15:22.20PL: 8 ( +4 ) |
