Staff reports
Martina Patella strayed from her pre-race strategy in the eighth annual Crusader Invitational cross country meet at Bear Creek Park on Thursday.
And the St. Mary's sophomore runner made a wise decision.
Patella defended her invitational title in fine form with a meet record time of 19 minutes, 54 seconds on the 5,000-meter course. And the St. Mary's girls placed three runners in the top 10 to register the team victory over runner-up Phoenix.
Patella ran over two minutes faster than last year's winning time on the same course and posted her first sub-20-minute time at Bear Creek. She did so despite falling down going around a corner.
"That's impressive because it's a grassy, hilly course with a lot of twists and a creek they have to jump over," St. Mary's coach Joe Volk said.
In boys, Riddle edged seventh-ranked New Hope Christian for the team title, 45-48.
Riddle exchange student Jorge Gonzales won the boys 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:41.
Emanuel Prefontaine of New Hope Christian took the early lead, but Gonzales grabbed the top spot after the first mile and never relinquished it. Matt Milton of Riddle overhauled Prefontaine in the last mile to give the Irish the top two positions.
BOYS
TEAM SCORES -- Riddle 45, New Hope Christian 48, St. Mary's 73, Oakland 98, Bonanza 131. Glendale and Cascade Christian, incomplete.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS -- 1, Jorge Gonzales, R, 16:41; 2, Matt Milton, R, 17:15; 3, Emanual Prefontaine, NH, 17:19; 4, Trevor Coolidge, SM, 17:53; 5, Bryce Madsen, B, 18:16; 6, Brian Wilkinson, NH, 18:23; 7, Trent Simshauser, R, 18:30; 8, Josh Purkeypile, SM, 18:46; 9, Milan Jurecko, O, 18:48; 10, Andrew Humphreys, O, 18:48.
OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS -- 12, Miguel Diaz, NH, 19:20; 13, Levi Ridgeway, NH, 19:42; 14, Jesse Thompson, NH, 19:47; 16, Jared Hooper, SM, 20:07; 20, Kevin Mauseth, SM, 20:34; 21, Steve Carlino, NH, 20:40; 22, Dan Koster, NH, 20:46; 23, Nate Bennett, CC, 20:47; 24, Paul Martin, CC, 20:48; 25, Tim Gibson, SM, 20:58; 29, Mitch Skrove, NH, 21:23; 33, Josh Minchow, SM, 22:50; 34, Robbie Watson, SM, 22:57; 35, Matt Gmur, CC, 23:02; 39, Gabe Bennett, CC, 24:33.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES -- St. Mary's 45, Phoenix 56, Oakland, Glendale, New Hope, Cascasde Christian, Riddle, Bonanza incomplete.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS -- 1, Martina Patella, SM, 19:54; 2, Mariah Kennedy, O, 21:04; 3, Lisa Harrison, G, 21:06; 4, Suzy Bowdoin, NH, 21:52; 5, Katie Adamson, P, 21:56; 6, Tracie Nelson, O, 22:13; 7, April Strickland, SM, 22:15; 8, Emily Jensen, SM, 23:04; 9, Rachel MacKay, P, 23:13; 10, Kristen Heath, P, 23:13.
OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS -- 12, Jessica Thompson, P, 24:28; 13, Lindsey Bostwick, CC, 24:36; 14, Gretchen Johnson, SM, 25:09; 15, Melanie Crume, SM, 25:10; 16, Brooke Densmore, SM, 25:13; 18, Crystal Galedrige, SM, 26:08; 19, Shawna Carroll, NH, 26:14; 20, Spring Aguirre, P, 26:46; 24, Jessica Hawes, CC, 27:56; 25, Jessica Gordon, SM, 28:33; 26, Kate Bagwell, P, 30:04; 27, Erin Hemple, P, 31:42.