By Leonard COUTIN

It was a rough start for top Falcon performer Colin FitzGerald at the 68th Annual Mt. SAC Cross-country Invitational held on Saturday. At the beginning of Race 59, the Sweepstakes Individual Race, FitzGerald stumbled and fell as the runners set off down the course. FitzGerald barely missed a step before jumping up, gaining his stride and, most importantly, not causing any interference with his teammates behind him.

Working their way down the course’s airstrip, more than 100 runners crowded together as they approached the first loop of the course. Among these were fellow Falcons Manan Vats and Zach Johnson, who showed improvement in their confidence and strength this season and contributed greatly to the scoring at Mt. SAC. Both battled their way through the congested group of runners to the mid position of the pack. As the runners left the first half of the course, it was Arroyo Grande, Saugus and Redondo teams scoring points ahead of the Falcons. FitzGerald continued to maintain prime position working his way up “Poop Out Hill” and around the backside of Reservoir Hill. Coming down hard on the last hill, he finished with the fifth best time running 15:10. Returning to the course again on Nov. 12 at the CIF prelims, FitzGerald said he is certain he will be able to better his time.

Christian Ricketts of Arroyo Grande won with a time of 14:59, followed by Fresno’s Evert Silva (14:59), Justin Hazell of El Camino Real (15:00) and Ethan Comeaux of Redondo (15:06).

Other CV runners
contributing to the team’s success scoring fourth were Artin Allahverdian who placed 40th (16:20), Spenser Geck, 53rd, (16:34), Neil Logan, 64th, (16:50) and Matthew Brunner, 72nd, (17:02).

“The boys had some big PRs (personal record) times on the course,” said CV Head Coach Mark Evans. “We ran well. We are happy with how the boys’ varsity went. They were really competitive and it was a good race for us.”

Final team scores: Arroyo Grande 132, Saugus 139, Redondo 139, CV 143, Redwood (Lar) 165, and Rancho Cucamonga 178

The Sweepstakes all best time on the course was run in 2010 by Arcadia star runner Ammar Moussa, who has since graduated, when he ran 14:24 to win and matched the 3M-course record set by Diego Mercado from West Covina in 2005.

The Falcon girls came away with many promising marks and a valuable experience when they ran Race 64, of the girls’ varsity series. Falcon Melissa Owens reached deep as she sprinted down the last portion of the hill on her way to the finish line to grab 56th place running a time of 20:13. For a sprinter new to running a three-mile course, Evans said he is “very proud” of her dedication and hard work.

Teammate Persiyana Petrova ran 77th (20:37) and Sojeong Kang took 92nd (21:06). Sophia Atin placed 98th (21:18), followed by Gabriela Borraez in 105th (21:32) and Jacqueline Bau took 119th (22:24).

The Falcon girls scored 16th team spot in the race.

Reviewing their performance, Evans said, “The girls ran well. All ran PR times on the course. We continue to get better with each race.”

The race was won by Vacaville Jaxin Woodward in a time of 18:29, with Sophia Hoelzel of West Ranch placing second (18:38) and Taylor Owens of Glendora capturing third (18:50).

  Leonard Coutin