The scary part after Riley Blade broke the women’s cross country record at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Saturday night is that she thinks she can run even faster.
Senior Corona Santiago ran the three-mile course at Great Park in Irvine in 15 minutes, 20.3 seconds, breaking the previous record by 12.2 seconds in a race that featured seven runners with times of 15:50 and 53 girls. She finished in under 17 minutes.
“I wanted to see how I felt after the first two miles,” Blade said. “I felt like I had a little bit more in me. There are a lot of races left, but I’m happy where I am.”
Oaks Christian teammates Christian Yoder (front) and Cooper McNee finished first and second in the college qualifying race at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo/for The Times)
Blade not only won the individual title, but helped the Sharks finish third in the team standings with 215 points, behind only Lewisville (Texas) Flower Mountain (157) and Ventura (193).
“What motivated me the most was racing for my teammates,” Blade said. “I wanted to make them proud.”
He did, but he also surprised his opponents.
Chiara Daly of La Jolla was second in 15:28.2 and Lily Adler of Provo (Utah) Timpview was third in 15:28.9. Erica Kirk of Vista Murrieta won in 16:33.0 and Gweneth Williams of El Toro was second in 16:35.1 in the girls’ varsity race. El Toro (90 points) won the team title.
Ventura senior Sadie Engelhardt finished fifth in her season debut, having been first at Woodbridge as a sophomore in 15:42.6 (then the fastest high school three-mile race in the U.S.) and third last fall in 15:37.4.
For the third consecutive year, Herriman (Utah) won the men’s draw with 79 points, 150 points better than runner-up Southlake (Texas) Carroll. Mira Costa was the top California team with 413 points.
Owen Powell of Mercer Island (Wash.) edged out Josiah Tostenson of Central Point (Ore.) Crater by two-tenths of a second in a sprint to the finish to win the individual title in 13:30.3.
Oaks Christian teammates Christian Yoder (14:15.7) and Cooper McNee (14:16.5) finished first and second in the men’s collegiate standings.
