Salpointe Catholic standout Wild wins Division 2 senior/invitational race for second year in a row, Catalina Foothills senior Martz rallies for Division 1 senior/invitational victory; Crescenta Valley boys, Los Alamitos girls take top honors
By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor
SAN DIEGO – Competing Saturday was like a sanctuary for several of Arizona’s elite athletes at the 42nd ASICS Mt. Carmel Cross Country Invitational, with the conditions at Balboa Park’s Morley Field offering a respite for the triple-digit temperatures being endured by top programs in Phoenix and Tucson.
Brandon Martz of Catalina Foothills and Kylie Wild of Salpointe Catholic took full advantage of the favorable weather to produce the fastest times on the redesigned 3-mile layout, with the top team performances achieved by the Crescenta Valley boys and Los Alamitos girls programs.
Wild won the Division 2 senior/invitational girls race for the second year in a row, running 17 minutes, 50.2 seconds, the only female competitor to eclipse the 18-minute mark.
Wild prevailed in the same section last year, running 15:35.9 on a 2.7-mile course.
Martz benefited from early leader Parker Simmons of Crescenta Valley turning his ankle on uneven terrain and falling in the final mile to surge to victory in the Division 1 senior/invitational boys race in 15:12.8.
Dana Hills sophomore Evan Noonan was second in 15:20.8, helping the Dolphins take runner-up overall with 117 points, just ahead of Saugus with 119 points. Jacob Fredericks led the Centurions with a third-place effort of 15:23.8 and Gavin Dion was seventh in 15:38.8.
Eyan Turk of Woodcrest Christian finished fourth in 15:29.2 and Micah Sanchez of Liberty Charter placed fifth in 15:34.1, with Simmons managing to recover enough to still secure sixth in 15:35.7, helping Crescenta Valley prevail with 83 points.
Harrison Connors was 13th in 15:46.9, Luke Cheney took 18th in 16:08.3, Jamie Cartnal finished 21st in 16:21.2 and Reed Sinclair placed 46th in 16:50.2 for the Falcons.
Michael Urbanski of Salpointe Catholic triumphed in the Division 2 senior/invitational boys race in 15:27.1, achieving the fourth-fastest overall performance of the meet. La Salle’s Alexandro Alvarez was runner-up 16:21.5.
Maranatha Christian, led by Joshua Jaffin earning 16th in 17:39.7, held off Santana by a 45-49 margin to capture the boys team title.
Eastlake freshman Jaelyn Williams won the Division 1 senior/invitational girls race in…
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