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.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

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 18:13.6, with Los Alamitos edging Canyon Crest Academy by a 51-53 margin.

Stevie Holquin secured sixth in 19:12.5 and Olivia Bettinger was ninth in 19:21.8 for the Griffins, who also had Trista Candiotty grab 19th in 19:59.6, Kaitlyn McQuillen place 29th in 20:33.7 and Ruby Flaim earn 33rd in 20:42.2.

Canyon Crest Academy had four athletes in the top 20, led by Sophia Guy placing 12th in 19:37.3.

Del Norte had Emily Russo (18:32.5) finish second, Paige Echsner (18:59.2) take fourth and Ella Echsner (19:17.3) earn seventh to grab third with 69 points.

Melissa Estrada of Vista took third in 18:46.6.

Kaitlyn Arciaga of Westview won the Division 1 girls sophomore race in 18:25.4.

Ava Martin of Crescenta Valley secured victory in the Division 1 girls junior race in 19:02.8, with Mya Tucker of Temescal Canyon placing second in 19:07.8.

Lilah Enyedi of Del Norte prevailed in the Division 1 girls freshman race in 19:34.9.

Alex Montano of Salpointe Catholic triumphed in the Division 2 girls junior race in 20:01.3.

Olivia Teates of Francis Parker rallied to win the Division 2 girls sophomore race in 20:24.3.

Ashlan Forster of El Capitan benefited from Isla Duncan of Francis Parker being sent in the wrong direction late in the race, earning the victory in the Division 2 girls freshman competition by a 20:39.2 to 20:48.9 margin.

Max Irey of Catalina Foothills won the Division 1 boys junior race in 16:06.5, with Crescenta Valley’s Joshua Chambers clocking 16:22.1 to place second and Cibola’s Alan Ornelas taking third in 16:28.4.

Luke Jin of Del Norte outlasted Micah Senn in the Division 1 boys sophomore competition by a 16:18.2 to 16:23.2.

Cameron Yarbourgh ran 16:59.4 to triumph in the Division 1 boys freshman race.

John Bitner of Calvin Christian surged late in the Division 2 boys junior race, grabbing the win in 16:33.1, with Kai Lange-Dei of High Tech High in San Diego clocking 16:33.7, and Emmanuel Simiyu of Greenway High in Arizona taking third in 16:34.8.

Norco teammates Trajan Cephas and Micheal Dunn took the top two spots in the Division 2 boys sophomore race, clocking 17:00.3 and 17:11.0, respectively.

Nathan Wilber of Cathedral Catholic prevailed in the best finish of the meet, holding off Kai Becker of Greenway by a 17:43.5 to 17:44.7 margin in the Division 2 boys freshman race.