Cougars swift at Mt. Carmel Invitational

ECS staff report

RANCHO PENASQUITOS —- What makes cross country invitationals different from dual meets or the CIF playoffs is they are often divided into eight different flights: one each for seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, times two genders.

Comparing times is something of interest to coaches, too, but to gain a true handicap often proves to be more opinion than fact.

One thing is for sure. Thanks to a second-place finish in the Girls Juniors division, the cross country team from Steele Canyon again ranks among the best in the CIF San Diego Section at the annual Mt. Carmel/ASICS XC Invitational.

On Saturday (Sept. 18), the Cougars topped every other entry from the section in the Division I girls’ junior division, placing second to Aliso Viejo of Orange County in the final team standings. The Wolverines hail from the home of Women’s Tennis Hall of Fame member Lindsay Davenport Leach.

Graziella Mineo led Steele Canyon with a seventh-place finish (third among local runners), taking 40 full seconds off her sophomore mark to finish in 18:01 in the 2.75-mile circuit.

Next for Steele Canyon were Eryka Garcia (19th in 19:13) and Brooklyn Sitta (21st, 19:18).

Granite Hills’ junior girls placed fourth.

Meanwhile, the Cougars girls’ seniors finished in ninth place.

On the boys’ side, the host Sundevils captured the D2 11/12 Invitational flight, with Santana placing seventh.

For the Sultans, junior Jayson Oliver was 23rd in 17:08.

In the D1 flight, the Cougars placed third led by 12th-place finisher Bradley Bell (16:41), a junior.