GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY: Simi Valley standout wins team sweepstakes title at Mt. SAC, eclipsing Hasay's 2005 mark.

WALNUT -- April Baxter held up her cell phone, allowing her husband to listen to emcee Tim O'Rourke's call of the stretch run of one of the great performances in the 63-year history of the Mount San Antonio College Invitational.

Despite Kevin Baxter being nearly an hour away watching their son Wyatt run in an age-group competition Saturday, he could still feel the magnitude of what his daughter Sarah was accomplishing.

Making her debut at the nation's largest high school cross country meet, the Simi Valley standout not only won the Divs. I-II girls' team sweepstakes race in 16 minutes, 41 seconds, but she eclipsed the all-time freshman record on the 2.91-mile course previously held by Mission Prep's Jordan Hasay (16:48) in 2005.

"She's my idol," Baxter said. "I look up to her."

Whether it was at the top of famed Reservoir Hill or as she surged through the final 125meters in the gauntlet before crossing the finish line, runners, coaches and spectators were looking up in admiration at Baxter, who stands just over 5-feet tall.

"I'm dumbfounded," Simi Valley coach Roger Evans said. "I don't know what to say."

Baxter's mark tied for sixth on the Mt. SAC layout -- regardless of grade -- and moved her into No. 2 on the area's all-time list, trailing only Hoover's Anita Siraki, who ran 16:38 in 2000.

In the process, she helped Simi Valley place fourth in the team sweepstakes competition with 151 points, third among Div. I teams.

The Pioneers shattered their program record at Mt.SAC by more than three minutes, clocking 90:29.

"I told her earlier in the week she might have to accept not winning races (at Mt.SAC), that she might have to accept finishing third or fourth, which, in that field, with all those great runners, would be incredible," Evans said. "But she doesn't like to lose."

Baxter received a strong challenge at the race's midway point from Arcadia's Catrina McAlister and Torrey Pines' Alli Billmeyer, but responded heading up the daunting Poop-Out Hill to stretch her lead to nearly 20 meters.

"Sarah is the best hill runner I've ever seen," said Michael Vorgitch, Simi Valley's top boys' runner, who clocked 15:19 in the Divs. I-II individual sweepstakes race.

After Baxter reached the top of Reservoir Hill at 14:06, the Mt. SAC historians knew Hasay's record was in serious jeopardy.

"I knew if I could speed up the hills and then again on the downhills, I would be OK," Baxter said. "I tried not to think about (being nervous). I just wanted to do well, no matter what the pace was."

Baxter's performance provided the confidence necessary for her teammates to deliver significant personal bests, with Erika Barr (18:10) taking 24th, Madelyn Vorgitch (18:19) finishing 29th, Megan McNally (18:35) placing 40th and Milana Maddalone (56th, 18:44) rounding out the Pioneers' scoring runners.

Hanna Jeters (18:57) and Amanda Miller (19:36) -- the school's homecoming queen -- were Simi Valley's sixth and seventh perfomers.

"It was a relief to have everyone up in front of me," said Amanda Miller, who experienced breathing difficulties during the race, but was fine shortly thereafter.

"I've been doing this for four years and this is the strongest, most motivated that I've ever seen our team."

The swift pace also allowed Valencia's Sarah Adams to run her fastest Mt. SAC time of 18:02, resulting in a 20th-place finish.

"I'm not going in as nervous as I used to," Adams said. "I feel like my body is ready to go even faster. That's the mentality I have now going into every race."

Thousand Oaks' Melanie Joerger took 37th in 18:33 and teammate Caitlin Turner (18:39) was 48th. Crescenta Valley's Claudia Pham (18:37) finished 46th, with teammate Anneke Kakebeen (18:45) finishing 58th.

Although Saugus has been no stranger to success in the Divs. I-II team sweepstakes competition, winning the past four years, the Centurions decided to compete in a Div. II girls' varsity race Saturday, paving the way for Great Oak to capture the Div. I crown on a sixth-runner tiebreaker over La Costa Canyon and Mira Costa to secure not only the Div. II title, but the overall grand sweepstakes championship.

But the results for the Centurions were remarkably similar.

Saugus had all seven runners place in the top 11 to produce a 24-point effort, led by Stephanie Bulder's second-place finish in a personal-best 17:45.

"It definitely felt different not running in the sweepstakes, but it was still the same kind of atmosphere, so we're used to it," Bulder said. "It's still a race and we still wanted to have a fast pack. (Coach Rene Paragas) said we're not practicing, that we needed to treat this like the real deal."

After Sophie Mateu (17:53) took third for Royal -- which also received a 17th place finish from Kelly Upson (18:45) -- Saugus' Alex Hampton (18:02) was fourth, followed consecutively by teammates Jenay Jauregui (18:03), Karis Frankian (18:04) and Danielle Hernando (18:16). Merissa Kado (18:25) placed ninth and Nicole Penick (18:27) was 11th for the Centurions.

"Paragas gave us a B-plus because we only had one runner break 18, but we tried to lobby him for an A-minus," Bulder said. "But you can really tell what we're doing is working. Things are going good, but I really hope I've got a lot more left (in November)."

Burbank's McKenzie Paul (18:14) finished 11th in the Divs. I-II individual sweepstakes race.