WALNUT -- Although Saugus was out of the spotlight of the Div. I-II sweepstakes races Saturday at the 65 th annual Mount San Antonio College Invitational, it didn't prevent the Centurions girls' cross country team from producing another victory on the 2.94-mile course in which a number of the program's most memorable performances have been delivered.
Although a glitch in the timing system didn't provide official times throughout the meet, Saugus defeated Tesoro in its Div. II varsity race by a 40-58 margin, with Canyon (102) finishing third.
Samantha Ortega (17:27) won the race for Saugus, with Nina Sassano taking fifth and Abigail Frankian seventh.
"I was expecting it to be fast and I just prepared myself for that. Coach (Rene Paragas) was just telling us to be conservative ... so overall, I think it was pretty under control," Ortega said. "We felt like we could have done better, but we're training, we're tired and we're fatigued and we just had to push through. It was very demanding (having a Foothill League race and Mt.SAC in the same week) ... we just had to give it our all."
Royal's Brianne Holland finished ninth, unofficially in 18:30 for seventh-place Royal, followed by Canyon's Valeria Soto placing 10 th in 18:32.
"It helped me feel confident about myself," Holland said. "I felt good. This definitely gets me ready for (Ventura County Championships)."
Saugus' A.J. Yarnall was seventh unofficially in 14:57 in the Div. I-II boys' team sweepstakes race.
"I just went out and raced. You just have to go on how you feel," Yarnall said. "It's better than I ever thought I could have done. I just want to continue on this upswing."
Saugus (270) was 11th, with Golden Valley (315) 13th. Arcadia won with 86 points, producing the No. 2 team time in Mt. SAC history of 75:45.
Only sixth-place Dos Pueblos (198) was faster among Div. II programs than Saugus, which had Rodrigo Ornelas finish 31st unofficially in 15:40.
Canyon was sixth in the Div. I-II boys' individual sweepstakes with 210 points, led by Jason Hillquist unofficially running 15:25, followed by Zach Wims in 15:32. Redondo Union won with 111 points.
"I raced like crap, but I'm still recovering from some tightness in my leg on top of being sick for four days before that," Wims said. "I just wanted to race to help the team. As a team, I thought we ran solid. This is all building toward league finals."
In morning Div. II boys' varsity races, Peninsula defeated Westlake 87-94 in its heat, with Hart (119) fourth and Camarillo (126) taking fifth.
Tesoro won its heat with 87 points and Claremont edging Thousand Oaks 160-161 for second, with Royal (187) taking fifth. Righetti got past Moorpark 57-80 in its heat.
In Div. II girls' varsity races, Moorpark's Monika Gyalay unofficially clocked 17:26 to win her heat, defeating Newport Harbor's Paige Tennison, leading the Musketeers to a 91-96 victory over Peninsula, with Westlake (274) and Agoura (292) taking 10th and 11th. South Torrance defeated Camarillo 45-74 in another heat.
"I wanted to go under 17:50. It was pretty good because I had someone I was trying to beat, which pushed me even more," Gyalay said. "It sets me up well (for November) actually knowing what I can really do (on this course)."
In Div. I boys' varsity races, Crescenta Valley, led by Gabe Collison finishing second unofficially in 15:13, won its heat with 88 points, ahead of El Rancho (109), Martin Luther King (115), Simi Valley (117) and Burbank (124).
Newbury Park also won its heat with 91 points, led by Jonathan Byrne in second, ahead of Westview (101). West Ranch placed fourth with 172 and Quartz Hill (209) -- with Bradley Wiggs placing fourth overall -- taking fifth.
Burroughs was eighth in its heat, with Luis Celaya finishing fifth.
In Div. I girls' varsity races, Glendale's Leana Setian won her heat unofficially in 18:20.
"This race gave me a lot of confidence," said Setian, who clocked 20:02 on the same layout last year. "I just tried to run with no excuses and just stay within myself. Mt. SAC is the toughest course there is, so if I can conquer this, I can conquer anything."
Westview edged Granada Hills 53-67 in Setian's heat, followed by Birmingham in fifth, with Newbury Park being defeated 96-111 by Marina in its heat and Valencia (152) -- led by Olivia Pear's eighth-place finish -- taking sixth.
Knight's Rachael Duriez was second in her heat, helping the Hawks place third with 83 points, trailing Escondido (56) and Santa Monica (58).
Burroughs' Gracia Innocentia unofficially clocked 19:05 to place third in her heat, followed by Highland's Vanessa Lopez (19:07) in fourth.
With Megan Melnyk (18:25.1) and Erika Johnson (18:25.5) taking fourth and fifth in their heat, C.V. was second with 110 points, trailing Vista Murrieta. West Ranch's Taylor Welker unofficially clocked 18:23 in the same heat to finish second for the Wildcats, who placed fifth with 135 points.