Despite resting several top varsity athletes, Great Oak sweeps both team titles for the first time since 2015; Claremont, Mira Costa and Newbury Park also have boys and girls teams both place in top five

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Amber Rios has won 12 cross country races in her three seasons racing at Colony High, including her first two this year.

Billy Atkinson has only prevailed in his past two races for Mira Costa after being sidelined all last season with injuries.

But the one thing both athletes had in common Friday night in the Sundown Showdown marquee events at the ASICS Cool Breeze Invitational was their respective victories were easily the biggest of their prep careers.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Rios, a junior, covered the 3-mile layout at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, Calif., in 16 minutes, 59.3 seconds to elevate from a fourth-place finish last season.

Atkinson, a senior competing at Cool Breeze for the first time since 2016, clocked 14:39.2, an improvement of more than three minutes from his debut at Brookside as a freshman.

Great Oak swept both team championships for the first time since 2015, when the meet was held at El Prado Golf Course in Chino. Host Claremont had dominated the event since its move to Brookside in 2016, winning the past three girls championships and two of three boys titles.

Despite Great Oak not running several top varsity athletes, the Wolfpack prevailed by a 90-120 margin over Saugus in the girls competition and dominated Claremont with a 54-139 triumph in the boys race.

Aric Reza finished second behind Atkinson in 14:41.6 for Great Oak, supported by Leandro Candray (14:49.4) taking sixth, Parker Smith (14:50) placing eighth and Austin Montez (14:52.3) securing ninth.

Kyle Reden (15:14.3) and Scott Kiehn (15:15.8) were 30th and 31st overall, giving Great Oak more than enough cushion against Claremont, led by a fourth-place finish from Adam Trafecanty (14:42.5).

With four freshmen in the girls lineup, Great Oak had ninth-graders take three of its top four spots, with Aishling Fabian (17:41.5) in 10th, Melinda Dang (17:47.9) in 15th and Kelli Gaffney (18:00) in 19th. Sophomore Divine Torza placed 18th in 17:57.4 for the Wolfpack, with senior Autumn Denine (18:15.6) securing 28th.

Saugus had four scorers in the top 26, led by Hailey Rutter and Hannah Fredericks finishing 13th and 14th in identical 17:46.5 efforts, but the Centurions’ fifth scorer took 53rd overall.

In addition to Atkinson’s victory, which helped the Mira Costa boys place one point ahead of Agoura for third in the Sundown Showdown with 232, sophomore Dalia Frias finished second in the girls competition in 17:01.1 to lead the Mustangs to a fourth-place performance with 182 points.

Newbury Park also had a pair of top-five team finishes, with freshman Lex Young – younger brother of senior Nico Young – placing third for the Panthers in 14:42 in his high school debut to contribute to a fifth-place result with 261 points.

Archana Mohandas (17:29.7) and Fiona Hawkins (17:30.6) took sixth and seventh for the Newbury Park girls, who were third overall, just one point behind Saugus with 121.

Chino Hills junior Jacqueline Duarte (17:01.4) and Village Christian junior Mia Barnett (17:04.6) finished third and fourth in the girls competition, with sophomore Maddie Coles (17:13.9) placing fifth for Claremont, which had three athletes in the top 16 overall – Azalea Segura-Mora (17:32.5) in eighth and Angie Gushue (17:54.9) in 16th – to secure fifth with 189 points.

Duarte led the Huskies to a sixth-place finish with 205 points. Simi Valley junior Jill Walker finished in the top 10 for the second year in a row, clocking 17:34.4 to place ninth.

Highland junior Daniel Rodriguez placed fifth in the boys race in 14:46.1, with defending champion Dylan Wilbur of Crescenta Valley finishing seventh in 14:49.7.

In the earlier boys varsity races, Los Altos senior Luke Francis won the small school competition in 15:14.1 and Canyon senior Freddy De Anda prevailed in the large school event in 15:17.3, surging past Santa Fe junior Matthew Mora in the final 15 meters to secure the victory.

One of the biggest highlights from the girls varsity races came from Chino sophomore Mia Chavez, who clocked 17:22.7 to win the small school competition, holding off St. Margaret’s freshman Liesel Blau in 17:32.5. Those times wound up being the sixth- and ninth-fastest marks of the entire meet, combining results from all girls races.

Poway senior Eva Rethmeier won the large school race in 17:53.6, leading five Titans in the top 11 to triumph with 30 points. Rethmeier was 20th overall and Poway placed fourth in the combined results of all girls races.