Girls cross-country 8th in Division I at Woodbridge Invite

Fallbrook High School’s girls cross-country team placed 8th among the 26 Division I squads at the Woodbridge Invite in Irvine September 16.

“The girls did very well up at Woodbridge,” said Fallbrook coach Troy Hamlin. “It’s very tough competition. They beat some cross-country powerhouses.”

The Warrior runners were 39th among the 164 schools in all divisions. “Very impressive showing for the Fallbrook girls. They came together as a group and really did a nice job,” Hamlin said.

A total of 177 Division I girls competed at the meet hosted by Woodbridge High School. Fallbrook was led by Amy Hansen, whose time of 18:46 on the three-mile course placed her 41st.

Briana Lopez placed 49th with a time of 18:57, Noelle Garcia finished 60th at 19:15, Leslie Grantham came in 65th with a time of 19:19, and Alex Nygren’s time of 19:25 was worth 74th place.

“We had a 39-second pack one through five,” Hamlin said, noting that only one other school had a tighter pack.

Cassie Mulkey placed 127th with a time of 20:24 and Taty Liepelt was 147th at 20:59.

“I’m extremely happy with the performance,” Hamlin said. “We really had no idea that they were going to come together and run with the intensity the way they did.”

The Woodbridge Invite also included a sophomore race in which Carrie Jercinovich placed 51st at 21:41 and Nicole Vedenoff was 58th with a time of 21:46.

“All in all it was a good day,” Hamlin said.

“I can’t express how happy I was with the way the girls ran,” Hamlin said. “They really rose to the occasion.”

The Woodbridge Invite was the first meet of the year for Fallbrook which included official team positions. “I’m proud of them,” Hamlin said. “I can foresee very good things for this team in the future.”