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Girls cross-country sixth at Woodbridge Invitational

Fallbrook High School’s girls cross-country team placed sixth among 23 Division I teams at the Woodbridge Invitational September 15 at Woodbridge High School in Irvine.

Four of the five varsity runners earned medals with the fifth Warrior runner falling two positions away from the medals given to the top 90 finishers. The Warriors also collected two medals in the junior-senior race and two medals in the freshman race.

“We had a real good meet and we had quite a few medalists,” said Fallbrook coach Troy Hamlin.

Both the boys and the girls ran a 3.0-mile course. “It’s a pretty fast three, but the competition, the level of competition, is really pretty high,” Hamlin said. “It’s a tough field and it’s a really high-level race.”

The top Warrior finisher was junior Noelle Garcia, who had a time of 18:32 to place 20th. “Noelle just had a huge day,” Hamlin said. “It’s a huge PR for her.”

Garcia’s previous personal record for that distance was the 19:15 she ran in 2006.

Senior Briana Lopez also set a personal record; her time of 18:56 was worth 31st place. Freshman Kristin Parry was 40th at 19:12, and senior Leslie Grantham finished 80th with a time of 19:58.

Cassie Mulkey missed a medal by two places, finishing 92nd with her time of 20:15. The sixth-place team finish was based on the 1:36:53 cumulative time for the top five runners. A total of 167 girls competed in the varsity race.

Fallbrook had taken eighth place at the Woodbridge Invitational in 2006.

Junior Olivia Tidd was eligible for the junior-senior race but not for the varsity race. Tidd is a transfer from Calvary Chapel in Vista, and until her hardship paperwork is cleared by the CIF she cannot compete in varsity competition. Tidd can compete in age group or junior varsity races until her eligibility is confirmed, and she placed 11th in the junior-senior race with a time of 20:00.

Senior Jade Lawrence also medaled in the junior-senior race. Her time of 21:27 placed 51st and also gave her a personal record, slicing 35 seconds off of her previous personal record for the 3.0-mile distance.

Although senior Madison Donaghue did not medal, her time of 22:45 gave her a personal record by 16 seconds as well as the 97th-place finish. A total of 192 girls competed in the junior-senior race.

The freshman race saw 198 athletes compete. Brittany Smith placed 40th with a time of 21:10 and Nicole Van Duzer was 45th at 21:23. Fallbrook’s Courtney Bade was one position away from a medal, finishing 91st with a time of 22:58.

“We had a great day out there,” Hamlin said. “I couldn’t be more happy with the way things worked out for us.”

 

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